Nell Fairfax is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Scarlett Archer. She made her first appearance on 30 March 2017. Archer was grateful to join the soap opera and was able to quit her job as a waitress, although she found the Emmerdale filming schedule terrifying. She enjoyed playing Nell due to the character being different from herself. Nell was introduced as a recovering drug addict who Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson) meets at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. Nell reminds Jai of his former girlfriend Holly Barton (Sophie Powles), who died of a drug overdose. Jai tries to help Nell and he becomes her rock. Nell later moves in with him and they start a relationship, much to the disapproval of Jai's family. Nell later tells Jai that she has a daughter who was taken into care; Jai encourages Nell to track Rosie down, but Nell then reveals that Rosie has died and supposedly takes him to her funeral.
In July 2017, it was announced that Archer would be leaving the soap at the end of Nell's storyline. Nell's exit storyline begins when Nell tells Jai that she is pregnant, which he is shocked by. He decides to propose to Nell, but he ends up discovering that Nell has been conning him since they met. Nell then confirms that she is not a drug addict, she does not have a daughter who died and she is not pregnant, and it is revealed that Nell searched Jai out after reading about Holly's death in the hopes that she could make him happier. Archer revealed that she had known about the twist since she joined the soap and that she had tried to give clues to show that Nell was lying by making her emotional scenes seem not too real, which led to people telling Archer that she was a bad actress. Archer kept the reveal a secret from her family and friends as she did not want to spoil the surprise for them. Nell's final episode aired on 12 September 2017, which involves Nell leaving the village and beginning to con someone else.
Viewers were suspicious of Nell since the beginning of her stint, which Archer believed was due to the fact that Nell came out of nowhere. Critics reported how viewers were unsure if Nell could be trusted. Critics were suspicious of Nell and noted the similarities between Nell and Holly. Some viewers speculated that Nell could have contributed to Holly's death, whilst others theorised that Nell could be the secret daughter of established character Emma Barton (Gillian Kearney). Viewers were conflicted of Nell's claim of her daughter dying, with some believing the character and others thinking that it was fake. Following the exposure of Nell's lies, some viewers were shocked but others felt happy that her con had been exposed. Fans had theorised that Nell had tracked Jai down after reading the article about Holly's death, which was later revealed to be correct.
Casting Scarlett Archer made her first appearance as Nell Fairfax on 30 March 2017. The character had been revealed earlier that month in spoiler promotions. Archer was grateful for being cast in the role, explaining, "It feels like a bit of a dream at the moment – I need someone to pinch me! When I was working before, I was taking a few days out to film something and then going back to my day job". Archer was able to quit her role as a waitress when she was cast on the soap, which she found "amazing". Archer had previously worked with her Emmerdale colleague Danny Miller, who plays Aaron Dingle, on Jamaica Inn. Archer believed that working on Emmerdale was amazing and was grateful that her colleagues had been "lovely" and supportive, although she called the filming schedule "quite terrifying". She enjoyed playing Nell due to the character being so different from herself, as she is more grounded and confident than Nell. Archer had watched Emmerdale before joining the cast, and she described her aunt as a "diehard" fan. Archer believed that she looks different to Nell in real and thus tends to not get spotted often in public by fans, though she joked that a fan would recognise her if she was hungover.
In July 2017, it was reported that Archer would be leaving Emmerdale at the conclusion of Nell's storyline with Jai. The news came following the announcement of other cast members departing the soap opera. A source revealed, "Scarlett came in as Nell for a very specific storyline. She was always leaving at the end of her current contract and viewers will not be disappointed with her exit. Nell's departure will have a massive impact on Jai. He's only just got his life back on track so her exit could well send him spiralling out of control once again. He's managed to stay off drugs all these months but losing Nell could spark a relapse". However, an Emmerdale spokesperson told Digital Spy that they would not comment on the storyline and Nell's exit storyline would be kept a secret from viewers.
Development Introduction Nell first appears at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting that established character Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson) is attending. Jai has been struggling with addiction and grieving of the death of his girlfriend Holly Barton (Sophie Powles), who died of a drug overdose, and when he sees Nell he is shocked at her resemblance to Holly and how similar the two women's stories are. Jai tries to befriend Nell and gives her his jacket as she is cold, but she ends up stealing his wallet. Bisson explained that Jai is in a "sensitive place" and his feelings about Holly are heightened at the meeting, and that he is being quite revealing about his feelings when Nell comes in; the actor added Nell's story resonates with Jai and combined with her looks "there's definitely something there and a resemblance to Holly". Bisson revealed that Jai is hurt that Nell steals his wallet after he is so nice to her but takes it "well", explaining, "He understands Nell's situation and how addicts are. Rather than calling the police, he takes her out for something to eat and he offers her help. By the end of that first meeting, Jai is hopeful that Nell will come back to the next NA meeting so she stays clean." Bisson was glad that Emmerdale was exploring Jai's grief and praised the soap for their commitment to exploring addiction as he believed that it is important to show that "addiction problems don't just disappear and every day can be a struggle".
