Nicholas Berry (born 16 April 1963) is a retired English actor and pop singer. He is best known for his roles as Simon Wicks in ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'' from 1985 to 1990, and as PC Nick Rowan in '' Heartbeat'' from 1992 to 1998. He sang UK chart singles with " Every Loser Wins" in 1986, which went to number one, and the theme song from ''Heartbeat'', a cover of the

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...

song " Heartbeat", in 1992.

Early life

Berry started acting at the age of eight, and attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London.

Career

Berry played minor parts on television, film and stage, until his big break playing Simon 'Wicksy' Wicks in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

soap opera ''

'', joining the series shortly after its inception in 1985 and staying until the end of 1990. Berry's character was thought up overnight and had been scheduled to appear later. However, he was introduced to restore the cast balance distorted by the unexpected departure of actor David Scarboro who played the original Mark Fowler. Scarboro's departure meant many of his functions as one of the senior of the young characters would need to be taken over by another character and thus Wicksy was introduced rather sooner than originally planned and Berry was cast with minimal delay. He was quickly hailed as ''EastEnders top pin-up and during this time was besieged by fan mail from female admirers. Berry soon took a break from ''EastEnders'' to tour and make an album from which the number-one single " Every Loser Wins" came in 1986. The song was heavily featured within ''EastEnders'' in a plotline referred to as The Banned in which the youths of Albert Square formed a pop group and performed the songs on screen. It was the second-biggest-selling single in the UK that year, remaining at number one for three weeks. Its composers, Simon May, Stewart James and Bradley James, received an

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

. Berry returned to ''EastEnders'' after his musical career stalled but left again in an 'open to return' storyline which was aired in December 1990. His character has only made one brief re-appearance since in an episode dated 13 January 2012, marking the funeral of his on-screen mother, played by Pam St Clement. In 1992, Berry was cast in the role of policeman PC (later Sgt) Nick Rowan in ITV's drama series '' Heartbeat'' (1992–98). Berry recorded the title song " Heartbeat" in 1992, a cover of the 1958

hit, which reached number two in the UK singles chart and spawned a second album. His wife Rachel Robertson also appeared in the series in small one-off roles. Berry's era ended with a one-off twin episode special showing his character's new career as a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Officer. In 1998, Berry left ''Heartbeat'' for the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

series '' Harbour Lights''. Filmed around the area of

Bridport Bridport is a market town and civil parish in Dorset, England, inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the River Asker, Asker. Its origins are Anglo-Saxons, Saxon and it has a long history as a ...

he played harbourmaster Mike Nicholls, which ran for two series. Berry's other credits include ''The Mystery of Men'' with Neil Pearson and Warren Clarke, ''Respect'', ''Paparazzo'', "Duck Patrol", '' The Black Velvet Band'' with Todd Carty, and playing the police office Liam Ketman alongside

Stephen Tompkinson Stephen Phillip Tompkinson (born 15 October 1965) is an English actor, known for his television roles as Marcus in '' Chancer '' (1990), Damien Day in '' Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1998), Father Peter Clifford in '' Ballykissangel'' (1996� ...

in the BBC crime drama ''In Deep''. Berry retired from acting and ran his own production company called Valentine Productions. Berry resigned from the company in October 2019.

Personal life

Just before he joined the cast of ''EastEnders'', Berry fractured his skull in a car crash but went on to make a full recovery. During his time in ''EastEnders'', Berry was in a relationship with fellow cast member Gillian Taylforth, who played Kathy Beale. Berry married actress Rachel Robertson in 1994. The couple have two sons. Berry is a supporter of West Ham United F.C.

Filmography

Films

TV

Discography

Albums

* The two identically titled albums are different.

Singles

References

External links

* *
Nick Berry
– BBC Drama

– 'Heartbeat' {{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Nick 1963 births Actors from Epping Actors from the London Borough of Redbridge Alumni of the Sylvia Young Theatre School BBC Records artists English male film actors English male soap opera actors English pop singers Living people Male actors from Essex People from Woodford, London Singers from Essex