Carry on, nurse! NICOLA'S BACK ON THE WARDS

With help from her mum, the squeamish actress is set to get all medical again

- Rebekah Hebenton

In her almost 30-year acting career, Nicola Kawana has played her fair share of medical professionals. One of her first jobs was playing a nurse in a Duncan Sarkies play before she became a household name as Huia Samuels on Shortland Street.

Despite her convincing work on-screen, Nicola, 51, admits she couldn’t be further away from her famous characters.

“I’m really squeamish and I hate blood,” she laughs. “If somebody has an accident, I’ll run away and ring an ambulance. I’m not very good at medical emergencies.”

Luckily for Nicola, she can call on her mum Jude Lane, who has been a nurse for 40 years and only recently retired at the age of 72. Despite being a mother herself to daughter Eden, 31, and son Solomon, 20, Nicola confides she still goes to her mum to clean up her bumps and scrapes.

“A few years ago, I fell over running and skinned my whole knee, and even as an adult, I found it too revolting to deal with. So, I got my mum to fix it up,” she laughs.