Nick Berry is a retired English actor and pop singer, best known as Simon “Wicksy” Wicks in the BBC soap opera EastEnders and as PC Nick Rowan in the ITV drama Heartbeat. He was born on 16 April 1963, so he is 63 today. In 1986 he also spent three weeks at number one on the singles chart with “Every Loser Wins,” a song that began as a plot point on a television show.
What sets his story apart is how he handled the exits. He left EastEnders to avoid being typecast, left Heartbeat for a change of scenery, and later stepped away from acting to be home with his two sons. This profile follows each of those decisions and what came after.
Nick Berry at a Glance
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Nicholas Berry |
| Born | 16 April 1963, Woodford, Essex, England |
| Known For | EastEnders (1985–1990), Heartbeat (1992–1998), and the number-one single “Every Loser Wins” |
| Spouse | Rachel Robertson (married 1994) |
| Children | Two sons |
| Status | Retired from acting |
Where Is Nick Berry Now?
Nick Berry is retired from acting and keeps a low profile. Smooth Radio reported in April 2026 that he has largely stuck to that decision and is often seen out and about, enjoying everyday life. No new acting project has been announced.
His last screen appearance was the single EastEnders episode in 2012. Since then, the record shows no return to regular work.
Early Life and Training
Nick Berry was born in Woodford, Essex, and started acting at age eight, according to Wikipedia. He trained at the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London, and IMDb notes that he picked up minor film and television parts before his break.
Those early jobs were small. They included a 1976 episode of BBC2 Playhouse, single episodes of the anthology series Dramarama in 1983 and 1984, and the fantasy serial The Box of Delights in 1984. He also appeared in the 1983 films Forever Young and Party Party.
Wicksy and the EastEnders Years
EastEnders is a BBC soap opera set in Albert Square, a fictional East London neighborhood built around the Queen Victoria pub. The show began in 1985, and Nick Berry joined shortly afterward as Simon Wicks, nicknamed Wicksy. Wikipedia lists him as a series regular across 466 episodes.
The role came together fast. Wikipedia reports that the character was thought up overnight and meant to arrive later, but he was brought in early to fill the gap left when David Scarboro left the show as Mark Fowler. Berry was cast with almost no delay and was soon called the top pin-up on the show, with a heavy stream of fan mail.
Just before he joined, he fractured his skull in a car crash and made a full recovery, per the EastEnders Handbook as cited by Wikipedia. During his time on the show he was in a relationship with castmate Gillian Taylforth, who played Kathy Beale.
Why He Left in 1990
Smooth Radio reports that Nick Berry left because he feared being typecast as a London ladies’ man. He has said Wicksy began as a boy-next-door type until the writers reshaped him into the new romantic lead after Den Watts left, a change he resisted because it did not fit the character he had built.
His departure in December 1990 was written as an open-door exit. The character came back once, in an episode dated 13 January 2012, for the funeral of his on-screen mother Pat Evans, played by Pam St Clement.
“Every Loser Wins” and the Pop Career
In 1986 a fictional pub song became a real hit. Wicksy sang “Every Loser Wins” alone at a piano in the Queen Vic in episode 165, and the song grew into a storyline called The Banned, in which the young residents of Albert Square formed a pop group.
Public reaction pushed Nick Berry to record it properly. Smooth Radio describes it as a Cliff Richard-style ballad, and it went out as a single on 13 October 1986. It stayed at number one for three weeks and was the second-biggest-selling single of the year, according to Wikipedia. Its writers, Simon May, Stewart James and Bradley James, won an Ivor Novello Award. It also reached number 93 in Australia.
Wikipedia notes that the song was heavily featured in EastEnders through the summer of 1986. Regular airtime on the soap gave the song a built-in audience before its release.
The follow-up was harder. The debut album from Nick Berry, also titled Nick Berry, came out on 1 December 1986 and peaked at number 99. A 1987 single, “It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time,” did not chart, and Wikipedia says he returned to EastEnders after his music career stalled.
Heartbeat: The Second Act
Heartbeat is an ITV period drama set in Aidensfield, a fictional North Yorkshire village, during the 1960s. Nick Berry took the lead in 1992 as PC Nick Rowan, a police officer who moves from London to a quiet rural beat and has to adjust to its pace and quirks.
Wikipedia’s entry on the series says it was meant as a launch platform for Nick Berry after EastEnders. Early series drew more than 10 million viewers, and the show ran for 18 series until ITV announced its cancellation in June 2010. Berry appeared in 96 episodes as a series regular between 1992 and 1998, and Rowan was promoted to sergeant along the way.
