Nicola Thorp facts for kids

Nicola Sian Thorp is an English actress, writer, and activist. You might know her from the TV show Coronation Street, where she played Nicola Rubinstein. She also writes for the newspaper Metro and appears on TV shows like This Morning.

Growing Up and School

Nicola Sian Thorp was born in Blackpool, England. Her family owns a factory that makes Blackpool rock, a type of candy. Her grandfather started the factory in 1962.

Nicola went to Arnold School, where she was a deputy head girl. After school, she studied acting at the Arts Educational School (ArtsEd) in London from 2007 to 2010.

Nicola's Career Journey

In 2018, Nicola joined a fun boat race for ITV as part of Sport Relief. Around the same time, she started writing a regular column for Metro.co.uk. Her first article talked about "period poverty" for women, which means not having enough money for period products. Since 2019, Nicola has also been a regular guest on the TV show This Morning.

Playing Nicola Rubinstein in Coronation Street

Nicola Thorp first appeared in Coronation Street on June 12, 2017. She played Nicola Rubinstein, the daughter of the show's villain, Pat Phelan. Her character's main story ended on June 13, 2018. However, she returned to the show for a short time from January 21 to February 1, 2019.

Singing for Charity

In 2018, Nicola joined 26 other famous people at Metropolis Studios. They recorded a Christmas song called Rock With Rudolph. The song was written to help raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital, a children's hospital.

The song was released online on November 30, 2018, by a record label called Saga Entertainment. The music video was first shown online by The Sun newspaper. It also appeared on TV during Good Morning Britain. The song became very popular, reaching number two on the iTunes pop chart.

The High Heels Campaign

Nicola Thorp became well-known in 2016 for speaking out about an experience she had at PricewaterhouseCoopers. She was working as a temporary receptionist in London. She was sent home without pay because she refused to wear high heels. Her agency's rules said women had to wear them.

Nicola started an online petition to change these rules. Almost 110,000 people signed it in less than two days! Many people, including members of parliament, supported her. Nicola appeared on Good Morning Britain to talk about her petition.

Later, Nicola spoke to a special group of politicians called a Parliamentary select committee about the issue. She also wrote articles explaining that she wasn't against high heels themselves. She just believed that wearing them shouldn't be a rule for certain jobs. Because of her efforts, the temporary work agency, Portico, changed its rules.

Nicola's Personal Life

In 2018, Nicola Thorp shared in an interview that she had faced mental health challenges in the past.

Around 2018, Nicola lived on a canal boat. She would often move her boat to different places while using her parents' address for mail. Nicola supported the Labour Party in the 2019 general election. She believed a Labour government would help improve seaside towns like Blackpool.

Nicola married actor Nikesh Patel in the summer of 2024. They had been together since 2021 and got engaged in 2023. In 2023, they took part in Celebrity Hunted, a TV show where famous people try to avoid being caught. In September 2023, Nicola and Nikesh announced they were going to have a baby. Their daughter arrived in January 2024.

TV Shows and Films

Awards and Nominations