1981–2004
Nick was born on New Year's Eve 1980. After Brian's murder in February 1989, Nick began misbehaving, but Martin Platt (Sean Wilson) proved a calming influence. In 1991, Martin, now married to Gail, adopted Nick and changed his name. Brian's mother Ivy Tilsley (Lynne Perrie) was furious and was devastated when she discovered this, igniting her feud with Gail and Martin. In order to not have a Platt name, Ivy changed her will to say Nick would inherit her house if he kept the name Tilsley. She persuaded him to become an altar-boy at St. Luke's in exchange for a place on the football team. Ivy also reported Gail to social services, saying that she was an unfit mother. Nick's relationship with Ivy caused friction with Martin. Nick began to rebel, taking up smoking and demanding to be called "Nick" rather than "Nicky". When Ivy died in 1995, she stipulated in her will that Nick would only inherit from her estate if he changed his surname back to Tilsley, which would come back to haunt Martin and Gail years later. He did so and arguments sprang up about the house, then occupied by Ivy's widower, Don Brennan, who eventually bought the house from Nick for £12,000.
In July 1996, Nick stayed at home while the rest of the family went away on holiday, but, tired of his maternal grandmother Audrey Roberts' (Sue Nicholls) fussing, he ran away and was reported missing. Upon his return, he claimed to have been living rough in London and working in a cafe. Nick's stories cause Jamie Armstrong (Joseph Gilgun) to want to run away to London; when confronted by Jamie's mother, Tricia (Tracy Brabin), Nick admits that he only lasted two hours in London and spent the rest of his time in Torquay. Gail allowed Nick to go and live with her half-brother, Stephen Reid (Todd Boyce) in Canada, hoping that it would improve his behaviour and his education.
Nick returned to Weatherfield in 1997 to study Physical Education at Tech. Gail did not approve of his relationship with troublesome sixteen-year-old Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson), but Nick and Leanne eloped and rented a room from Ashley Peacock (Steven Arnold), due to Nick's desire to live independently. While Nick was at college, his class was visited by Darren Whateley (Andy Robb), during a lecture on Criminology. When Darren described the details of the crime he had been imprisoned for, Nick realised that Darren was the man who killed his father. Wanting revenge, he wrote to Darren under Leanne's name, asking to meet. Darren agreed and, when released on parole, he visited Leanne; who was frightened and furious with Nick for putting her in danger. When Nick told Darren who he was, Darren threatened him. Nick reported him to the police and he was arrested and returned to prison for violating his parole conditions. In December 1998, Nick was short of money and started modelling for his art teacher. Leanne suspected him of adultery and confronted him as he posed in front of the art teacher. On New Year's Eve 1998, Leanne refused to attend his eighteenth birthday party and Nick was shocked to discover that she was pregnant. In April 1999, the art teacher suggested Leanne have an abortion and Nick demanded that she do so. Leanne reluctantly agreed and was upset to learn that he was telling people that she miscarried. Nick returned to Canada alone after Leanne told him that she no longer loved him.
Nick reappeared at Gail's wedding to third husband Richard Hillman (Brian Capron) in July 2002 and soon began dating Maria Sutherland (Samia Smith). She agrees to join him in Canada, but learns from Audrey that he has a girlfriend. Heartbroken, she decides not to go. Later, having been reassured, she accompanies Nick to Canada, but she soon returns, saying that Nick was not spending enough time with her.
Nick returned in September 2003 and became friends with Sarah's boyfriend, Todd Grimshaw, (Bruno Langley). After a night of conversation and bonding, Todd, who was struggling with his sexuality, attempted to kiss Nick. In May 2004, Nick was disgusted when Sarah forgave Todd.
Nick found work at the Underworld factory. When Janice Battersby (Vicky Entwistle) made fun of him, he had her sacked, but was forced to reinstate her when Harry Flagg (Iain Rogerson) reveals that he saw what Nick did. When Janice accidentally started a fire at the factory in March 2004, Nick saved her. At the hospital where Todd worked as a porter, Todd confessed to Karl Foster (Chris Finch), that he kissed Nick. Nick reconciled with Maria and they moved into No. 8, despite Gail's disapproval. Leanne returned to Weatherfield around the same time, following a chance encounter with her father Les Battersby and Steve McDonald, who were on a night out together. Angry with Maria for sleeping with her stepsister Toyah Battersby's (Georgia Taylor) boyfriend John Arnley, Leanne attempted to come between them. Having lured Nick to her flat, she sent Maria a photo of them together. Maria dumps Nick and he leaves Coronation Street, accepting a job in Nottingham.
