She made appearances as a child actress, before studying at the Central School of Speech and Drama and went into rep at Harrogate, Frinton-on-Sea and Wimbledon amongst others.
In films, she featured in The Blue Lamp (1950), The Pleasure Girls (1965) and The Mini Affair (1967), and on stage in Fiddler on the Roof with Topol.
Later roles included Anna Sergeyevna in a 1971 adaptation of Ivan Turgenev's Fathers and Sons, and appearances in shows like The Persuaders!, General Hospital and The Cedar Tree.
Nicols had her own folk music programme on TV but was soon to give up acting; she married writer Frederic Mullally and moved to Malta to concentrate on writing.
Nicols later moved to the US and contributed to the 2008 documentary Wanna Watch a Television Series?.