"Nico" redirects here, for the actor portraying Newt, see Nico Mirallego.Template:InfoboxNico Blake, (born Sophie Blake, formerly Nico Bradley), was a character in the British television soap opera Hollyoaks played by Persephone Swales-Dawson, made her first appearance on 6 June 2014. The character and casting was announced on 20 May 2014. Nico made her first appearance on 6th June 2014. Nico has been seen in storylines involving pretending to be pregnant to cover up for Peri Lomax and Tom Cunningham, having a relationship with Trevor Royle's son Dylan, kidnapped by uncle Will Savage, murdered her mother's boyfriend's daughter Carly Bradley, her grandfather, Patrick Blake and her mother's lover, Trevor Royle.
Characterisation
According to Channel 4's official Hollyoaks page Nico is "intelligent, funny, but with quite a dark streak", as well as being quite mature for her age, as a result from going to care home to care home. It also mentions that although Nico has a tendency to push people away, this is down to a fear of rejection and in reality she just wants "to be loved and to be a part of a real family" and that she is "looking for a place in the world."
Characterisation
Channel 4's Hollyoaks website states that Nico gets her manipulative ways from her mother Sienna Blake. It also states how she has been passed from foster home to foster home.
Arrival
After weeks of searching for Sophie by Sienna Blake and Leela Roscoe, Nico arrives in the village and steals food from Dodger. He tries to help her out and she steals a bracelet belonging to Sienna. Nico is injured when Jason Roscoe (Alfie Browne-Sykes) throws bricks through Dodger's window. She later causes a fight with Jason and later Holly Cunningham (Amanda Clapham). She befriends Leela Lomax (Kirsty-Leigh Porter) to get closer to Sienna. She overhears Sienna telling Leela that she has found her daughter and praises her success. Nico is upset by this as she is actually Sienna's daughter. In reality Patrick has manipulated Sienna into believing her daughter is elsewhere. Nico tells Sienna the truth but she slaps her and calls her a liar. Feeling rejected Nico reignites an old feud between Sienna and Nancy Osborne (Jessica Fox). Nico then attacks Nancy and plants Sienna's bracelet at the scene to frame her.
Parentage
When Nico begins asking questions about her father's identity, Sienna becomes hostile towards her and asks her to stop asking questions. Nico then confides in her friend, Peri Lomax (Ruby O'Donnell) about Sienna, and makes hurtful comments about her, just as Sienna enters the room. Sienna then decides to tell Nico about her father, and explains that he went into the army and when he returned, he wanted nothing more to do with Sienna or Nico. Nico and Peri then begin searching for her father, but Dodger realises that Sienna made his identity up after finding an author of the same name. In September, Patrick tells Sienna that Dodger is Nico's father, but Sienna keeps this from her. Nico has an argument with Sienna and they fall out, which leads to Nico boarding the McQueen's party train which also contains the McQueen's, which crashes causing Nico to become injured. She is admitted to hospital, where Dr. Charles S'avage (Andrew Greenough) tells Sienna and Dodger that Nico was born with one kidney, that is failing and will need a transplant, but that Sienna and Dodger do not match Nico's kidney. Sienna is upset by this and turns for help. Theresa McQueen (Jorgie Porter) then tells Dodger that she will be tested to help Nico.
Relationship with Alfie Nightingale
Alfie's first storyline is with Nico Blake. Alfie shows Nico his pet iguna, Barry. The two bond when Alfie reveals to Nico that he was adopted by Mac and still has abandonment issues regarding his real parents, which Nico strongly identifies with. To celebrate the anniversary of his adoption, Alfie and Nico set fireworks off in the centre of the village. Alfie is then taken by Jason Roscoe (Alfie Browne-Sykes) to the police station for causing a public disturbance. Jason then lets Alfie off with a warning. Later, Nico tells Alfie about a theory she had about The Gloved Hand Killer, but the topic puts Alfie off their relationship temporarily. When Nico develops an unrequited crush on Jason Roscoe, Alfie realises that his affection for Nico is one way and the friendship dissolves.
Carly Bradley's Murder
When Sienna Blake is investigating Ben Bradley's personal life, she and Nico decide to break into his house to search for information he may be withholding from them. Carly Bradley (Sophie Wise), Ben's daughter, has been staying in the house unbeknownst to the girls and attacks Sienna, who she believes to be a burglar. Nico bludgeons Carly's head with a paperweight when she sees her attacking Sienna. Sienna then helps her cover up the crime and they hide Carly's body, making it seem as though she has run away from home. Though the police find the body quickly, there is no evidence to initially link Sienna or Nico to the crime. Sienna and Nico later find out that Carly was Ben's daughter when he tells them about Carly's death. The next day, Nico is arrested for Carly's murder when her phone is found at Ben's house but she was released when they realise that Carly was a drug addict and may have stolen Nico's phone from their flat to fund her addiction. Two weeks later Nico finally tells Maxine Minniver (Nikki Sanderson) the truth about Carly's death. Nico also confesses to Dylan Royle on the day he is sentenced to six months for dealing in legal highs. Dylan promises to keep Carly's death a secret, and does so, taking it to the grave when he is murdered by the Gloved Hand Killer.
