Let's start by talking about how Nick has been feeling in the build up to this week, ever since he found out that Sam was writing to Harvey. That's his worst nightmare, right?
Absolutely, he's a late father, Natasha Sam’s mum is dead and he’s now the only parent. Yes he’s got Leanne but that’s not being easy after her loss. Sam is a smart little cookie and it doesn't really matter what Nick says he'll find a way of doing it anyway and it's Nick’s worst nightmare. But he also recognizes logically that Sam wants to exorcise the past, get some facts for himself but as a parent he feels sick. I think he feels lost.
Is Nick surprised about the deception that Sam has gone to behind his back? How does that make him feel as a dad?
He always says you can come and talk to me about anything, he doesn’t want to push him. But he can't help himself sometimes because I think he feels like he wasn't really parented, especially by his dad, his mum and gran were great, but he didn't really have a dad and he's struggling to work it out. He doesn't want to be like Brian and he talks about that. He talks about how he lost his dad and what it did to him. He's struggling, he wants to be the new kind of Dad who’s like ‘Hey, do what you want’ but the other side of him is frightened. He's really frightened about what Harvey will say, that he’ll turn around and say I don't really care what happened to your mum. And how does a young child deal with that? And how does Nick deal with that?
So, fast forward to this week and the meeting is set up. How does Nick feel about taking his son to meet the man who killed his mum?
I think there's two things, there's one meeting Harvey and there’s two taking him into a prison. Taking a small child into a really violent, scary world is one thing, and then the second thing is Harvey and what Harvey represents. If Harvey doesn't show contrition and just uses it as a bit of an excuse to have another go at him or Leanne. Nick sees it as 70/30 it's only really going to go wrong but going against Sam would have long term consequences and could really affect him. If Harvey turns out to be very bad, and says I didn't care about your mum, then at least you know, at least you can't turn around at 25 and go dad I had all these questions and you didn't let me ask them. This is parenting and he’s parenting a child who can vocalise emotionally what he's feeling.
The facilitator goes with them, just talk us through how it goes because Sam interrogates Harvey doesn’t he? How is Nick feeling when Sam's asking all these questions?
Nick has been told to not really say anything, to not get involved. I think at the start he’s really fearful because he thinks that Sam is out of his depth but then as it goes on there’s a bit of him that’s like, well go and then go for it. He can see that it's got to Harvey and the more he stays out the harder it is for Harvey. Harvey recognizes a fight, he doesn't recognize a fight with a child, a child who's really clever. Sam has read the books and he decides he’s going to nail him here.
There's a point where he discovers that Harvey's mum died, is that a moment for Sam where he knows he can get to Harvey?
Yes and he pushes into that. No one's just pure evil, Nick says they are and Sam’s like there’s something else and he wants to find out what it is. There’s a moment in the prison where Nick realises that Sam is growing up and going, I think I've got this dad. And Nick has to go whether you have or you haven’t I’m here.
So does Nick feel as though actually the visit has been a success?
Yeah, I think so. I think he feels like it might be uncomfortable for you, Nick, but you've got to step up as a dad, whether it goes badly or not. I think this is part of Nick becoming a parent, a proper parent. You can't always make children do something they don't want to, so you’ve got to pick up the pieces and that's what being a parent is. But I think suddenly he realises we both walked through it and I think he also recognizes that he needs those moments with his son, where he walks through it with him, because if he says no every time it gets sticky then it’s going to end up like it did with Peter’s son Simon, where Peter just said no all the time, Simon got angry, Simon ran away. Nick doesn’t want to become Peter. It's interesting how he doesn’t really acquiesce to Leanne, he recognises he’s the parent, he always supported her choices with Simon but now I just need your support.
So how does Nick feel then when he suddenly gets this message that Harvey wants to see him and wants him to come back?
He thinks Harvey's thought of a plan to get at Sam, he’s more suspicious about why he’s called him back? What's in it for you? Then he gets there and running through as an undercurrent of this story is Nick and Leanne’s bid to buy the Bistro. So talk me through then what happens when he goes to prison and Harvey gives him a piece of paper.
All three of them go this time, Harvey drops a piece of paper, knowing somehow that Nick’s having trouble with buying the bistro, and it’s basically bank details so he can borrow the money. I think Nick naively imagines that one Harvey will never get out of prison and two he genuinely feels bad about what happened to Sam and is giving him the money. Nick half believes that and the other half just goes look I need this, I need something for Sam, I'll work it out later. I think he feels like his child needs to be left with some legacy because he wasn't.
He takes the money but then they get a good deal from Debbie, so in theory he doesn't need the money, but then she plays them over the dry rot doesn’t she?
Yes suddenly he needs thousands and he just thinks Harvey's in prison what could go wrong. He’s definitely a bit niaive about how these people think.
Do you think Harvey surprised him when he did listen to Sam, do you think that’s coloured Nick’s judgement about Harvey?
Yes, I think Nick saw a child, I think Nick saw just as much of a little child in all three of them. They’re all kids who have had real bad things happen to them. Maybe Sam was right, no one is born evil, maybe he has changed. Nick normally is quite wary of most people but this time he just thinks oh, come on, he's in prison. He’s completely blinded by this unusual situation.
Clearly this is a huge mistake that Nick has made, is he going to tell Leanne?
No, absolutely as Nick is Nick he will try and get away with it until it's too painful and he’ll have to tell her. But he thinks he can easily get away with this, he also thinks he can easily pay it back. It's not such a huge amount of money, Harvey’s not going to be able to force the situation from prison and Leanne doesn’t need to know. It’s going on a legitimate business, eventually Sam and Simon will benefit from it. So he justifies it to himself, even though on the outside, in the cold light of day you go yeah, that’s not smart.
Nick isn’t really someone who does stuff on the wrong side of the law is he and I guess this isn't illegal?
He stole that money from his gran, but he's not intrinsically a bad character. He’ll generally go to the good side and not the bad side. Actually he sees this as having many more upsides for everyone than downsides.
He must know in his heart of hearts that that money has not been got through correct circles?
Yes but Nick's a bit of a businessman like that, I think that's a bit of his dad coming out, it’s not great but I’m not going to ask. I think that's the dichotomy with Nick, he's always trying to pull himself back to the centre, but there is still a bit of his dad in him, which is like, don't look back. This could all be fine, he could just be giving him the money, but that's not going to be the case is it.
Glenda Young
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3 comments:
Nick's father was murdered when he was a young age as well...wonder why he doesn't draw on that resource as he certainly can identify with the young lad. Not once has he mentioned this to Sam has he?
Nick must have talked about his father’s murder because Sam asked how Nick felt about Darren Whately, Brian’s murderer.
The hardest thing is seeing Will Mellor as a baddie when he is so likeable on Strictly Come Dancing.
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