The Song Behind the Show
Nick Berry also recorded the opening theme, a cover of the late-1950s Buddy Holly song “Heartbeat.” Released on 1 June 1992, it reached number two on the singles chart and number 18 in Ireland. A second album followed in November 1992 and peaked at number 28, and “Long Live Love” reached number 47 that October.
The Canadian Farewell
When Nick Berry left in 1998, Rowan was written out as an emigrant to Canada who joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. That storyline became the twin-episode special Heartbeat: Changing Places, and a photo credited on Wikipedia shows Berry on location in Cochrane, Alberta, that year. Smooth Radio says he had outgrown the show and wanted a new setting.
Sources disagree on the end date. A fan-run wiki gives 1995, but Wikipedia, Apple TV and the Canadian special all point to 1998, so that is the date used here.
Harbour Lights, In Deep and Other Roles
After Heartbeat, Nick Berry moved to BBC One for Harbour Lights, playing harbourmaster Mike Nicholls in a series filmed around the town of Bridport. It ran for two series and 16 episodes. He then played police officer Liam Ketman opposite Stephen Tompkinson in the crime drama In Deep, which covered 22 episodes from 2001 to 2003.
Smooth Radio describes both shows as poorly received. His other credits include The Mystery of Men with Neil Pearson and Warren Clarke, The Black Velvet Band with Todd Carty, and the film Paparazzo.
Nick Berry’s Wife and Sons
Nick Berry married actress Rachel Robertson in 1994, and they have two sons, Louis and Finley, according to Smooth Radio. He has said he met her when she was 17 and fell for her at once, while she took some convincing.
Robertson made small one-off appearances on Heartbeat, and IMDb notes that Louis has appeared in the series too. Wikipedia also lists Berry as a supporter of West Ham United.
Most family details come from interviews carried by Smooth Radio, and Wikipedia flags the two-sons detail as needing a citation. Treat them as widely reported, not officially confirmed by Berry himself.
Why Nick Berry Stopped Acting
Wikipedia gives the acting years of Nick Berry as 1983 to 2003, plus the 2012 EastEnders cameo. In an interview with The Mirror, quoted by Smooth Radio, Berry said that when he joined Heartbeat he had no wife or children, and that everything had changed since.
Time away from home was the sticking point. He has said he felt he was rarely there for his young sons while filming. He described the job itself as pleasant, with a driver and food always on hand, but the family life he was missing mattered more to him.
In 2011 he said he could return once the boys were teenagers, but added, “I haven’t really missed it.” He also said he would never rule a comeback out, and that he was happy as he was.
The 2012 EastEnders cameo shows the door was never shut. Even so, Nick Berry has chosen not to walk back through it for regular work.
He also ran a production company, Valentine Productions. Wikipedia says he resigned from it in October 2019, while Smooth Radio reports the company was dissolved in 2020. The two dates are consistent with him leaving first and the company closing afterward.
Nick Berry Timeline
| Year | Career Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1963 | Born in Woodford, Essex |
| 1976 | First credited television role in BBC2 Playhouse |
| 1985 | Joined EastEnders as Simon Wicks |
| 1986 | “Every Loser Wins” reached number one |
| 1990 | Left EastEnders |
| 1992 | Started Heartbeat; the title song reached number two |
| 1994 | Married Rachel Robertson |
| 1998 | Left Heartbeat |
| 2001–2003 | Played Liam Ketman in In Deep |
| 2012 | Returned to EastEnders for one episode |
| 2019 | Resigned from Valentine Productions |
Nick Berry Net Worth
Smooth Radio reports that Nick Berry built up a fortune of about 5 million pounds before choosing a quieter life. That is a public estimate from one outlet, and Berry has not confirmed it.
Wikipedia does not list a net worth for Nick Berry, and no primary source such as a company filing gives one. Estimates like this depend on assumptions about salaries, royalties and business income, and they go out of date. Treat the figure as a rough marker, not an audited number.
Legacy: A Career Shaped by Its Exits
The legacy of Nick Berry is about timing more than volume. Smooth Radio calls him the first meaningful pin-up on EastEnders, he took a storyline song to the top of the singles chart, and he led a drama that ITV kept on air until it cancelled the show in 2010, twelve years after his farewell.
There is also a detail that is easy to miss. Both of his big chart hits came straight out of television roles: “Every Loser Wins” from Wicksy and “Heartbeat” from Rowan. Each song is tied to a different long-running show.
The record is not all wins. His albums charted well below his singles, and Smooth Radio says his later BBC dramas landed softly. Still, the pattern holds. Each time he left, he gave a reason: typecasting, restlessness, then family.
For readers new to his work, the 1986 single and the early Heartbeat episodes are the clearest entry points. He stopped acting after In Deep in 2003 and has stayed away since, apart from one funeral scene in January 2012.