Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw has teased the start of a surprise relationship between Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) and Kev Townsend (Chris Coghill).
Kev was introduced to us last year as Robert Sugdenand (Ryan Hawley) the man of the secret prison.
He was a troubled soul and was terrified of the end of his relationship with Robert. To keep him around, Kev lied to Robert and pretended he had an incurable disease.
Kev arrived in the village just as Robert decided to return with him Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller). For a while, Robert led a double life, secretly seeing Aaron and falling in love with Kevin in front of the other residents. This eventually became impossible to continue, leading to Kev’s heartbreak.
He handled the sadness in classic Kev fashion and kept Aaron, Robert and Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) mortgage on the Mill Cottage flat. He eventually left town, but just before he did, he had a conversation with her Lewis Barton (Bradley Riches).
The pair had struck up a friendship while Kev was in the village, and it was later confirmed that they got on so well because Kev is actually Lewis’ biological father.
At the moment, Lewis does not know who Kev really is and this is because Nicola convinced Kev to keep quiet, concluding that it would be better for the young man if he did not know.
But with Kev’s return to the village this year, everything is sure to change. After all, there’s no way this massive family secret can stay hidden forever!
Ahead of Kev’s return, showrunner Laura Shaw has released some teasers about the drama he’ll be involved in.
She confirmed that Kev will end up hooking up with Nicola, which is pretty surprising considering they didn’t get on too well when he was last on the show.
“As we know, Nicola has taken on a motherly role with Lewis, so we’ll be seeing more of her and Kev,” Laura said in her chat with Inside the soap.
“Later in the year, Nicola will have some troubles of her own which Kev will be supportive of.”
Don’t miss a spoonful of soap! Add us as a favorite resource
As a loyal Metro Soaps reader, we want to make sure you never miss our articles when searching for stories. We have all the latest soap news, spoilers, videos and interviews, with a vibrant community of highly engaged readers.
Click the button below and tick Metro.co.uk to make sure you see stories from us first on Google Search.
It’s very possible that Kevi will be there for Nicola after her the loss of husband Jimmy King (Nick Miles).
A few days ago it was reported that Nick’s character Jimmy, which he has played for 22 years, will be killed off.
His exit will coincide with The explosive return of Sadie King (Patsy Kensit).
A source recently told Metro: ‘The scenes promise to be spectacular, but the outcome will leave many fans shocked.
“It may prove controversial, but the surprising story will set in motion some massive ramifications for many months to come.”
After this devastating ordeal, will Kev be the one to help Nicola as she tries to deal with her grief?
It has also been confirmed that fellow Emmerdale stars Olivia Bromley and Bradley Johnson are also stepping down from their roles as Dawn Taylor and Vinny Dingle.
MORE: All the Emmerdale cast returns, exits and new arrivals in 2026
MORE: Kev kicked out of Emmerdale’s main storyline – but his return is looming
MORE: All the Emmerdale cast returns, exits and new arrivals in 2026
