While Nicole might come off as a bitchy princess to most people, she’s not malicious. She’s simply as shallow as a puddle!

while she might cause others emotional pain, it’s unintentional. Nicole is a girl who lives to have fun, and she is fun if you accept her for who she is.

She is the result of a very young union between Roman and her mother, she was raised mostly by her grandparents, and spoiled rotten. She’s been praised all her life for being a pretty little princess, and she’s never had the need to develop into anything more. She sees her mother as more of an older sister than a parental figure. She’s never been too bothered by the lack of a father figure, and she’s had plenty of fun wrapping the other males in her life around her fingers.

When Nicole decides it’s time to get to know the handsome young father she’s lived without all her life, she appears not to have a care in the world. With her flash sports car and designer clothes, she’s ready to turn the quiet coastal town upside down. But what has really brought her to Summer Bay?

Tessa James is “Melbourne girl” who has recently moved to Sydney for her role as Nicole Franklin.

"I was very excited when I heard I had the role, but it was a weird way it all happened. I didn’t get the role at first but then got a call back and the next day Mum called and said 'you got it'. We were jumping up and down and then it was like, oh…it’s in Sydney." She laughed. This is the first time the 17 year old has lived away from home. But she is ready and up for the new adventures that Sydney brings. “I am enjoying having new places to explore but I am missing the familiarity of home.”

Nicole is not a stranger to the gruelling schedules of a daily tv drama. Her first on-air role was as Anne Baxter on Neighbours where she played a blind girl, who was both sweet and innocent – the complete opposite from Nicole. Tessa said “It was a great first role, I couldn’t have wished for anything better. I had to practice a lot and really work hard to get it.” Now playing Nicole whose similarities to the young actress extend no further than their age and love of fashion, Tessa is eager to take on the role. “I love playing Nicole because she’s feisty and fun, and doesn’t mind pushing the boundaries. And she dresses stylishly – she’s very high maintenance, which is fun to play.”

Tessa is an avid performer in varying degrees of the arts. She has been dancing since the age of five, has sung for the Young Australian Broadway Chorus and the Children Performing Choirs Australia, plays the piano and guitar, and has been acting since she was 6, a hobby that she jokingly claims her mother chucked her into to control her. Leaving behind her loving parents, sporty younger sister, and two dogs-Oreo and Bella-Tessa is facing some great challenges at such a young age, but she is ready and up for the new adventures that Sydney brings. “I am enjoying having new places to explore but I am missing the familiarity of home.”