nick's exit in 2005 was celebrated by frances grant, who labelled the character "gormless" and "boring", comparing him unfavorably to the "coronation street" character ken barlow. however following burnett's appearance on the weight loss show "downsize me" in 2008, grant criticised the shows writers for axing the character and suggested burnett's weight loss could have been a potential storyline for nick. "the edge" broadcaster dom harvey had been an avid viewer of the soap but following the axing of nick, refused to watch another episode until he was reinstated, ultimately campaigning for his return 9 years later. in 2006 galvin campaigned for the return of nick and named him as a "comic gift" and his favourite character. in 2012, the character was named as one of the standout characters of the show's first 20 years. the storyline that saw nick marry rachel and the 2002 marriage of nick and waverley, have been voted by fans as two of the show's most iconic moments. in 2016 a stuff.co.nz reporter named nick as the 5th character he most wanted to return to the show. they believed reuniting nick and rachel would "no doubt be a winner".