Patrick Blake's Murder
Shortly after Sienna has married Ben, Nico is happy that she finally has a fully functioning family. This is short lived however when Nico realises she needs to kill her grandfather, Patrick, when she overhears him recording a video that states he knew who had killed Carly Bradley. Nico walks into Patrick's room, knowing Patrick had been amassing evidence to frame Maxine Minniver for helping him to commit suicide (due to his motor neurone disease), telling him that he can't let Ben know that she had killed Carly because it would break their family apart. Reaching for a nearby pillow, Nico suffocates her terrified grandfather, whose illness makes him powerless to stop her. Maxine is later convicted for Patrick's murder, when Nico delivers Patrick's faked suicide notes to the police to cover her own tracks.
Trevor Royle's Murder
On Grace Black (Tamara Wall) and Trevor Royle's wedding day, Trevor is having cold feet due to the affair he had been having with Sienna Blake. In The Loft, Trevor speaks to a picture of his son, Dylan Royle (who had died previously), talking through his concerns and asking for advice. As he leaves, Ben (Ben Richards) arrives, having been told by Sienna Blake (Anna Passey) that they had been having an affair for months. Ben is furious, and the two fight. Trevor leaves the club, and walks past Nico, who is immediately concerned. Ben comes out shortly after and Nico asks what happened. When Nico realises that her mother was having an affair, she begins to worry that Trevor poses a threat to her happiness, as the affair may break their family apart. As Trevor arrives at the church, Nico approaches him before he enters. Wishing Trevor good luck, she goes to hug him, which Trevor hesitantly accepts. As he wraps his arms around her shoulders, Nico stabs Trevor with a knife she had hidden in her pocket, telling him to enjoy the rest of his day and making a swift exit, unnoticed by the wedding guests inside the church. Trevor decides to ignore the wound, not wanting to let Grace down, and limps inside. The Wedding proceeds as planned but upon saying 'I do', Trevor collapses and dies in Grace's arms.
Kill Count
Carly Bradley-August 2015: Bashed over the head while she is fighting her mother Sienna Blake.
Patrick Blake-January 2016:Sufforcated with a pillow his later burried by Maxine Minniver and Darren Osborne.
Trevor Royle-May 2016: Sneakily stabbed while hugging Nico he later dies after getting married to Grace Black in her arms.
Total: 3
Death
Having developed an unhealthy fixation on Peri Lomax, Nico attends the Halloween Spooktacular event, arranged by Jude Cunningham, in order to attack Tom Cunningham, whom she believes has been trying to keep the two girls apart. Tom is able to make a lucky escape when Jude and Cindy Cunningham walk into the tent as Nico is attacking Tom with a crystal ball, just in time to rescue him. Nico makes a swift escape in the confusion, and hides in the hedge maze, closing off the entrance to the public when nobody is looking. As she enters however, police descend on the carnival in attempts to find her due to Warren Fox and Maxine Minniver earlier convincing Sienna Blake to retract her confession about the murder of Patrick Blake. When it became clear that Nico had made an attempt on Tom's life and that she had previously endangered the life of Peri Lomax, Cameron Campbell walks into the maze that Nico had taken refuge in and sets alight to the hay. Sienna Blake,who had earlier slipped past the police and followed Nico into the maze, talks to Nico about the crimes she's comitted and tries to convince her increasingly unstable daughter that she needs help. Nico is initially reluctant to engage and advances on Sienna, planning to kill her. Thinking quickly, Sienna is able to convince Nico that she wants to help her escape the maze to see Peri in hospital and Nico softens to her mother. Sienna reaches out to her daughter, explaining how she felt incomplete without her Sophie, Nico's birth name, and that she does not want to lose her daughter for a second time. Sienna holds tightly onto Nico's hand, explaining that they could slip quietly out of the maze together to see Peri in hospital before getting her daughter the help she desperately needs. When Sienna mentions Peri's name however, Nico is enraged and pushes Sienna down, claiming that Sienna never really cared for her and would 'never be her real mother'. She exclaims that her name would never be Sophie, fully believing that the reason she was 'like this' is because of her parents' incestuous relationship and that she didn't need help - her actions were completely justified and nobody could ever understand her.
Sienna then notices the fire, and the two are trapped inside the maze. Nico, trying to save herself, kicks her way through a dividing wall and does not realise that it is supporting one of the beams on the roof of the maze. When timber from the roof gives way, both Sienna and Nico are partially buried underneath it. Unable to move, Sienna asks if her daughter can escape, but Nico believes her leg to be broken. Warren Fox charges through the flames after hearing Sienna shouting for help. Despite her begging him to save her daughter, and Nico's desperate pleas for help, Warren saves Sienna first and promises to return for Nico. As she is carried out, Sienna tells Nico she loves her, but Nico responds with a cold "I hate you!" Sienna can only watch in horror from the outside as the maze collapses down on her daughter and the flames consume what is left of the rubble.
Aftermath
After her death is confirmed to Sienna at the hospital, Nico is able to make a final posthumous attempt at her mother's life. When collecting Sienna's belongings from her flat, Warren Fox notices a laptop has been left open with an ominous 'play me' note taped to the keyboard. Upon playing the video, it emerged that Nico had recorded a farewell video for Sienna, thanking her for all she had become. In the video Nico claimed to be proud of her 'achievements', and explained that she would be running away to somewhere new. When Maxine inadvertently takes a sip of orange juice that was beside the laptop, Warren orders her to put it down. He searches the trash to discover clippings of foxglove, a poisonous plant that Nico had favoured in her schemes. Warren presumes that Nico had made one last attempt on Sienna's life to remove the last links she had to the murders she'd committed. Both Maxine and Warren decide to destroy the evidence and not to tell Sienna, out of concern for her mental health.
Intro
- 2015-2016: Nico swings on a swing in the rain.
- 2016-: Nico is behind a burning bin.
