Phoebe Nicholson is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Isabella Giovinazzo. The actress auditioned for the role in Sydney and relocated to the city after winning the role. Her casting was announced a few days before her first appearance. The part of Phoebe marks Giovinazzo's first acting job and she commented that she was having fun developing her character. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 26 November 2013.
Phoebe is portrayed as a feisty, strong, positive, singer and songwriter from Melbourne. Phoebe was introduced in the 2013 finale, as the former girlfriend of established character Kyle Braxton. Actor Nic Westaway was pleased that his character was getting a new love interest, while series producer Lucy Addario believed Phoebe would bring out a different side to him. Phoebe and Kyle's relationship was tested by the appearance of his "dark side", Mark Nicholson's (Steve Rodgers) attempts to break them up and a marriage proposal.
Phoebe's burgeoning music career was brought to the forefront of storylines in November 2014 when Jolene Anderson joined the cast as Neive Devlin, a record producer who signs Phoebe to her label. At Phoebe's industry launch night, Neive had her assistant drug Phoebe and assault her on camera. Giovinazzo enjoyed portraying Phoebe's foray into the music industry. Shortly after, Phoebe became the focus of a darker storyline involving her fan Ryan Kelly (Daniel Webber), who stalked and kidnapped her. Phoebe was later paired with a new love interest, Martin "Ash" Ashford (George Mason), and learned she was pregnant with Kyle's twins, which she later miscarried. Following the end of her relationship with Ash, Phoebe was given a more mature love interest in the form of Justin Morgan (James Stewart). The couple became engaged, but ended their relationship when Phoebe left to tour the United States on 11 May 2017.
Casting On 24 November 2013, Meg Drewett from Digital Spy reported that actress Isabella Giovinazzo had joined the cast of Home and Away as new character Phoebe Nicholson. Giovinazzo successfully auditioned for the role in Sydney, where the show is filmed. Giovinazzo had to sing in front of actor Nic Westaway during the audition, before they were paired together to do some slow-dancing. Giovinazzo relocated to Sydney from Melbourne. She spent five months on the set filming, before her casting was announced. She admitted to having difficulty keeping her new role a secret, saying "I wasn't able to really tell anyone back home about it or why I moved (to Sydney). But it's nice now being able to share exactly why I disappeared for a few months."
The part marks Giovinazzo's first acting job, following a career in film making. Of joining Home and Away, Giovinazzo stated "It's been a lot of fun. I'm still figuring out what to do. Phoebe's been a really great person to start with. Just developing her character and rounding this woman has been wonderful and I've got a lot to play with because she's a little bit kooky." Giovinazzo admitted that she was nervous ahead of filming her first scene in front of hundreds of extras. Actress Jessica Grace Smith also auditioned for the role of Phoebe. She was later cast as Denny Miller. In October 2014, Giovinazzo admitted that she was attending acting classes to help her with emotional scenes, after she had difficulty acting out Phoebe's vulnerable moments.
Development
Introduction and characterisation
Phoebe was introduced in the 2013 finale, as the ex-girlfriend of Kyle Braxton (Nic Westaway). She is a singer and songwriter, who grew up with Kyle in Melbourne and was "brokenhearted" when he moved away. Phoebe came to Summer Bay after learning Kyle was staging a music festival in the area. Giovinazzo explained that the festival gave Phoebe an opportunity to see Kyle for the first time since he left her. She wanted to see if there was anything still between them as they had a long-term relationship that was important to them both. Giovinazzo said, "Kyle and Phoebe know each other inside out. They just click together." Phoebe offered to help Kyle and Tamara Kingsley (Kelly Paterniti) plan the event and perform with the band. During Phoebe's performance, Kyle joined her on stage for a duet, which made Tamara jealous. Phoebe also caught Chris Harrington's (Johnny Ruffo) attention.
Ahead of her arrival, Giovinazzo called Phoebe a positive person, who liked to have fun. She explained, "she's a blast. She's this sort of blend of blunt, cool-cat, serious kid and a burst of erratic energy." Giovinazzo later branded the character "impulsive" and "mischievous" and said she had a feistiness about her. While the official website dubbed her "strong and focussed", adding that if she wants something she will go after it. Giovinazzo agreed, saying that Phoebe likes getting what she wants. Giovinazzo enjoys portraying Phoebe's fun side, as it gives her a chance to see "joy in everything". She also admitted to sharing some similarities with her character; they were both born in Melbourne and they like music. But Giovinazzo said that she was not "an avid musician" like Phoebe. Giovinazzo added that unlike Phoebe, she was not a trained singer and she just sang when she was told to.
The actress stated that she shared a lot of similarities with Phoebe, including her positive, outgoing and creative sides. Giovinazzo also said Phoebe was "very outspoken and very adventurous". In March 2016, Giovinazzo told Colin Vickery of news.com.au that due to everything Phoebe had gone through during her time in the Bay, she had changed and had become more grown up. Giovinazzo commented, "she has moved on from wanting to be a pop star and she is teaching now."
