Nicola Thorp

Nicola Sian Thorp^{[citation needed]} was born in Blackpool, England. Her family run a Blackpool rock factory founded by her grandfather in 1962.^[1]

Thorp attended Arnold School, where she served as deputy head girl.^[2][3]

She studied acting at the Arts Educational School (ArtsEd) in London from 2007 to 2010.^{[citation needed]}

In 2018, Thorp competed for ITV in Sport Relief's "Clash of the Channels" boat race,^[4] 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.^{[citation needed]}

Thorp made headlines in 2016 after going public about an experience she had at PricewaterhouseCoopers as a temp worker: she stated she was sent home unpaid from her work as a temp receptionist in London after refusing to wear high heels, a requirement mandated by her agency's "female grooming" policies at the time.^[4] An online petition that she started to highlight the situation was subsequently signed by nearly 110,000 people in less than 48 hours.^[7] The petition gained support from the media and members of parliament, including Margot James, Caroline Dinenage, and Tulip Siddiq.^[8] Thorp appeared on Good Morning Britain to talk about her petition and clashed with host Piers Morgan.^{[citation needed]}

Thorp later appeared in front of a Parliamentary select committee to discuss the issue,^[9] and wrote articles in newspapers laying out her stance that she is not anti-high heels, but merely that it should not be necessary for certain jobs.^[10] As a result, the temp agency Portico changed its rules.^[11]

In a 2018 interview with Emma Barnett on Radio 5 Live, Thorp said that she had been so depressed that it had led to a nervous breakdown six years before.^[12] She has also said that she had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.^[13]

As of 2018, Thorp lived on a canal boat, which she would regularly move to different moorings while using her parents' postal address.^[4][1] Thorp supported and campaigned for the Labour Party in the run-up to the 2019 general election, believing a Labour government would revitalise seaside towns such as Blackpool.^[14]

Thorp married actor Nikesh Patel in summer 2024,^[15] having been in a relationship since 2021^[16] and engaged since 2023.^[17] They took part in series five of Celebrity Hunted that year.^[18] Thorp and Patel revealed they were expecting a baby in September 2023.^[19][20] In January 2024, they announced the arrival of their daughter and highlighted the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, sharing a link to the United Nations Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency (UNFPA).^[21]