Nicola Thorp, also known as Nicola Sian, (born 30 September 1988) is an English actress, columnist and activist. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of

Nicola Rubinstein ''Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters introduced in 2017, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by series producer Kate Oates. The first notab ...

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

soap opera ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

''.

Early life

Thorp was born in Blackpool, and attended Arnold School, where she was deputy head girl, before studying acting at the Arts Educational Schools of Acting in London between 2007 and 2010.

Career

In 2018, Thorp competed for

in ''

Sport Relief ''Sport Relief'' was a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, established in 2002. It was the idea of Kevin Cahill, CBE, who had joined Comic Relief in 1991 to establish a new department as Director of Educati ...

s "Clash of the Channels" boat race, and started writing a regular column for freesheet Metro.co.uk, her first focusing on period poverty for women. Since 2019, Thorp has also been a regular contributor for '' This Morning''.

''Coronation Street''

Thorp began appearing in ''

'' as

on 12 June 2017 as street villain Pat Phelan's (

Connor McIntyre Connor McIntyre (born 30 November 1960) is an English actor, best known for playing Pat Phelan in the ITV soap opera, ''Coronation Street'' from 2013 to 2014 and again from 2016 to 2018, but has also had large roles in TV shows such as ''Al ...

) daughter. Thorp's last appearance as Nicola Rubinstein was on 13 June 2018 at the conclusion of her storyline. On 11 November 2018, it was announced that Thorp would be reprising her role as Nicola, and she returned from 21 January to 1 February 2019.

Music career

In 2018, Thorp joined 26 other celebrities at

Metropolis Studios Metropolis Studios is a music production and entertainment industry company established in 1989 by Gary Langan, Carey Taylor and Karin Clayton.Donald Brackett It is located in the Powerhouse, a Grade II listed building, at 70 Chiswick High Roa ...

, to perform an original Christmas song called

Rock With Rudolph The Celebs are a celebrity supergroup created by Grahame and Jack Corbyn with the intention of raising money for charity. The group was formed in 2018 and consists of a changing mix of TV presenters, musicians, radio DJs, actors and sports perso ...

, written and produced by Grahame and Jack Corbyn. The song was recorded in aid of

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital ...

, and was released digitally through independent record label

Saga Entertainment Saga Entertainment is an independent record label, based in London, founded in 2017 by music producers Grahame and Jack Corbyn. Artists on the label include Sam Bailey, Bargain Hunt, Shona McGarty and the Celebs, a supergroup of celebrities in ...

on 30 November 2018 under the artist name

The Celebs The Celebs are a celebrity supergroup created by Grahame and Jack Corbyn with the intention of raising money for charity. The group was formed in 2018 and consists of a changing mix of TV presenters, musicians, radio DJs, actors and sports perso ...

. The music video debuted exclusively with '' The Sun'' newspaper online on 29 November 2018, and had its first TV showing on '' Good Morning Britain'' on 30 November 2018. The song peaked at number two on the

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

pop chart.

Heels controversy

Thorp made headlines in 2016 after going public about an experience she had at

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...

as a temp worker: she was sacked as a temp receptionist in London after refusing to wear high heels, something mandated by her agency's "female grooming" policies at the time. An

online petition An online petition (or Internet petition, or e-petition) is a form of petition which is signed online, usually through a form on a website. Visitors to the online petition sign the petition by adding their details such as name and email address. T ...

that she started to highlight the situation was subsequently signed by nearly 110,000 people in less than 48 hours. The petition gained support from the media and members of parliament including

Margot James Margot Cathleen James (born 28 August 1957) is a British politician who served as Minister of State for Digital and Creative Industries from 2018 to 2019. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Stourbridge from 2010 to 2019. Elected as a Conserva ...

Caroline Dinenage Caroline Julia Dinenage, Baroness Lancaster of Kimbolton, (born 28 October 1971), also styled as Dame Caroline Dinenage, is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gosport since 2010. She was re- ...

and

Tulip Siddiq Tulip Rizwana Siddiq ( bn, টিউলিপ রেজওয়ানা সিদ্দীক; born 16 September 1982) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Hampstead and ...

. Thorp appeared on '' Good Morning Britain'' to talk about her petition, and clashed with host

Piers Morgan Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is a British broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at '' The Sun''. In 1994, aged 29, he was appointed editor of the ...

. Thorp later appeared in front of a Parliamentary

select committee Select committee may refer to: *Select committee (parliamentary system), a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues *Select or special committee (United States Congress) *Select ...

to discuss the issue, and wrote articles in newspapers laying out her stance that she is not anti-

high heels High-heeled shoes, also known as high heels, are a type of shoe with an angled sole. The heel in such shoes is raised above the ball of the foot. High heels cause the legs to appear longer, make the wearer appear taller, and accentuate the ...

, but merely that it should not be necessary for certain jobs. As a result, the temp agency Portico changed its rules.

Personal life

Thorp was born in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

, and her family still live in the North Shore area, where they make

Blackpool rock Rock (often known by its place of origin, for instance Blackpool rock or Brighton rock) is a type of hard stick-shaped boiled sugar confectionery most usually flavoured with peppermint or spearmint. It is commonly sold at tourist (usually seasi ...

. In 2018, during an interview with

Emma Barnett Emma Barnett (born 5 February 1985) is a British broadcaster and journalist. She has been the main presenter of ''Woman's Hour'' on BBC Radio 4 since January 2021. Barnett worked for BBC Radio 5 Live for six years, beginning in 2014, after th ...

Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...

, Thorp admitted to having been so depressed that it had led to a nervous breakdown six years before. She has also revealed that she has been diagnosed with

borderline personality disorder Borderline personality disorder (BPD), also known as emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of unstable interpersonal relationships, distorted sense of self, and strong ...

. Thorp lives on a canal boat, which she regularly moves to different moorings. Her partner is actor

Nikesh Patel Nikesh Patel (born 1985) is a British actor, best known for his role as Aafrin Dalal in the TV series ''Indian Summers,'' Kash Khan in the mini series ''Four Weddings and A Funeral'', and Tom Kapoor in the sitcom '' Starstruck''. Early life Pa ...

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Thorp discussing auditioning problems
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorp, Nicola 1988 births 21st-century British actresses English actresses English soap opera actresses English television actresses Living people People from Blackpool People with borderline personality disorder 21st-century English women 21st-century English people