Relationship with Kyle Braxton
Westaway was pleased that his character would be embarking on a new relationship, after being involved in a love triangle with Tamara and his brother Casey (Lincoln Younes). Westaway commented that Phoebe and Kyle had a strong connection while they lived in Melbourne and noted that there was "still a real spark" between them. He thought they would have to get on the same page, as Phoebe made Kyle question who he wanted to be. Series producer Lucy Addario believed Phoebe would bring out a different side to "the brooding" Kyle and mix up life in the Braxton world. Addario agreed with Westaway's assessment of Kyle and Phoebe's relationship, saying they would have to work out some issues from their past, but they would "quickly reignite the spark they shared." She added that the couple "sizzle" on-screen.
When Phoebe became disturbed by Kyle's "dark side" and his involvement with various Braxton dramas, she wanted him to tell her how he turned into such a violent person. Kyle opened up to her about how he kidnapped Casey and tried to kill him and Tamara, which left Phoebe scared. While Kyle felt like he had put that incident behind him with the help of his brothers, Phoebe did not understand. She then told Kyle that she was moving back to Melbourne and that she wanted him to come with her, believing that if he was away from his family he would like his old self again. Westaway told an Inside Soap reporter that Kyle wanted to be with Phoebe, as she brought out his passionate side which he missed. Phoebe reminded him of how he used to be. Kyle and Phoebe declared their love for each other, but Phoebe admitted that she no longer wanted to be around his brothers.
After Phoebe decided to stay in Summer Bay with Kyle, her father Mark Nicholson (Steve Rodgers) came to meet him. Westaway explained that Kyle could see how much it meant to Phoebe that they got along. The meeting went well, until Mark learned some interesting information about Kyle and changed his outlook "pretty quickly". Westaway hoped it would not cause a rift between Kyle and Phoebe, as she was a good influence on him. Mark later offered Kyle a bribe to stop dating his daughter, but Kyle refused to take the money, insisting that it was an insult as Phoebe was worth more. Mark then upped his offer to $100,000, but Kyle refused the money again. In a bid to keep Phoebe away from the Braxtons, Mark then reported the family for "dodgy dealings" to the police. After the police came away empty handed, someone fired a gun into the house, almost hitting Darryl Braxton (Steve Peacocke) and Ricky Sharpe (Bonnie Sveen). Peacocke commented that Brax was aware that Mark had connections to the underworld and wanted to keep Phoebe away from Kyle.
After the shooting, Kyle was worried about Phoebe's safety and got her to leave the Bay for a few days. Westaway commented "He's very protective of Phoebe." After realising that she did not want to live in fear, Phoebe returned to be by Kyle's side. Shortly after someone broke into the house and Kyle was attacked. After he recovered, Kyle spotted his attacker with Phoebe's father and realised that Mark was behind the attempt on his life. Kyle tried to keep the truth from Phoebe, but after she found out he was forced to apologise. Phoebe then threatened to go to the police about her father, but Kyle and Casey talked her out of it.
When Kyle displayed his aggressive side again, Phoebe was left worrying about the future of their relationship. After Kyle refused to take a day off work to write music with her, Phoebe used her manipulative streak to start "pushing Kyle's buttons". She asked Matt Page (Alec Snow) to listen to her song at the restaurant and then invited him to her place to write with her, which infuriated Kyle. A TV Soap writer observed, "Kyle's rage stuns Phoebe and is her first hint that there might be something fundamentally wrong with their relationship." Kyle was surprised that Phoebe asked Matt to be her song writing partner simply because he had to work. Ignoring her concerns about Kyle, Phoebe asked Matt if she could post their song on her website, but when he insulted her work Kyle got physically aggressive with Matt. A frightened Phoebe sought comfort and advice from Denny Miller (Jessica Grace Smith). Kyle later apologised to Phoebe and she apologised for trying to manipulate him but she was still "rattled" by Kyle's display of anger. She told him that if he could not deal with his issues, they would not have a future together.
When Kyle developed a serious throat injury, he was told he could not sing anymore. Phoebe then decided that she too would not sing, until Kyle was better. said it was Phoebe's way of letting Kyle know they were in it together. When Kyle organised an after party for the Bay's Colour Run, he chose Matt to be the musical entertainment, however after Matt failed to turn up, Kyle convinced Phoebe to take his place. Giovinazzo commented that the festive spirit also persuaded Phoebe to change her mind and once she began singing, she was "in her element". Kyle then proposed to Phoebe on the balcony at Angelo's in front of everyone. Phoebe was in "total disbelief" as Kyle knew that she was not keen on marriage and settling down. She turned his proposal down and left the balcony. Phoebe then spent the night at Ricky's and she and Kyle argued. When asked if there was any hope of salvaging their romance, Giovinazzo told an Inside Soap columnist "Phoebe would like to try, because she's not ready to give up on their relationship. But I don't think she truly understands the 'in it for the long haul' sentiment just yet – in any respect!"
Music career