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Now that you're back, my options look a whole lot sweeter!

—Nigel to Taranee, K is for Knowledge

Nigel Ashcroft (voiced by Michael Reisz)[1] is a recurring character in the W.I.T.C.H comics and TV series.

Personality[]

Silent and reflective, Nigel was once part of Uriah's Gang. Unlike his friends, however, Nigel is a sweet and caring person. Most of the time, he's pretty shy and quiet, but he won't hesitate to defend his friends and others from bullies.

In the comics, while a part of Uriah's gang, Nigel was reluctant to join in on their pranks and would often try to be the voice of reason against more risky endeavors, though he was barely ever heeded.[2] After developing a crush on Taranee Cook and being sentenced to community service over one Uriah's pranks,[3] Nigel officially left the gang and hooked up with Taranee. Nigel begins to gain more confidence in himself and becomes more outgoing as he made friends with Matt Olsen, Martin Tubbs, and Taranee's own brother, Peter.

In the TV series, he seems to enjoy Uriah's pranks and is very open about his crush on Taranee. He cares about the impact his reputation has on her relationship with her mother and likes Taranee for being such a good girl.[citation needed]

Plot[]

TV series[]

Nigel was first seen standing in front of a table during the science fair with Uriah and his gang beside him. He looked up when Uriah started taunting Will as she passed them, but didn't speak.[4] He later waved to Taranee, after having asked her to the dance. As a part of Wreck 55, he was hanging out in the gym with Matt and the others of his band, unaffected by the Horn of Hypnos. When the Guardians saved the day, he was seen playing with the band for the party. He winked to Taranee and she smiled back.[5]

During the summer break after Nerissa's revival, Nigel was left in town with no one to hang out with but Uriah Dunn. He suggested that while he was seen with Uriah before, he never really hung out with the boy prior to vacation. Through this companionship, Nigel began to pick up bad behaviors including vandalism. When Taranee arrived on campus on the first day of school, he defended her from Uriah and helped her collect her belongings, expressing that he looked forward to seeing her that year. Later that same day, Taranee found him vandalizing the school statue and he tagged her initials with his inside a heart. However, they were found by Principal Knickerbocker and forced to clean the statue while Taranee barely escaped, being blamed for the act as well.[6]

This incident left a bad impression on Taranee's mother who banned Taranee from associating with him. At the club where they were supposed to meet for a date, Uriah came along and mocked Taranee again, showing that he had stolen her eyeglasses. Nigel managed to take them back, but was shocked to find Taranee had snuck out of her house and dressed herself up as a delinquent. Nigel was unimpressed by Uriah's attempt at hitting on her.[6]

When Nerissa attacked that club to get to Taranee, Nigel was forced to leave the building, not able to find the girl anywhere. He went to her house and heard her mother yelling at her for sneaking out. He apologized for causing her more trouble and when she complained of always being the good girl, he admitted that he likes her for being that way. He returned her glasses to her and kissed her, before sneaking down her balcony and off the grounds.[6]

Following this incident, though Nigel and Taranee did continue to interact, he was mindful of Judge Cook's disapproval of him and chose to keep a distance from Taranee to spare her getting in trouble, which made her angry at him as well as her mother. When Taranee did attempt to call him, her mother found out and confiscated her cellphone.[citation needed]

At some point, Taranee convinced him to begin secretly dating behind her mother's back, though Nigel remained hesitant as to not drive a wedge in her family. On one particular date to a sushi restaurant Princess Sushi, a couple of would-be thieves barged in to rob the building. Taranee and Nigel fought back and when the police eventually arrived, the two teens were framed as being part of the crime. Judge Cook met them at the courthouse, in a panic as she fully believed Nigel had swayed Taranee into becoming a delinquent. However, the owner of the restaurant gave his statement to the police to clear both teenagers. Judge Cook apologized for her previous accusations and while Nigel was fine to forgive this, Taranee was still angry and stormed off. Later that night, Taranee made up with her mother and was allowed to begin dating Nigel, starting with dinner at the Cook residence.[7]