2009–present
On Christmas Day 2009, Nick (now played by Ben Price) returns to Weatherfield. He becomes interested in buying a share of Underworld but Carla Connor (Alison King) declines his offer. He briefly meets Leanne, who has told Carla not to trust Nick but she accepts and he becomes a partner. Nick ends his partnership with Carla a few months later and decides to open a bar/restaurant, calling it The Joinery. Leanne, although disgusted initially, agrees to become manager. It is clear that Nick still has strong feelings for Leanne. Although Leanne is dating Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne), Nick is still in love with her and asks her to leave Peter, but despite sharing a kiss, she refuses. Eventually, Nick succeeds in seducing Leanne and they have an affair. After Leanne ends it, Nick pretends to be Peter's friend to annoy Leanne and threatens to tell Peter about their affair. In December 2010, when Peter is critically injured in a gas explosion that destroys The Joinery and the subsequent tram crash, he and Leanne marry in hospital. When Peter learns of the affair in February 2011, he forgives Leanne. In February 2012, Leanne eventually ends her marriage to Peter after his affair with Carla and reconciles with Nick in June 2012.
In December 2012, Nick and Leanne book their wedding for Christmas Day but Leanne visits Peter after he admits that he wants her back and Leanne's sister, Eva Price (Catherine Tyldesley), reveals all at the wedding causing Nick to leave. That evening, Nick confides in David's wife Kylie Platt (Paula Lane), and she reveals to him that Eva has been quietly causing trouble between him and Leanne. After a heart-to-heart, they sleep together. However, the next morning, they agree that it was a mistake. In January 2013, Nick and Leanne reconcile and finally marry, just as Kylie announces that she is pregnant. Nick encourages Kylie to have an abortion and she gives it serious thought but changes her mind after David stops her, as he wants to start a family. Nick and Kylie agree to keep quiet about their one night stand as there is a chance that David could be the baby's father. In August 2013, Nick and David are involved in a car accident after David overhears Kylie talking about her one-night stand with Nick and then begins a vendetta against Nick and Leanne. Eventually, Nick and David argued about Nick's night with Kylie. David was desperate to stop Nick from telling Kylie and Leanne everything, fearing that he would lose Kylie. Panicking, he tried to get Nick to stop the van. In the struggle, David removed Nick's seatbelt and stopped the van in the middle of the road, resulting in the van being hit by a lorry and knocking them unconscious. David only suffers minor injuries but Nick is in a coma and has an emergency operation to remove a blood clot from his brain. While Nick is in a coma, Kylie gives birth to a baby girl, who she names Lily Platt. When Nick awakes, he has a panic attack when he sees David. Later, when Nick can talk more fluently, he blackmails David to get a paternity test to see who Lily's biological father is; under the threat of telling the police and the rest of their family how the accident really happened. David acquiesces to his brother's demand and is relieved to learn that he is Lily's father. Nick later gets easily frustrated, as he has trouble with his short-term memory and is discharged from hospital with a walking stick, and moves in with Leanne so that she can look after him. On the day of baby Lily's christening, everything is revealed. The Platt family disown David, but Nick is distraught by Leanne leaving Weatherfield. The next few weeks are extremely difficult for Nick, so he is delighted when Leanne returns and wants to give their marriage another go, but struggles to cope with his tantrums and short temper. She is shocked when he lashes out at her adoptive son Simon Barlow (Alex Bain) and promptly moves in with her mother Stella Price (Michelle Collins), telling Nick that they need a bit of space, but Nick tells Leanne to stay with Stella permanently. They remain friends and business partners.
In December 2014, Nick has a fling with Erica Holroyd (Claire King). When Nick starts to think that their fling is a relationship, Erica sets him straight. She then leaves the street to look after her mother. When Erica returns, she tells Nick that she is pregnant and he decides to be there for Erica. At a pub quiz in May 2015, Erica has stomach pains and she is rushed to the hospital, where Nick and Erica learn that she has had a miscarriage. In July 2015, Nick soon starts a relationship with Carla and he helps her get help for her gambling addiction. In December 2015, Carla later proposes to Nick and Nick accepts. The next day, Nick gathers his and Carla's families together and gives her an engagement ring. In May 2016, on their wedding day, Nick finds out about Carla's one night stand with Robert and that Tracy had blackmailed her to give Robert the business. He forgives her and they marry, but he soon regrets it. He hits Robert before Carla goes on the rampage trying to knock Tracy over but accidentally hits Cathy. This causes the majority of the street to hate her, so she leaves Weatherfield for good.
