ABOUT ME
Nicola Fahey
Freelance Entertainment Editor
United Kingdom
Entertainment journalist with 15 years+ experience delivering agenda-setting cultural content to national newspaper and magazine titles
United Kingdom
Entertainment journalist with 15 years+ experience delivering agenda-setting cultural content to national newspaper and magazine titles
ABOUT ME
Specialising in high profile celebrity interviews, I spent five years at the world’s biggest showbiz column at The Sun before going freelance in 2018. I’ve since been contracting in prominent media roles inc Entertainment Director at Cosmopolitan, Celebrity Editor at Fabulous, Talent Booker for Harper’s Bazaar and currently Acting TV and Showbiz Editor at the Sunday Mirror & The People.
I'm a showbiz columnist for the Sunday Mirror's newly-launched No Filter column, delivering showbiz exclusives, reviews and comment on the biggest entertainment stories of the week alongside Laura Armstrong and Janine Yaqoob. Email [email protected] to discuss coverage for your clients or to get in touch with showbiz stories - I'd love to hear from you.
Welcome to our showbiz podcast, Invite Only! Have you ever wondered what a celebrity is like when the camera isn't rolling? Or what the real story behind that headline is? We take you behind the scenes for our biggest interviews, give you the inside scoop on the showbiz stories the world is talking about and welcome some of our favourite celebs for incredible specials.
COVER STORIES
My booking of Jonathan Van Ness - Cosmopolitan's first solo, non-female cover in 35 years - won PPA Cover of Year in 2020. The Queer Eye star thanked the magazine, edited by the brilliant Claire Hodgson, for "showing more variations of beauty for young LGBTQ+ people."
It’s a cold winter morning when Lena Dunham arrives on set in silk pyjamas. Her face is bare apart from a shiny gold septum piercing and a warm, infectious smile. Arms thrown open wide, she greets each and every one of us, before professing her love for all things Cosmopolitan...
Vanessa Hudgens is the sort of woman it would be very easy to just... hate. At 31, she’s already had the kind of career most of us dream of. She got to kiss Zac Efron on-screen for three years – and off-screen for another two. She had the High School Musical trilogy under her belt by 19...
Oh god, I think we need coffee.” Bebe Rexha’s Staten Island drawl carries over the early-morning hush of one of London’s oldest hotels. A waiter in a starched white waistcoat arrives with a silver pot, pouring us both a steaming cup. He turns to leave but she stops him…
Few musicians have enjoyed such mainstream success while so openly putting two fingers up at the straight, sexualised, male-gaze-dominated world of pop. Yet still, Héloïse Letissier does not want you to call her a role model. It’s four in the afternoon, after a five-hour shoot...
This month marks the 25th anniversary of Mariah Carey's iconic anthem 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' and, as she cuddles up on the sofa with her beloved Jack Russell Cha Cha for our chat in her 10,000-square-foot, peach-coloured Beverly Hills mansion, Mariah is feeling nostalgic…
PODCASTS
Superstar will.i.am has opened up about his pal Britney Spears’s fight back to freedom, saying he believes she will never quit music and may even tour again. The Voice coach Will has known the I’m A Slave 4 U singer since they released 2012 hit Scream and Shout...
Giovanni Pernice has spoken about Amanda Abbington’s exit from the show for the first time, saying: “It’s a shame because she could have gone all the way.” Speaking on our Invite Only podcast, he admitted: “I am a perfectionist, 100%, but it comes from a perspective of caring."
Sara Davies has spoken about her close friend Amy Dowden's cancer battle - revealing the dancer was so frightened of being dropped from Strictly that she considered delaying her chemotherapy. Dragons' Den star Sara has been close to Amy since she took to the ballroom...
You Can’t Always Get What You Want – and that’s certainly been the case for Jo Wood. Some 14 years have passed since the former model split from her Rolling Stones ex, Ronnie – but Jo is still looking for her soulmate. And while she has dated a string of men in recent years, the entrepreneur admits that she lets her guard down too easily and often attracts the wrong kind of guy.
The Traitors star Mollie Pearce says host Claudia Winkleman barged into her room to comfort her after Harry Clark revealed he’d tricked her for the whole series. Almost seven million people saw the runner-up storm out of the round table room swearing when army engineer Harry confessed...
DAME Kelly Holmes has opened up about finding love after bravely coming out last year. The double Olympic champion, 53, who exclusively revealed she was gay in this newspaper, is now dating a fellow fitness fan named Louise who she has asked to move in with her.
COLUMN
Louise Redknapp has refused to rejoin Eternal after her ex-bandmates said they wouldn’t play at gay festivals. We can reveal the Nineties R&B group had planned to reform and tour next year – but a row erupted when Easther and Vernie Bennett refused to play at Pride.
NYE guest edit: Jools Holland’s Hootenanny is enjoying a Renaissance, 31 years after its debut. The pianist, who takes over the No Filter column in today's paper, says he was stunned to learn megastar Beyonce watches the show – and even wants in on the New Year’s Eve action.
