Nicholls co-wrote the adapted screenplay of "Simpatico" and contributed four scripts to the third series of "Cold Feet" (both 2000). For the latter, he was nominated for a British Academy Television Craft Award for Best New Writer (Fiction). He created the Granada Television pilot and miniseries "I Saw You" (2000, 2002) and the Tiger Aspect six-part series "Rescue Me" (2002). "Rescue Me" lasted for only one series before being cancelled. Nicholls had written four episodes for the second series before being told of the cancellation. His anger over this led to him taking a break from screenwriting to concentrate on writing "Starter for Ten". When he returned to screenwriting, he adapted "Much Ado About Nothing" into a one-hour segment of the BBC's 2005 "ShakespeaRe-Told" season. For this, he was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Single Drama. He wrote a screen adaptation of his novel, "One Day", which was made into a film starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess.