Character Spotlight - Nicole Franklin (Mar - Apr)

When Nicole first arrived in the bay we covered her as a new character in the magazine and described her as "self absorbed, selfish, spoilt, snobbish and a complete and utter brat who once again has our forum members divided". Whilst a lot of those character traits remain in Nicole, few can argue that she has matured an enormous amount during her time in the bay. Her relationship with Geoff matured from a bet to taking his virginity to not actually being about sex at all. Her mother Natalie's arrival in the bay saw another side to Nicole, finally we realised why she was so insecure and selfish and a lot of forum members started feeling sorry for her. Her decision to allow Natalie a second chance and repair their relationship despite Natalie's attempts at sabotaging it saw her behave incredibly maturely. The way she handled her father's relationship with Leah was completely opposite from her spoilt reaction when Roman initially hooked up with Charlie. The biggest change in Nicole though has come from becoming her father's carer and putting up with his mood swings whilst he came to terms with his blindness. Having someone else to look after, especially after Aden's departure has seen a new Nicole, a mature one who was capable of thinking of people other than herself. Whilst she still remains a fun character, the new more rounded Nicole has been interesting to watch and is played superbly by Tessa James.

Here's a few of our forum member's comments on Nicole's transformation:

Regarding her personality change throughout the episodes she's been in, I love the way we've seen her gradually go from princess to a caring person, without having left behind her spoilt little brat self, one side I think she reserves for whenever she's with Aden or her own father.
I also like how, despite the fact that she's had a pretty hard life in terms of receiving proper affection from anyone, which makes her very insecure and therefore prone to seek attention from those she loves, she's still pretty tough and I admire how easily she tends to forgive and forget whoever has hurt her in the past.
(LittlePrincess)

There was a time when I really hated her and now I love her. I think she's a brilliant character. She's so great for Geoff. She messes up, but she realises it, which is a very rare quality in the, usually quite sanctimonious, teens on the show. (Rachel&Kim)

I love Nicole she is such a great character, she's a bit shallow, but she's also just a lot of fun. She is just such a refreshing character and I think Tessa James does a brilliant job playing her. (dramagirl)

When Nicole first came on the show she really annoyed me with her "princess" act but now she'd have to be one of the favourite characters. Her relationship with Roman has come a long way and I love the relationship she has with Aden. I hope they keep them as just friends for the time being, at least. (Lise)

I have gone from not particularly liking/disliking her to her being one of my favourites on the show! I love that on the surface she seemed to be just a spoilt little princess who wanted her own way all the time, but really she is far more complex than that. I think bringing her Mum into the show, has shown us why Nicole was/is the way she is. (Deborah)

I've always loved Nicole's chracter and i used to feel bad for that because she was such a brat but i think it was because, good or bad, she always made things interesting. Even if you hate her you can't really deny that things are never dull when she's in a storyline. (Karter)

I dont particulary like or dislike her but she is a good character and is very complex. She has grown a lot since she has arrived. I love how she and Geoff are having a no-sex relationship and it really shows how much Nicole has matured. At first she was a total man-eater but now she is a totally different person. (sexyluc)

When Nicole first came on the show she really annoyed me with her "princess" act but now she'd have to be one of the favourite characters. Her relationship with Roman has come a long way and I love the relationship she has with Aden. I hope they keep them as just friends for the time being, at least. (lovelyindia)

So ever since the OC we have been seeing Nicole transform, overnight, into this mature, kind hearted, caring, loving, only wants to be with the guy she loves, doesn't deserve anything bad said to her because it's not like she done worse, kind of girl. (Jody)

I just wanna take this moment to say how great Tessa is as an actress. Even though she may not be as popular as *cough* Belle and Aden *cough*, she plays Nicole really really well! Very believeable, her character is realistic because there are people like her in soceity. I love Nicole she has some great lines, and I love the relationship with Aden and Roman! I wish Roman was my father, he's so cool. And I love Roman's house. It's very modern. (LilyG)

Have to admit, Nicole grew on me, until I finally grew to like her. But, Nicole was much deeper than a shallow petty drama queen, and I'm so glad to see all that is being brought out of her now, like her relationship with Geoff & agreeing to the no-sex part ; compromising which is unusual for her. And, as others have said, she stayed so mature and level-headed at the school formal. Also, I do like the way she attacked Melody verbally ; it seemed entirely justified at the same time in that Melody isn't owning up to her responsibilities, etc. It was very 'real life' for me - and thought Tessa carried it off well. (Symphony)

I love Nicole, she is to me totally different than other characters, when she first arrived she had this cliche princess act on but as time went on and her relationship with Roman developed I began to tolerate her, and the tolerance eventually grew to me really liking her. She is fast becoming one of my favourite female characters and I hope they show more of her friendship with Aden and maybe striking up a tolerant relationship with Melody, Ruby and the other teens. (zetti)

Nicole has grown a lot in that last couple of months, the way she reacted when she caught Belle taking drugs was so grown up (although i still think she should have told someone), if it was the old Nicole, she would have probably ran and told Aden just to be spiteful. As for Her and Aden being a couple, don't think it's gonna happen, they both had the opportunity when Belle broke up with Aden and Nicole was single, they prefered to be friends rather than being a couple, and i think it works for them. (zifiso)