When Irma announced a Battle of the Bands concert for K-Ship, Nigel immediately signed up his band, Wreck55 (not knowing that Matt was being controlled by Nerissa's magic). When the band tried to hold practice, Shagon-Matt struggled with Matt's song "The Demon in Me" which worried Nigel until they eventually perfected it. On the day of the concert, Nigel drew straws for the performance order and Wreck55 was to go last, though Matt had gone missing. By the time the show began, he still couldn't find Matt and Bess and Courtney Grumper teased him for losing his opportunity to play before a talent scout. Luckily, Matt returned, freed from Shagon, just in time for their performance. Though Nigel was doubtful when Matt declared they'd play "The Will to Love", a song they hadn't rehearsed for the competition, the group did a great job and impressed the talent scout.[8]

Shortly after, Nerissa snuck into Sheffield Institute disguised as new student "Stacy" and cast a love spell on the boys of the school, including Nigel. He fought among the other boys for her attention, completely ignoring Taranee, and even gifting "Stacy" with flowers which made his real girlfriend furious. Once Nerissa was defeated, Nigel and the rest of the males were freed from her spell.[9]

Nigel made a brief appearance walking through downtown Heatherfield and barely missed being crushed by Cedric. During the winter break, he joined Taranee on a group date with the other couples of W.I.T.C.H.[citation needed]

Comics[]

Nigel was with Uriah, Kurt and Laurent when they messed with the bikes. Unlike the others, he didn't enjoy watching Will and Taranee being angry over finding their bicycles thrown onto one pile. Shortly afterwards, he helped Uriah with putting firecrackers into the big Halloween pumpkin, which also made him feel uneasy. Obviously, he was terrified of the result of their dangerous gag and had to help clean up the campus the day after.[2]

He tried to persuade Uriah into not taking a dormouse to lock it into Martin's locker but was overheard and mocked once more for this. When Will interrupted them, defending Dormouse, Nigel de-escalated the situation and made Uriah to head off with him, Laurent and Kurt.[10]

Uriah and his gang headed to the museum to prove the stories about the encounter of guests with a monster (from Meridian) true. Once again, Nigel felt uneasy over the late-night visitation and was worried about being caught. When they encountered Cedric and Vathek, they tried to escape but got caught by the police after Kurt smashed the main entrance with a trash bin. At the police station, the boys told what they saw but nobody believed them. Instead, Teresa Cook punished them with ordering them to clean up the museum as community service for three months. Nigel was taken home by his father who embraced the Judge's order along with the other parents. As he cleaned the museum with the others, Laurent spied Taranee coming for a visit with her friends and Nigel became immediately defensive of her. He waved to her and she returned the greeting.[3]

Uriah attempted to bully Taranee in revenge for her mother's verdict, but Nigel foiled him by drawing Hay Lin's attention to them and forced Uriah to retreat. Later, he caught the butterfly Taranee had been looking for and left it in a box with her name on it.[11]

Taranee and Nigel went out on a date to the movies. Judge Cook worried over Nigel's previous crime, but Peter defended the boy as he was no longer a part of Uriah's gang and that she could trust him.[12]

Uriah was still bitter about Nigel leaving their group and decided to get revenge by framing him for the theft of another student's watch. This caused a rift between him and Taranee. Luckily, Martin was a witness to Uriah's scheme and after some convincing by W.I.T.C.H., told the principal the truth which cleared Nigel of any wrongdoing but also put him on Uriah's hitlist. Nigel tailed Martin after school, expecting Uriah to counterattack, and manages to step in just in time. Uriah turned the tables on his former friend and nearly crushed him with Martin's bookbag, only to be punched out by the "nerdy" student. Nigel and Martin became good friends, while Taranee, having watched everything while invisible, thought Nigel is a great guy.[13]

Judge Cook forbade Taranee to see Nigel, certain he's a delinquent, though Taranee had no intention of following her orders.[14]

Nigel was playing basketball with Matt when Martin wandered by with new kid Eric. He invited both boys to join the game and Eric accepted, though Matt was hostile towards the boy as he believed Will had a crush on him. Eric figured this out and manages to diffuse his jealousy while inviting the guys to the Silver Dragon on the thinly-veiled excuse see Hay Lin, his actual crush.[15]

Nigel was in the school courtyard when he was approached by Taranee's Astral Drop, though Taranee's mind was inside. The two were happily holding hands when Taranee's mother arrived and though they initially feared she would be angry, she instead invited Nigel for dinner at the Cook household, willing to give him a chance. Taranee was so overjoyed by this, that she kissed Nigel right in front of her mother.[16]

