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Emmerdale star Nicola Wheeler is one of the longest-standing actors on the Yorkshire-based soap.

The 48-year-old soap veteran joined the ITV series as Nicola Blackstock (now King) in 2001 and earlier this year, celebrated her 21st year anniversary portraying the scrappy Dales resident on and off.

While Nicola King's onscreen life has been quite tumultuous over the years, with her character almost perishing in a house fire and suffering a devastating miscarriage, Nicola's life off-air has also had its fair share of adventure.

READ MORE: Emmerdale's Nicola attacker 'exposed' as fans spot harrowing clue

Born in April 1974, the budding actress grew up in Nelson, Lancashire and attended Walton High School.

Before finding fame, she appeared in one episode of Derek Acorah's Ghost Towns and made her acting debut in a Poldark TV movie in 1996.

In 1999, Nicola joined Emmerdale's rival ITV soap Coronation Street as Melanie Tindel for a handful of episodes.

She made her on-screen debut as Nicola Blackstock in Emmerdale in 2001, quitting the soap in 2006 and going on to return 18 months later.

In 2015, Nicola took another break from the series while pregnant with her now six-year-old son, with her character briefly written out of scenes as she moved to Dubai.

She returned later that year and has stayed on ever since, branching briefly away from the role while making an appearance on Sky One's now-defunct reality show Cirque de Celebrité.

Off-screen, Nicola lives in the Yorkshire area with her son and husband Matt.

On a recent appearance on Loose Women, the actress even suggested her house was haunted.

During an interview, Nicola revealed that her Emmerdale co-star Sam Giles warned her off a "negative energy" she had picked up while in the house, encouraging Nicola to get rid of it.

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Speaking to The Mirror about her career, Nicola said: “I am lucky to have been in Emmerdale for a long time and I am happy playing a catty cow.

“I often laugh at what my ­character is saying, and ­sometimes I do wonder why she hasn’t been murdered by now."

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7pm, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays, on ITV

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