His cult films may be renowned for their graphic violence, but Quentin Tarantino became the star of his own drama at Cannes on Thursday. We can reveal the Pulp Fiction creator almost got into a tussle at the exclusive Carlton Cannes hotel after trying to take another man’s seat in the lobby bar.
Leonardo DiCaprio is most likely to find himself in this column alongside a much younger girlfriend. But this week, we’re heaping praise on the 48-year-old superstar for quietly funding more than 20 actors whose incomes have been hit by the Hollywood strikes since the walkout on July 14.
Margot Robbie made sure her Barbie co-star Ryan Gosling felt at ease during filming – by buying him a gift every single DAY. She even sought the help of fellow A-lister Brad Pitt – who produced a limited edition bottle of Barbie wine from his French vineyard.
McFly have partied with pop icons such as Sir Rod Stewart and Liam Gallagher. But they reckon the biggest hellraiser of them all was the late Paul O’Grady, who was secretly one of their closest showbiz mates and would often whisk them off to clubs where he drank them under the table.
COVERS STORIES
Stripping down to his boxers in between outfit changes, Olly Murs has the confidence of someone who knows he’s in the best shape of his life. Not just physically, but mentally too. The ever-endearing pop star is keen to give credit where it’s due – he’s quit drinking and is following a
Shirley Ballas is dressed down in a black tracksuit and tucking into a basket of French fries following our photo shoot at an east London studio. She cuts a more casual figure than the one we’re used to seeing light up our TV screens each weekend, and there’s an air of vulnerability about the star who’s
Rylan's mum Linda recalls how her heartbroken son slept in her bed with her following his high-profile split from husband-of-six-years Dan Neal last summer, and the 6ft 4in star’s weight plummeted to 9st. Here, they share all about their unbreakable bond
Ellie Simmonds is posing on set in a pink dress and purple feather boa with the confidence of a supermodel. An icon of disabled sport, the retired Paralympic swimmer is Strictly Come Dancing's newest recruit and is relishing her new platform - and her glow up. "I'm so excited," she says.
Footballing legend Harry Redknapp is running late for a charity golf match and apologises in his old-school Cockney accent as he dashes out of the door only a few minutes into our interview. His wife, Sandra, is left holding the fort at their new eco-mansion in the leafy city of Poole...
It’s not even December and Christmas is well underway in Davina McCall and Amanda Holden ’s households. The Masked Singer judge put fairy lights up the day after Bonfire Night, while the Britain’s Got Talent judge followed suit a week later. “I saw Rochelle [Humes] had put her tree
Tour de France great Mark Cavendish says his cycling-mad “miracle” baby girl has pulled him through the darkest of times. And it looks like the tot has inherited his immense talent on two wheels - she rode a balance bike before turning one.
Telly groom Nathanial Valentino has claimed Married at First Sight couples are manipulated by producers who provoke conflict and claims the show has no interest in couples finding true love. Nathanial was seen on Channel 4 marrying 29-year-old transgender nurse Ella Morgan.
Dame Laura Kenny is bravely breaking down stigma around baby loss. The world's most successful female cyclist speaks for the first time about suffering a devastating miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy within three months - and urges women not to suffer in silence like she did.
Not many sporting achievements have captured the nation quite like the England women's historic Euro 2022 win. From congratulations from the Queen to a record crowd of 87,192 roaring them to victory at Wembley Stadium, the team has inspired women and girls around the UK tenfold.
Arriving at the glamorous Together For Short Lives ball, Simon Cowell and his partner Lauren Silverman were determined to make a difference. The doting parents to Eric, nine, are longtime patrons of the charity, which provides vital support to families caring for seriously ill children.
Cate Blanchett's Hollywood career has come at a cost. The star has laid bare the huge sacrifices she made for her most powerful – and controversial – role to date in psychological Tár. She had to live apart from her husband, Andrew Upton, 57, and their “extraordinary children” while she filmed
Strictly Come Dancing power couple Nadiya Bychkova and Kai Widdrington are the epitome of old-school glamour. And it's traditional values that are laying the foundations for their new romance. “Marriage is important to me,” says Nadiya. “One day I would like to be a wife and...
She sashayed on to Strictly Come Dancing as a relative unknown, but won over the viewers after surviving four dance-offs to make it to the final. Now Molly Rainford is launching a pop career, has countless TV gigs in the pipeline and a hot new boyfriend in the shape of her Strictly co-star Tyler
Baring her bump in a billowing green gown, Binky Felstead is thriving in her final trimester.The former Made In Chelsea star will soon give birth to her third child on the Lindo Wing at London’s St Mary’s Hospital, famous for its royal births. She has already picked the date and doctor...
Everybody's got a healthy crush on Ben Shephard - that's no secret, according to Susanna Reid. "Nobody has to whisper about their crush on Ben like they have to whisper about their crush on Matt Hancock." In the make-up chair, Susanna, 51, is razor sharp and robust as though she’s still..
