I’M A Celeb star Nick Pickard has secretly raised millions of pounds for charity by organising Hollyoaks football matches.
The actor, who has played loveable chef Tony Hutchinson since the soap’s very first episode back in 1995, even washes the football kits and puts on a spread before each game.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, his close friend and Hollyoaks co-star Ashley Taylor Dawson, 41, said: “Nick is Mr Hollyoaks. He’s an amazing friend. He’s always been there for me, and looked out for me.
“But what a lot of people don't know is all the money he’s raised for charity with the Hollyoaks football matches.
“It’s all Nick. He’s always done it. He gets in contact with the charities, the amount of work he’s done over the years, we’ve raised millions and that’s all down to Nick and all the hard work he does, the organising, he goes beyond organising the games.
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"He does the kits, gets the transport, sorts the hotels, does the lot and he does that off his own back, and that’s commendable.
“He’ll get everyone to meet at his house, he’ll put on a full spread for us all. He cleans all the kits puts them in bags, labels them, he does that all off his own back.
“When people say he is Hollyoaks, he really is.”
Ashley, who has played Darren Osborne since 1999, also reveals that Nick is the guy you want with you at every party even if it means a trip to A&E at the end of a night.
Ashley said: “Nick is a party starter. He is a buzz to be around, that just sums him up. He is the guy you want at every party. We’ve grown up together and it’s been amazing. Nick is just great fun.
“Back in the day we were out every single night of the week. The only thing I learnt about life was that Tuesday was the worst night of the week to go out as there was nothing going on.
“The one thing we always did was make sure we knew our lines, turn up on time and do our job well.
“I think anyone from the crew, any of the departments, they'd all say that about Nick - he’s a grafter. He does the job. We play hard and we work hard.
“When Josie Gibson said to Nick about going into work a bit tipsy, I mean, come on, you only have to look at our lot, I had to smile.”
Reliving a night they ended up in A&E after Nick accidentally put his foot through a glass table Ashley said: “There was this one time we were all out together at a party, Nick loves a dance, he is the life and soul of any party and he kind of put his foot through a glass table!
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“There was blood everywhere. This poor person’s flat, the blood it was just everywhere.
“He was like ‘It’ll be alright mate’ he gets this little towel and tries to put it around his leg... I was like ‘mate let me have a look at it’ you could literally see the tendons in his foot! He kept saying ‘I’m fine mate’ I’m like no mate we’ve got to go to the hospital, but that’s just him. Luckily I got him to A&E where he got his foot sown up and his tendons put back together. But that’s Nick all over ‘It’s only a scratch mate, I’m okay’ when he clearly wasn’t.”
Ashley has known Nick for 25 years, and views him like a brother. The pair have grown up together both on and off screen.
He said: “I’ve been with the show 25 years now, and Nick has been there since the beginning, we’re like a big family, as cheesy as it sounds, but we’ve been there for each other through thick and thin, through life and death sadly, it’s a huge part of our life, it is our life, as everyone knows you go through life and you share it with you best friends, and that’s what we are.
“We all hold each other in such high esteem and go to the ends of the earth for each other when you need it. Life throws you melons sometimes and you’ve got to deal with it.
“He’s like a brother. There’s about eight of us lads who go way back, I’m not going to say what we call ourselves, but we’re top mates and would do anything for each other.
“If one of them called me and needed something I’d be there in a flash, no matter what’s going on. We’re very lucky to have such a close group of mates and some of us still get to work together. It’s exactly what you want from a friendship. We are all the first all ground each other. No-one gets above their station, because you wouldn’t get away with it. It’s all about having a laugh and having fun.”
Nick confided in Ashley before he flew out to Australia to take part in the hit ITV show.
His only worry was getting caught up in any camp arguments.
Ashley said: “He told me he was doing it when he could and we were both just buzzing about it.
“We’ve got a lovely group of mates, we all play golf and go away together, it’s just hilarious watching him now.
“I think his biggest worry was confrontation and anyone putting that on him because he’s not that type of guy, he’ll say it as it is but he won’t be getting involved in any drama.
“I think that would be most peoples fears, you’re going into a reality TV show you don’t want anything to go against you.
“He’ll definitely say it as it is and he won’t suffer fools but he’s also not the one to get involved. He’ll leave that to me normally.”
But there’s one thing that viewers have yet to see, Nick’s clumsiness, which Ashley can’t quite believe.
He said: “Nick is one of the most beautiful men I’ve ever met in my life but he’s so so clumsy.
“He’s got no spacial awareness, you could be walking in the middle of a football pitch just the two of you and somehow he’ll stand on your toes and trip you up, there’s no-one even around, and you’re like what are you doing?
“He’s got so many wonderful habits that are so endearing but it’s just comical and I can’t wait for them to pick up on it all.
“He also zones out all the time. You’ll be chatting to him and he's not even there, and he’s just clumsy as hell, he’ll fall over everything. I just can’t wait for people to notice those things it’s just a given it’s going to happen.”
Nick will be returning to Hollyoaks as Tony once he’s finished his stint in the jungle. The soap recently moved from Channel 4 to E4 and had an overhaul of bosses at the top with Hannah Cheers and Angelo Abelo taking over from Lucy Allan.
The pair have a huge stunt planned for next year and have brought back Hollyoaks legend Emma Rigby, Darren’s first wife Hannah Ashworth.
Her mum Suzanne, who enjoyed a romp with son-in-law Darren behind her daughter’s back, is also returning along with their twins, Frankie and Jack Jnr.
Ashley said: “Emma is back, and Suzanne. Hannah was Darren’s first wife. We went to Amsterdam and came back married.
“I then slept with her mum and had twins, and even delivered them with my bare hands! It’s been great working with them both again.
“The twins are now teenagers and they’re going to cause some trouble.”
And on the new bosses, Ashley said: “Hannah Cheers was there in the glory days when Hollyoaks were winning all the awards.
“She’s Hollyoaks through and through, and also Angelo, he’s a director born and bread, it’s so nice to have someone on that side.
“I think the thing with producing a show sometimes you have a vision and an understanding of what you want but getting there isn’t always easy, and anyone knows our place, we still use single camera, it’s easier said than done.
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“I now feel like we’ve got these two thoroughbred horses who are collaborating on making the show what it should be and bringing it back.
“There’s a great buzz there at the moment, everyone feels like they’re in a good place. Everyone has got total confidence in the producers doing what they’re doing and we want to take the show back to where it was.”