Relationship with Jai Jai tells Holly that she reminds him of someone that he used to know and that he wishes that he had helped, and Nell "takes this opportunity" to reveal that she is currently staying on a friend's sofa. Jai's brother-in-law and former rival Rakesh Kotecha (Pasha Bocarie) warns Jai that he should be wary of Nell. Jai is a "rock" for Nell, who is struggling with poverty and addiction issues, and his help is transformative to Nell, with the two supporting each other through difficult times. Bisson liked working with Archer and praised her for being excellent in scenes and hitting the ground running. He added that he and Archer had worked hard to get the story about Nell and Jai's relationship right. Archer believed that Nell was initially craving Jai's support as she was in a bad place at the NA meeting and Jai was very kind to her, and she later fell for him.
Nell attends the birthday party of Rishi's niece, Amba Metcalfe (Ava Jayasinghe), where she wears an outfit that makes her the "spitting image" of Holly. Archer explained that this is not deliberate as Nell has never met Holly, and that Nell has her "own sort of Bohemian style" which is similar to Holly. Amba ends up being placed in "danger" after playing with Nell's bag and finds her prescription drugs. Amba plays with them and everyone is unsure whether she has taken any and the blame falls on Nell, who is worried that Jai will cut ties with her. Archer believed that it was not Nell's fault as she did not leave them lying around, and called it an "accident". Archer explained that Jai is the only person who has been there for Nell but he worries that she has returned to taking drugs, and Nell is in a "desperate situation" and needs his help as she has nowhere else to go. Jai's father, Rishi Sharma (Bhasker Patel), is shocked when he discovers a homeless Nell sleeping in his factory, so Jai promises to stand by Nell and take her in from the street despite his family's reservations. Archer explained that Jai's kindness is very "surprising" to Nell and she is very grateful. Archer explained that Nell sleeping in the factory was a "last resort" as she was discharged from hospital with prescription drugs to help with her addiction due to there not being much else that the doctors can do to help her. Jai's sister and Amba's mother, Priya Sharma (Fiona Wade), is not happy about Nell moving in and is worried about how living with an addict may affect Amba, but Jai will not let this stop him from helping Nell.
Archer explained that Priya shows Nell a lot of hostility and is suspicious of her intentions, but that Nell really wants to be accepted by Priya and the whole family as Jai is the first person to show Nell "this sort of kindness" in a long time. The actress was unsure of how Nell feels around Jai, as whilst she tries to kiss him, she believed that it was Nell being overwhelmed by his kindness. Speaking to Lorraine, Bisson hinted that Jay could be headed for disaster, explaining that Nell and Jai "have come together because of what's happened to them in the past, but the audience are thinking that there is going to be trouble ahead." However, Archer explained that Nell is genuinely troubled and struggling but is trying her best, but also believed that Nell and Jai do not "look the best when you put them on paper". Archer also explained that Nell has to contend with Jai's family, especially as his sister is protective of Jai and thus there is a lot of "hostility" between her and Nell, which is an environment that Nell finds difficult. However, Bisson later told Inside Soap that Nell likes Jai's family environment as she has never had that and now she feels secured, which is important to her.
Nell later moves into Jai's home and the pair develop a close bond and romance. Nell ends up taking Jai's baby daughter, Eliza Sharma (Kyrena Robinson), when she is left unattended, which infuriates Eliza's mother Megan Macey (Gaynor Faye). Nell apologises several times and explains that she only took her to bring to Jai as she was left alone. Nell and Jai rebuild their friendship and Nell reveals that she is the mother of a young girl named Rosie. She explains that Rose was taken into care after she took heroin for the second time, and reveals that that is why she did not call the police about Eliza, as she did not want social services to take Eliza away. Nell reveals that she blames herself and Jai apologises for doubting her and promises to support her.
Rosie Jai is happy when Nell arranges to speak to social services about finding Rosie and he books her a pampering session so that she can feel confident and make a good first impression. He later speaks to Holly's mother Moira Barton (Natalie J. Robb) about moving on from Holly. Bisson explained that Jai does want to move on feels that he has to explain himself to Moira when she sees him and Nell together as he does not want her to think that he has forgotten about Holly or that his feelings have changed. Nell overhears their conversation and packs her bags and decides to leave the village after misinterpreting Jai's feelings. Emmerdale spoilers suggested that Jai could lose Nell "for good". Bisson explained that Jai is upset that Nell has misunderstood what he was saying to Moira, and believed that if Nell had heard the whole conversation "she would probably understand that Jai's intentions were honest and that he was actually being very open with Moira about his feelings towards Holly and never forgetting her".