australian television information archive

Ada Nicodemou…

Ada has forged a successful acting career for herself against all odds. Without any formal training, she's had to rely on learning as she works—so it's been her natural ability and aptitude for the job, which has stood her always in good stead. Her two main roles so far have been the secretary of the station in Police Rescue and Katerina in Heartbreak High.

Now, in Breakers, Ada finds herself again in something completely new: five nights per week TV. It's been a baptism of fire. "I've never been in this type of television before, but, as an actress, I want to work in all facets of the industry," she says.

"It's very different. For one thing it's so much faster. In Heartbreak High you would do eight scenes per day. Here we do 22. That's a huge difference. You have to be very, very disciplined, know your lines and be confident enough with everything, and not worry about your performance. You just don't have time!"

The humour of the show has eased Ada into the way of working, however. "It's actually very, very funny," she says. "It's so good to see comedy in a soap. That's very rare." She also likes her character Fiona a great deal. Although Fiona is a country girl and pretty naive—not like Ada at all—the pair do have some qualities in common.

"She's very, very sweet and bubbly, and couldn't hurt anyone if she tried," says Ada. "People may think she's ditzy but she knows what's happening around her."

"I'm very energetic too, and I often give out too much information when I don't need to. Sometimes people look at me, just like they do Fee, and say, "What are you on about Ada?"

…as Fiona Motson

Fiona, 17, is Nina's nemesis from their home tow of Muswellbrook in country NSW. She was the girl who got the pick of boyfriends and roles in new plays and was always the centre of attention, whether it was in drama class or at the local youth club dance.

She's outgoing, vivacious and talkative to the point of exasperation. The problem with Fiona, or Fee as she prefers to be called, is that she combines bubbly enthusiasm with an inability to edit her thoughts before she talks. So we hear not just what she thinks, but the entire thought process that got her to that conclusion.

Boris describes it as "stream of unconsciousness", but he, like everyone else, is captivated by her energy and her warmth. She becomes a waitress in the café.