Nicolle Dickson

Nicolle Dickson (born January 9 1969) is an Australian actress who shot to international fame in the early 1990s as rebellious Bobby Simpson in the youth-aimed soap opera Home and Away.

Early years

Dickson was born on January 9 1969 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and grew up in the suburb of Paddington with her trucker family. When she was a child, she was a member in the kids theatre company 'Keane Kids', where she had drama and singing lessons and received her high school education at the Australian Institue of Film and Drama. Having achieved her Higher School Certificate at the end of 1986, Nicolle enrolled at the Sydney College of Art (part of the University of Sydney) to study a BA degree in Visual Arts, majoring in Photography.

Home and Away

In June 1987, whilst in her first academic year at uni, Nicolle (or Nicky) auditioned for the role of Bobby in the early stages of production for a new teen pilot show, Home and Away. Eventually, Home and Away was signed up as a 46-weeks-a-year soap opera on Seven Network and her first episode went out on 17 January 1988 (she went part-time at uni, eventually achieving her degree at the end of 1990) and immediately Nicky was a hit with her stunning performances of Bobby, winning the 'best new talent' category at the Logie Awards in 1989.

When Home and Away was exported to European countries, Nicky's following grew, most notably in the UK, where she became a huge star on the pantomime circuit and an unfortunate regular victim of the tabloids. However, by the end of 1992, Nicky had had enough and decided to quit the show. Her final scenes were filmed on the 2 July 1993 (screened in Australia on August 19 1993 and the UK on 25 February 1994).

Later career

After completing a business and computing course at TAFE, Dickson began a part-time job at the Real Estate agency business owned by her husband, James Bell (who she had married in June 1990). Dickson announced she was pregnant in early 1995 and during her pregnancy made a brief two-episode return to Home and Away (June 1995) as a ghostly Bobby and filmed an episode of GP, in which she played a violent young woman with learning difficulties. She gave birth to her son Licoln in January 1996 and then, in April 1997, filmed a guest appearance in Murder Call, in which she played a murdered reporter named Maddie Herman. After having her second child in 1998, Nicolle then made a guest role in medical drama 'All Saints' in April 2002 as difficult pregnant patient Penny.

In 2006 Dickson appeared on a Home and Away reunion for the flashback show Where Are They Now?. Later this year she will compete in Celebrity Survivor.