Christine "Spike" Nelson is a fictional character from the Degrassi teen drama franchise. Portrayed by Amanda Stepto, Spike appeared throughout Degrassi Junior High (1987–1989), Degrassi High (1989–1991), and the first nine seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001–2010). Starting as an unnamed extra before being given a name and storyline, Spike's character largely revolves around her teenage pregnancy and motherhood.

She becomes pregnant in the first season of Degrassi Junior High, and the second season shows the pregnancy's impact on her relationships and education; her relationship with boyfriend Shane McKay (Bill Parrott) is strained, and the PTA has her removed from Degrassi for setting a "bad example". After giving birth to Emma by the third season, Spike is supported with monthly child support payments, which stop when Shane withholds one to attend a concert where he falls off a bridge, landing him in a coma. By Degrassi High, Spike unsuccessfully tries to re-enter the dating scene. In Degrassi: The Next Generation, of which Emma (Miriam McDonald) is a central character, Spike appears in a recurring role and plays a primary role in a number of two-part episodes, including one revisiting Shane. She marries former classmate Snake (Stefan Brogren) and has a second child, though their marriage is briefly marred by Snake's infidelity in season five. Her role gradually recedes until her last appearance in Degrassi Takes Manhattan in 2010. A novel focused on Spike was published by James Lorimer & Co in December 1988, exploring her storyline and background in further detail.

She was one of the first major pregnant teenagers on television. "It's Late", the episode that began her pregnancy storyline, won an International Emmy, the award of which inspired the name of Spike's daughter. Like her co-stars, Amanda Stepto's public image was directly affected by her portrayal of Spike, as she was often conflated with the character and mistaken as being legitimately pregnant. The character's large spiked hair, which was Stepto's own, became considered a "trademark" of both the character and the actress. Several episodes about her pregnancy were banned from airing on the BBC in the United Kingdom, where Degrassi Junior High experienced its highest viewership. Amanda Stepto earned recognition from critics and scholars for her portrayal of Spike. In 1990, along with her co-stars, she was nominated for the Young Artist Award for Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast for Degrassi Junior High. In 1992, she was nominated for the Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role for Degrassi High.

Spike was one of the show's most popular characters, and her storyline was key to the franchise's later developments. She appears in a total of 113 episodes throughout the franchise.

Amanda Stepto noticed an audition for Degrassi Junior High when she was attending the Etobicoke School of the Arts, where she minored in drama. Identifying with the punk rock movement, Stepto had large spiked hair. In a 2016 podcast interview, Stepto explained that it was based on the style of Colin Abrahall, the vocalist of the UK82 band GBH. She was not a professional actress at the time and did not have either a resume or professional headshots, and was instead required to send in a photo to Playing With Time, the production company of the series. She recalled that an argument ensued between her and her parents, who felt her large spiked hair was unsuitable for television. Stepto refused to change her hair, telling her parents; "This is my hair! If they [Playing With Time] don't like me, fuck them!".

She was ultimately accepted and underwent the first series of acting workshops. Stepto was the only student at the school to audition for the show. Recalling this, Stepto later said: "A year later, everyone else was sorry they didn't". Initially, she auditioned for the role of provocatively dressed Stephanie Kaye, which later went to Nicole Stoffman. Show co-creator Linda Schuyler later recalled: "We said to each other afterwards, "Oh my—that girl is not Stephanie Kaye, but we need her in our show!"". The role was explicitly created for Stepto. In 2019, she recalled making approximately $50 daily for her role in Degrassi Junior High, as actors were paid based on how many lines they would have per episode.

According to Stepto, Neil Hope, who played Derek "Wheels" Wheeler, began calling her "Spike" on set, which also inspired the character's name. The cast was forbidden from wearing predominantly black clothing, which, according to Stepto, "ruled out like 99% percent of my wardrobe". Instead, she wore various T-shirts of punk rock and new wave bands that she liked. Like the rest of the characters on the series, Spike's experiences were loosely or directly based on Stepto's own experiences.

Linda Schuyler said in 2015 that it was her idea to tackle teenage pregnancy during Degrassi Junior High. Schuyler told Kevin Smith in a radio interview that year that she had a teenage pregnancy in her family, and spoke of the common practice at the time in which pregnant teens were sent to maternity homes, something Schuyler found problematic. The storyline which would be later given to Spike was developed from research on teenage pregnancy by writer Loretta Castellarin, who later co-authored the Spike's companion novel.