Lewis Cope

For the fictional character, see Lewis Cope (River City).

Lewis Cope
Born	(1995-03-19) 19 March 1995 (age 30) Hartlepool, County Durham, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2008–present
Television	Emmerdale Strictly Come Dancing

Lewis Cope (born 19 March 1995) is an English actor. After beginning his career as a child appearing in the West End production of Billy Elliot the Musical , he went on to appear in shows including Hetty Feather , Doctors and Vera before portraying the role of Nicky Miligan in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale between 2022 and 2024. In 2025, he is set to appear as a contestant on the twenty-third series of Strictly Come Dancing .

Early career

Cope was born on 19 March 1995 in Hartlepool, County Durham and has 13 siblings. ^{[1] [2] [3]} He attended both English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College and Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. ^[2]

Life and career

In 2008, aged 13, Cope successfully auditioned for the role of the Michael in the West End production of Billy Elliot the Musical . ^[4] In 2010, he appeared in the BBC sketch show The Impressions Show with Culshaw and Stephenson . ^[5] He subsequently joined the hip-hop dance troupe Ruff Diamond, who finished as runner-up on the Sky One dance competition Got to Dance in 2013. ^[6] Cope went on to appear in the short films A Six and Two Threes and Waterbabies, and television shows including Hetty Feather (2019), Doctors (2019) and Vera (2021). ^[7] His stage credits include Richard III (2017), Punk Rock (2017), Macbeth (2017), The Night Watch (2018), Spilt (2018), Candide (2018), F$%k Magical Michael (2019), Witness for the Prosecution (2019) and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (2022). ^[8]

In 2022, Cope joined the cast of the ITV soap opera Emmerdale as Nicky Miligan. ^[9] He was initially introduced as a male nanny who attends an interview for a job caring for Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) and Dawn Fletcher's (Olivia Bromley) children at Home Farm, before being established as the son of Caleb Miligan (William Ash), and the grandson of Frank Tate (Norman Bowler) and Faith Dingle (Sally Dexter). ^[10] He departed the soap in July 2024, with the character leaving alongside his boyfriend Suni Sharma (Brahmdeo Shannon Ramana). ^{[11] [12]}

In 2023, Cope appeared in an episode of the mystery crime series Mrs Sidhu Investigates . ^[13] In August 2025, Cope was announced as a contestant on the twenty-third series of Strictly Come Dancing , as a replacement for Kristian Nairn, who was forced to withdraw from the competition due to health issues. ^{[7] [14]}

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2010	The Impressions Show with Culshaw and Stephenson	Various	1 episode	[8]
2013	Got to Dance	Himself	Runner-up; series 4	[15]
2015	A Six and Two Threes	Bully	Short film	[8]
2018	Waterbabies	Owen	Short film	[8]
2019	Hetty Feather	Wilfred	Episode: "The Return"	[16]
2019	Doctors	Tom Griffiths	Episode: "Trapped"	[17]
2021	Vera	Marcus Hynde	Episode: "Witness"	[18]
2022–2024	Emmerdale	Nicky Miligan	Regular role	[19]
2023	Mrs Sidhu Investigates	Lenny Lowe	Episode: "On the Ropes"	[20]
2025	Strictly Come Dancing	Himself	Contestant; series 23	[21]

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Ref.
2008	Billy Elliot the Musical	Michael	[22]
2017	Richard III	Henry VI / Richmond	[8]
2017	Punk Rock	Nicholas	[8]
2017	Macbeth	Banquo	[8]
2018	The Night Watch	Duncan	[8]
2018	Spilt	Chase	[8]
2018	Candide	Ben	[8]
2019	F$%k Magical Michael	D	[8]
2019	Witness for the Prosecution	Leonard Vole	[8]
2022	The Legend of Sleepy Hollow	Brom "Bones" Van Brunt	[8]

References

1. "Emmerdale's Nicky star Lewis Cope has astonishing number of siblings". Metro. 8 June 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
2. "Getting To Know Emmerdale Star Lewis Cope". Luxe. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
3. "Lewis Cope". InterTalent. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
4. "BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL | London Theatre Direct". www.londontheatredirect.com. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
5. Guide, British Comedy. "The Impressions Show With Culshaw & Stephenson: Series 2, Episode 5". British Comedy Guide .
6. "'Got to Dance' finalists confirmed". Digital Spy . 10 March 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
7. "Actor Lewis Cope joins the cast of Strictly Come Dancing 2025". BBC Media Centre . Retrieved 21 August 2025.
8. "Lewis Cope – Spotlight CV". Spotlight . Retrieved 21 August 2025.
9. Daly, Helen. "Emmerdale newcomer Lewis Cope hints Nicky is "too good to be true" | Radio Times". Radio Times . Retrieved 21 August 2025.
10. "Emmerdale newcomer Lewis Cope teases possible twist in nanny Nicky story". Digital Spy . Retrieved 21 August 2025.
11. "Emmerdale to air two surprise exits as young couple bow out". Digital Spy . 12 June 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
12. "Emmerdale airs double exit in early ITVX episode". Digital Spy . 4 July 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
13. Penwill, Alice (24 May 2024). "ITV Emmerdale Nicky star shows off stunning physique with washboard abs". OK! . Retrieved 21 August 2025.
14. "Emmerdale's Lewis Cope announced as Strictly contestant after Kristian Nairn withdraws". ITV News . Retrieved 21 August 2025.
15. "Ruff Diamonds polishing their dance act for TV semi-final". The Northern Echo. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
16. "Hetty Feather - Series 5: 1. The Return". BBC . Retrieved 21 August 2025.
17. "BBC One - Doctors, Series 22, Trapped". BBC . Retrieved 21 August 2025.
18. Griffiths, Eleanor Bley. "Vera cast | Full list of cast and characters for season 14 | Radio Times". Radio Times . Retrieved 21 August 2025.
19. "Emmerdale to introduce new character as Home Farm tensions begin". Digital Spy . 6 December 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
20. "Mrs Sidhu Investigates: Season 1, Episode 4 | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 21 August 2025.
21. "Strictly adds Emmerdale star to 2025 line-up following withdrawal". Digital Spy . 21 August 2025. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
22. "London's Billy Elliot to Welcome New Billy Plus Riding and Caffrey". Playbill. Retrieved 21 August 2025.

External links

• Lewis Cope at IMDb