EXCLUSIVE: Kimberly Hart-Simpson teases Coronation Street return for ‘brilliant’ storyline
Actress Kimberly Hart-Simpson has opened up about returning to Coronation Street as Nicky Wheatley – five years after she was introduced to fans of the soap
Kimberly Hart-Simpson has opened up about returning to Coronation Street.
The actress, 38, first appeared on the ITV soap opera as Nicky Wheatley in 2020, with the details of her casting being released just one month prior. Her character was introduced as a love interest for Daniel Osbourne, played by Rob Mallard following the death of his wife, Sinead Osbourne (Katie McGlynn).
Unlike most jobs, Kimberly found out about her character from reading scripts which revealed that she was a sex worker. But while the industry, the oldest in the world, is often shrouded in shame – Nicky had “strong reasons” for working in the job and wanted to share a deeper meaning for those working in the sex industry.
Despite her character being written out in 2020, Kimberly’s character has returned to Weatherfield on several occasions, most recently last year when Nicky she helped other women in the sex industry. “I thought it was brilliant,” she said of landing the role of Nicky. She exclusively went on to tell the Mirror: “I thought the way they had written the character and how they’d developed Nicky over time has been well thought out, balanced and fair.
Kimberly Hart-Simpson first appeared on Coronation Street five years ago (
WireImage)
Now, Kimberly has hinted at a return in the future (
WireImage)
“She represented a lot of women that are single parents and their motive for doing it in terms of their family aspect, I think that’s a great spin on it. We see her now as an outreach worker, so she’s not she’s not denying her past, she’s used that for an advantage for a future. She’s gone ‘I can recognise what these girls are going through, or whoever it is in that industry’ and now she’s using it as transferrable skills.
“I think that’s a really good outlook on the development of the character. When I first got the script, I just thought ‘We’ve got to remember the sex industry has changed,’ we’ve got OnlyFans now – we all know somebody that might be associated to that channel and it’s a respected place to work. I don’t see any issue in it.
“So I think Coronation Street, what they’ve done with Nicky is really, really clever and really representative of people in the sex industry.” “There’s nothing wrong with it at all, if you’re happy, you’re happy,” she said when discussing the rise in platforms such as OnlyFans.
But could viewers see Nicky back on screens any time soon? “We met Nicky four years ago and I’m still going,” Kimberly laughed over our call. She added that her appearance on the show was initially supposed to be a brief stint but is till “popping back and facilitating storylines.”
Kimberly’s character, Nicky, was a sex worker and helped break the taboo around the industry (
ITV)
Kimberly continued: “Thats the great thing about soaps, you chop and change into other characters lives. Of course I’d consider going back – I look at that time with such fond memories and have such positive emotions towards the show. But at the same time, if she didn’t, that’s ok too. It’s a great celebration of something which was meant that was meant to initially be much shorter, I think it’s great to want more but it’s also ok to sit and go ‘Ok that was great and if that was it, I really enjoyed it.'”
“What Coronation Street is allowed me to do is to go on to do some other incredible shows,” she beamed. But when she’s not filming TV work, Kimberly recently teamed up with British Heart Foundation and Omaze for their Bath draw – allowing those who participate in the competition to win a huge house and a hefty sum of cash.
“I’ve been working with British Heart for a long time now, before I was even an ambassador with them,” she said of her partnership with the charity. Kimberly continued: “I was shopping with them, so they’ve been in my life for as long as I can remember. Then of course, I joined them as the first ever retail ambassador.
The actress and British Heart Foundation have teamed up with Omaze’s Million Pound House Draw
“Then the Omaze came up, it seemed like a great alignment, I love houses, this house in particular is very nice – I’m really proud to be teaming up with them and what Omaze do the money that they’ve raised for several charities over the years is quite incredible.” But while Kimberly admits she loves a charity shop and a bargain, as well as wanting to be sustainable, she also has a deeper connection to the British Heart Foundation.
Her sister, Emma, was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy several years ago. The NHS states that cardiomyopathy is the general term for diseases of the heart muscle, where the walls of the heart chambers become stretched, thickened or stiff. “Obviously originally drawn in for other reasons and then realising my money was ultimately going to helping my sister and many other families beyond that – it’s strange how that connection came about.
“Everyone’s so committed to trying to raise money for charity because somewhere along the line in our lifetime, we’re all going to have a personal connection to one part of a charity. And this is definitely been a personal connection of mine, unbeknownst to me at the time.”
