Emmerdale star Nicola Wheeler said she had to take months away from the show for a hip replacement surgery.
Not long before a brutal attack scene that saw Nicola's character, Nicola King, beaten up and blooded, she was forced to undergo major surgery. The move forced the show to bring in a body double as there was no possibility Nicola could perform the stunts herself.
The 48-year-old opened up about the topic in an interview on This Morning where she revealed the show asked her if the gruesome scenes were okay. She said: "I took a couple of months off for a hip replacement and they told me about this story and they said: 'what we are going to do is we are going to bring you back and beat you up, is that ok?'
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"I said 'fine, but I can't throw myself on the floor' so the stunt double did anything truly physical just because obviously I was still healing."
Nicola's character has since been in a delicate situation, not fully being able to process what has happened. She said viewers are seeing her believe she's getting better as time goes on when the opposite is true.
She added: "She doesn't handle the vulnerable side of herself very well, she always sees herself as the powerhouse of the family, she's the support and she doesn't accept the help that's on offer either. She's got a great network of support with her friends and family but she decides to take the route of lying that she's okay and it backfires totally as we see this week and next week."
Emmerdale celebrates its 50th anniversary this year but all of the cast has remained tight-lipped about any possible causalities, drama or fights that are on their way. Nicola also refused to budge on spoilers as she wrapped up her ITV interview. She said: "Something does come up in the future, just when you think this story may have been put to bed something else comes along and then obviously we've got our 50th year and maybe something might happen which might mean she can't spend time in the village anymore."
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