In August 2016, Nick learns that Leanne is pregnant and is moving to Liverpool to be closer to Toyah. After a heart-to-heart with David, he realises that he still has feelings for Leanne. When Simon secretly phones Nick, Leanne admits that she still loves him and he persuades her to stay. Leanne later admits that the father of her baby is Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) and Nick struggles to accept it. When the truth comes out about Steve being the father of Leanne's son, Oliver, Michelle and Nick kiss before Nick tells Michelle that he still loves Leanne. However, in May 2017, on a family day out at the seaside, Nick gets stuck in quicksand but is rescued. In June 2017, after saying goodbye to Gail, Nick gets in his car and drives out of town to start a new life elsewhere.
Nick returned in October 2018 following Leanne's involvement in a car accident. Nick remained at her bedside until she regained consciousness. Due to her being on medication, a drowsy Leanne told Nick to stay and that she loved him, but later on, when she had fully recovered from the effects of her medication, she was shocked to see Nick and asked him to leave. Even so, Nick continued to visit until Leanne told him that she could not forgive him or love him again due to what he had put her through and his absence during her lowest moments.
In May 2019, while on a Platt family holiday, David confessed to Audrey that Nick stole her money and not Lewis. Nick initially tried to deny involvement and blame the theft on their junior stylist Natalie Watkins, but decided it was the right time to finally come clean about what happened. Audrey was devastated upon finding out her grandson's deceit and slapped Nick across the face.
During 2020, the family discovers that his stepson Oliver has Mitochondrial disease, after Leanne fights for the hospital to keep his life support on, many family members begin to question her intentions, including Nick, once it becomes clear that Oliver would not get better. Nick notices his former partner Natasha whilst in the hospital, with a young boy. It is soon revealed that this is Nick's son, Sam (Jude Riordan). When he reveals the news to Leanne, it causes a rift in their relationship, she even tells Nick to leave the flat. Eventually Leanne agrees to turn off Oliver's life support, and he died in November 2020.
Following the death, Nick builds a relationship with Sam, whilst Leanne becomes a depressed hermit in her flat. Due to piling debt, Simon is forced to deal drugs to help his step-mother. This eventually leads to Sam seeing Simon try to set someone on fire, and running off with Simons bag off drugs in his backpack. When Nick finds out about what Sam had seen, he confronts Simon, and Leanne soon learns the truth. Leanne tried to protect Simon by taking his place and dealing for his new boss Harvey (Will Mellor). Nick, who by this time is staying in Natasha's flat with Sam, begins to suspect that Leanne is having an affair, however she soon informs the police of Harvey's actions. A sting operation leads to Harvey's arrest and after making a statement, Leanne and Simon decide to go into hiding out of fear of reprisal. At the last minute, Nick decides to leave with them, saying goodbye to Sam and his family.
On 21 April, Sharon Gaskell makes a surprise return. It soon becomes clear that she is Harveys aunt, and that he is using her to find Leanne. She begins talking to Sam in order to find out their location through Nick. On 28 April, Sam manages to call Nick, but Nick does not reveal their location.
On 30 April, Peter is called into hospital to receive a donor liver, he tries to make contact with Simon by calling him, meanwhile Sharon informs Sam that Simon's father is receiving a transplant, she convinces him to phone Nick to inform him of the news. Simon overhears Nick informing Leanne about Peters surgery, and he runs off to see his dad. Whilst visiting Peter in the hospital, the doctor reveals the liver is unviable. A man is then seen informing someone over the phone of Simon's location, and when the pair are leaving, Peter overhears the man mention Simon's surname and tells him to run, Peter is attacked whilst Simon successfully escapes back to Leanne and Nicks secret flat. Peter is then told that the attack makes him appear unstable and therefore likely not a candidate for a transplant. When Peter is discharged from hospital, the same attacked is waiting in the car park to follow them, however Carla manages to slip away to visit Leanne and Simon to inform him that his dad is okay. Sharon later manages to find the address on Carla's phone, but when she sends the attacker to the address, it is empty. Sharon continues to find ways to track them down, eventually leading to Nick's son Sam getting kidnapped. Nick returns to the street upon hearing the news and when Sam is safe, Nick enters a taxi whose driver is revealed to be working for Harvey. He warns Nick that if Simon and Leanne give evidence against Harvey that he would harm Sam.