Nigel joined Taranee, Eric, and Hay Lin in writing an article for their school paper about the Rock and Roll Café. When they went for their visit, they found the restaurant closed for that day and ended up in a fight with Uriah's gang. The police were called and the whole group was taken downtown. When Judge Cook arrived, she didn't give Taranee a chance to explain, certain that she lied and was getting into trouble. She slaps her daughter in front of everyone, to Taranee's humiliation and rage.[17]

Taranee got into another argument with her mother and fled from her car, only to bump into Nigel on the street and ran to him for comfort.[18]

On the day Taranee was to leave with the rest if the school for their trip to Redstone, Nigel came by her house. Judge Cook questioned him skipping school for the visit but was led away by Peter while Nigel, presenting Taranee with flowers, bid her a safe trip.[19]

Some time while Taranee is away, Nigel met his older brother, Daniel. The older sibling holds a grudge against Judge Cook and convinced Nigel to join him in acts of vandalism against the judge and her family, especially Taranee. This strained Nigel's relationship with the Cooks until he finally broke away from Daniel and apologized, promising to make amends for what he's done. Taranee accepted him back.[20]

Taranee made a date with Nigel for after school but was forced to cancel it to attend the Oracle's trial. Nigel instead went to the beach to meet up with the other boys (Peter, Matt, and Joel), telling them about Taranee's cancelation while being teased by Joel.[21]

Nigel was spending time with Taranee, chasing each other around her house and almost leading to a kiss until Peter informed them that their pizza had arrived. Taranee chose to ignore it and kissed Nigel anyway.[22]

Nigel and Taranee returned to her home after a walk around town together, with him recalling how Martin defeated Uriah, not knowing Taranee saw. As they said goodbye at her door, Nigel kissed her.[23]

Nigel appeared in Taranee's flashback, having been with her when she received the news of her acceptance into the Jensen Dance School. He was originally very happy for her until hearing how much of her time it would take up, meaning less time for them to be together. She comforted him on the idea, promising to make time for them, but her mind was also on the new boy she'd met in class, Luke.[24]

Strain started to show in Taranee and Nigel's relationship as she tried to share her newfound love of dance with him, but he couldn't build up enthusiasm for it. In their limited time together, she talked about nothing but her classes and after she shook off his hand from where she'd injured herself - he stormed away, upset by the rejection. Feeling bad about his behavior, he later went to wait for her outside of Jensen Dance Academy and apologized while inviting her out to the Rock and Roll Café where Cobalt Blue was playing, which she happily accepted. However, while at the club, Taranee got distracted by Sheila and Luke, mistaking the two for having come together but suddenly elated to hear he wanted to invite her. As she lost herself dancing with her new friends, Nigel was left alone, completely forgotten.[25]

Nigel had enough and confronted Taranee, telling her to quit dancing as it was driving a stake between them. When he asked her about her feelings towards him, she admitted she wasn't certain anymore, running off while Nigel stood alone, heartbroken.[26]

Nigel attempted to call Taranee, but Peter picked up the phone instead. As asked by Taranee, he lied to the boy and said Taranee wasn't home. Following this, Peter got the story from Taranee and scolded her for her treatment of Nigel after all he's given up for her, including his own brother.[27]

After this, Nigel does not appear again, hinting that the two broke up.

Irma, under the influence of magic, berates Taranee for the way she handled her romance between Nigel and Luke.[28]

Taranee talked with her new friend, Mary Ann, about Nigel. She believed that having broken up with him was the right choice, but it still hurt to think about at times.[29]

Quotes[]

If you're not doin' anything tonight, there's a sweet band playing at the club.

—Nigel asking Taranee on a date, K is for Knowledge

The sweet thing is, that's kinda what I like about you. Glasses and all.

—Nigel to Taranee when she complains of being a good girl, K is for Knowledge

Gallery[]

Comics[]

Images of Nigel Ashcroft from the comics.

TV series[]

Images of Nigel Ashcroft from the TV series.

Other[]

Images of Nigel Ashcroft from other media, which may include concept art, promotional art, books, the manga, video games or from other official art.

References[]

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