How can I use `&` in an alias

Question

I want to add an alias for nedit editor

alias ne='nedit' 
or 
alias ne='nedit $1'

works fine

but i want to add & at its end:

alias ne='nedit $1 &'

so that if i do

ne filename

It should open filename in nedit and run it in background

but I get an error

filename : command not found

How can I pass an argument and send the process to the background using aliases?