In his acting debut, Pickard played Mio, the lead role in
Mio in the Land of Faraway (1987), starring alongside a young
Christian Bale, where he was credited as Nicholas Pickard. In 1993, Pickard played a minor role in
EastEnders, appearing as a young homeless boy. In addition, Pickard has appeared in other television programmes, including
Us Girls and
If You Were Me. He appeared in music videos for "
Over My Shoulder" (for
Mike + The Mechanics) and "
Almost Unreal" (for
Roxette). He landed the role of
Tony Hutchinson in
Hollyoaks in 1995, becoming a member of the original cast. He remains in the role to date, and has since become the longest-serving cast member, having played the part since the inaugural episode. Over the years, Pickard has been nominated for a number of awards independently and some nominations with colleagues. In 2017, Pickard won the
British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement in honour of his achievement of playing the role for 22 years. In 2005, Pickard's brother
John joined the cast of
Hollyoaks, portraying the role of
Dominic Reilly, the half-brother of Tony. When John left the programme in 2010,
The Daily Star released a news article claiming that Pickard was set to follow in his brother's footsteps and depart
Hollyoaks, stating that he was "disgusted" with his brother's "axing". However, Pickard denied these reports, confirming that he was happy and had no intentions to leave the soap. Pickard has appeared in theatre productions including
Richard II,
An Enemy of the People and
Edward II. He also joined the cast of the 2009 pantomime adaption of
Cinderella at
Liverpool Empire Theatre, where he portrayed
Dandini. His break from
Hollyoaks to perform in Cinderella was planned and written into the show. In 2011, Pickard participated in the sixth series of
Celebrity MasterChef, where he reached the final though lost out to
Phil Vickery. In 2016, he once again participated in a game show, appearing in an episode of
Pointless Celebrities, playing the game in a partnership with his
Hollyoaks colleague
Alex Fletcher. In November 2023, he participated in the
twenty-third series of
''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' and, on 6 December, was the 4th celebrity to be eliminated from the show. ==Filmography==