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Nicola Walker as DI Annika Strandhed© UKTV/Alibi

Inside Annika star Nicola Walker's private life away from the spotlight

The London-born actress enjoys family trips to Cornwall

Nicky Morris
TV and film writer
August 30, 2023
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Nicola Walker is back on our screens in the second season of Alibi's hit crime drama, Annika – and we couldn't be happier to see the star reprise her role as the titular DI in Glasgow's Marine Homicide Unit. 

The series follows Annika Strandhed as she and her trusty team investigate gory crimes in and around the water on the Scottish coast.

Annika is just one of Nicola's TV roles that cements her status as a household name. The 53-year-old is known and loved for her acting parts in major BBC and ITV dramas, including The Split, Unforgotten and Marriage. But while Nicola is a regular fixture on our screens, how much do you know about her life away from the cameras?

WATCH: Are you enjoying Annika season 2?

Nicola Walker's love life

Nicola is married to fellow actor Barnaby Kay, whom she met whilst starring in a play called The Libertine when she was 25.

The couple welcomed their son, Harry, in 2006, and tied the knot the same year. 

Barnaby Kay attends the press night after party for The Donmar's production of "Welcome Home, Captain Fox!" in 2016© Getty
Nicola's husband is fellow actor Barnaby Kay

Chatting about marriage with Woman&Home back in 2017, the London-born actress said: "I was always quite daunted by the idea of marriage; my parents had the most amazing partnership, and no one wants to be the one who gets it wrong. But now that we've done it? Actually, it was just the legalities we were missing before."

She also described how she and her husband spend quality time together at home. "He'd hate me for saying this, but [Barnaby's] a brilliant musician, and when Harry's in bed, sometimes we'll open a bottle of wine and he'll play the piano while I drunkenly sing along," she revealed, adding: "I love it when we do that."

Sanjeev Bhaskar and Nicola Walker in Unforgotten
Nicola Walker is known for her roles in major TV shows, including Unforgotten

Barnaby has appeared in various TV shows over his career, including Netflix's Anatomy of a Scandal, the BBC drama Wallander and the comedy-drama series, New Tricks. He also appeared in an episode of Spooks when Nicola was starring on the show.

Does Nicola Walker have children?

Yes, Nicola and Barnaby share one child named Harry, whom she named after her Spooks co-star Peter Firth's character, Harry Pearce. 

Where does Nicola Walker live?

Nicola lives in north London with her family. The star's home life is "grounded, regular and sane" and an important part of who she is, according to The Guardian

Nicola Walker as DI Annika Strandhed in Annika© UKTV/Alibi
Nicola Walker stars as DI Annika Strandhed in Annika

In an interview from last year, she revealed that her son hasn't watched any of her work in full, although her husband is "very supportive". "I don't think my son has ever seen anything I've done," she told The Mirror. "He's seen bits but he's never watched a whole episode, because obviously that's weird, as I'm his mum.

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"My husband, Barney, watches it though. He's very supportive."

nicola walker everything you need to know© Photo: Rex
Nicola has a son named Harry

Nicola Walker's life away from acting 

When Nicola's not busy filming for the latest hit drama series, she likes to spend time with her family and regularly journeys down to Cornwall. 

"We spend a lot of time in Cornwall, which usually involves my husband waking us up (too) early shouting, 'It's operation body board!' Then he throws us in the car and we arrive on a beach at 8am, shivering in wetsuits," she told Woman&Home. "He's right to do it though because when we're throwing ourselves around on our pieces of polystyrene in the sea, life doesn't get much better."

Nicola Walker as DI Annika Strandhed as Annika© UKTV/Alibi
Nicola lives in north London with her family

She added: "Nothing beats a ridiculously long walk where you get a bit lost and end up in a pub with an open fire. I'm a terrible map-reader and I often find myself telling farmers I'm terribly sorry, while they shout at me with my map upside down."

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