Nicola King (also Blackstock and De Souza) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale.

Wheeler took maternity leave throughout 2015, which was woven into the soap as Nicola departing temporarily on 26 March 2015, to work in Dubai for six months.

In July 2007, it was announced that Wheeler had reprised the role, and Nicola returned on 12 September of that year, 18 months after initially leaving the soap.

Within months, Nicola becomes interested in chef Carlos Diaz (Gary Turner), unaware that he is having an affair with Bernice.

Nicola's mother, Maureen suggests she goes home with her but she decides to stay with Rodney and eventually forgives Bernice and becomes godmother to her newborn niece, Gabby Thomas (Annelise Manojlovic).

Nicola frequently clashes with Viv Hope (Deena Payne), and local siren Chloe Atkinson (Amy Nuttall).

She dumps Robert by allowing him to see her having sex with builder Syd Woolfe (Nathan Gladwell) in her living room.

Nicola's relationship with Syd comes to a halt when she finds out he is also having an affair with Chloe who is dating Scott Windsor (Ben Freeman).. After successfully starting a cleaning business and employing Pearl Ladderbanks (Meg Johnson), Betty Eagleton (Paula Tilbrook) and Laurel Potts (Charlotte Bellamy), Nicola meets Geordie fishmonger Simon Meredith (Dale Meeks) in November 2003 and after a bumpy start, they begin dating.

However, there are many obstacles, such as his ex-fiancée Tash Abbott (Sally Evans) and his mother, Lesley Meredith (Sherrie Hewson).

Following the engagement, problems escalate when Lesley finds herself in debt and Simon continually bails her out, forcing the wedding to be put on hold.

Jasmine Thomas (Jenna-Louise Coleman), David's girlfriend catches them and exposes Nicola's lie about being a widow as her current husband Donald De Souza is still alive but in a coma following a brain haemorrhage.

Donald regains consciousness in late December and Nicola, wanting his inheritance, plots to murder him and asks David to help much to his horror.

Nicola, presented with the opportunity to kill Donald on some cliffs, confesses and he agrees not to tell the police providing he leaves her house.

Nicola decides to write a children's book, based on tales Rodney has told Gabby about his days working at the fairground and sells the stories to the publisher.

She moves in with Edna Birch (Shirley Stelfox), following brief stays with the Pollards and her brother, Paul and Katie Sugden (Sammy Winward).

Rodney and Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) get Nicola to hospital, where she gives birth to a daughter, Angelica with Jimmy by her side.

In 2013, Nicola wants to send Angelica to a posh school but when Jimmy tells her they cannot afford it she is loaned the money from Bernice's boyfriend Steve Harland (Tom Mannion) who is only too happy to give her it as he is attracted to her.

She was nominated for Inside Soap's Bad Bitch award in 2009 and in a poll run by website Digital Spy, 95% of voters were on Nicola's side of Jimmy's amnesia storyline.

The scene where Bernice finds her sister paralysed with fear, sobbing on the living room clutching a basketball bat, was comfortably among the most powerful moments of the year.