High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Nicholas Charles "Nick" Cotton is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders played by John Altman on a recurring basis from the soap`s debut episode in February 1985, through to his last appearance to date in 2009. Nick is the son of characters Charlie and Dot Cotton, and the father of Ashley and Dotty Cotton. His storylines have seen him twice commit murder, succumb to a heroin addiction, and attempt to poison his own mother, amongst numerous other misdemeanours. Nick was also the subject of a special spin-off episode, The Return of Nick Cotton, which aired in October 2000. He has been voted one of television`s all-time most villainous characters in a Channel 4 poll.