This year, Love Actually, one of the most popular Christmas Movies ever, is celebrating the 20th anniversary since it was filmed. However, not everyone believes it has aged well – including its director Richard Curtis, who last month confessed, “The lack of diversity makes me feel
Don't tell Lisa Snowdon to go on a diet. Celebrity MasterChef's newest recruit loves her food and loves her natural curves even more - and has done since she was a teenage model. "They wanted me to lose weight from my boobs," recalls Lisa of one model agent in Milan.
Christine Lampard is sitting in the driving seat of a 1966 convertible red Mustang worth £100,000 for our shoot with her. It’s a world away from her usual car trips, heading up the M6 with the kids to visit husband Frank. “He’s away more now than ever,” she says of the Everton manager
When Maura Higgins, then a struggling hairdresser, shared a meme that said: “You’re nobody unless you’re talked about” she laid down her ambition to become famous. Fast-forward five years and she hasn’t been out of the news since splitting with her Love Island ex Curtis Pritchard
Kate Garraway was set to have her best year yet. At 52, she rang in the new decade as the undisputed sex siren of I’m A Celeb, inspiring husband Derek Draper to propose for a second time. Their daughter Darcey organised extravagant Kim and Kanye-style nuptials…
Joe Wicks stops short as his 19-month-old daughter, Indie, spontaneously crashes our video interview. “Is that blood on the floor, darling? Oh, it’s just soy sauce,” he determines, in his chirpy Cockney accent. It’s late afternoon and The Body Coach is on dad duty...
You'd be hard pushed to find a better poster girl for party season than Davina McCall. The TV presenter is reclaiming her social life after the menopause and demonstrates some serious stamina - boasting regular 2am finishes and three nights out on the trot...
It's 3pm on a chilly Monday and Amanda Holden is curled up in her armchair at her Surrey home after a wine-fuelled weekend in the countryside with Robbie Williams' wife Ayda Field and Simon Cowell's partner Lauren Silverman. “Our nights out used to be more raucous,” says Amanda.
Samia is playfully dragging her husband Sylvain across the floor on her 40th birthday shoot in Manchester. “This reminds me of our wedding night,” she laughs. “He was very drunk! Sylvain doesn’t drink often but when he does, he goes for it. The French really know how to party..."
Susanna Reid doesn't look like a woman who's been up since 3.45am. The Good Morning Britain presenter is in full-speed-ahead chat mode as she bounces into the Fabulous photoshoot five hours later. "It was me and Ben Shephard today - therapeutic Thursdays.
She's waltzed back onto our TV screens for a second stint presenting Strictly spin-off It Takes Two. But what viewers won't know is the emotional journey that Janette Manrara has taken to get there. During lockdown, she secretly went through a low period and manifested her new
It’s taken eight turbulent years, a crushing divorce and a near-suicide attempt, but double Olympic gold-winning cyclist Victoria Pendleton has finally conquered her demons. Posing with hair tinged lilac and striking tattoos, she looks a world away from the clean-cut golden girl of cycling…
Samia Longchambon, who hopes she can help other women by sharing her story, was nine weeks into her pregnancy when she went for an early scan and doctors couldn't detect a heartbeat. She was told to “give it a week to see if something changed.”
Shirlie Kemp is recalling the moment she showed her best friend George Michael her son Roman's early YouTube videos. What should have been a simple proud mum moment was far more profound for George, who saw in his godson something he had always longed for...
Lydia Bright is describing a nightmare she has had. It’s one that undoubtedly resonates with many new mums across the UK right now. “I dreamed I was in this Perspex box and my mum was bringing the baby to me. I couldn’t touch her because I was in isolation."
Her Irish-themed wedding complete with mermaid-style bridal gown had all been painstakingly planned out. But Shona McGarty started the new year looking towards a very different future after announcing her shock split from fiancé Ryan Harris.
Former Strictly pros Janette Manrara and Aljaž Škorjanec are engaging in a bit of role play. Slovenian dancer Aljaž has just laid eyes on his wife in a strapless fuchsia gown and is noticeably mesmerised by her beauty. “Woah, what’s your name?” he jokes. “I’m Jessica,” she teases...
George Ezra is holed up in his Hertfordshire home trying to stay cool about performing at the Platinum Jubilee. The singer has played just three shows since 2019: “I played my first gig in London two weeks ago and just stood at the side of the stage saying, ‘How the f**k am I going to do this?’
It's 10am and Selling Sunset's Mary Fitzgerald and Romain Bonnet have woken up at their luxury holiday villa in Mykonos. Retreating from their hectic lives in Los Angeles, the couple are on the trip with the Oppenheim twins, Brett and Jason, and their new girlfriends, tattoo artist Samantha
As Graziano Di Prima marries the love of his life Giada Lini at his old local church in the south of Sicily, it’s not only the happiest moment of his life but an emotional homecoming for the Strictly Come Dancing pro. Waiting outside in the sun-soaked piazza of Riesi, a huge crowd of locals..."
LIFESTYLE
Sadiq Khan says having a suspected heart attack on stage taught him that “time is finite, every minute, every hour” and inspired him to fight for clean air. The Mayor of London was rushed to hospital after chest pains left him “barely conscious” during COP26.
After visiting a friend on the evening of March 3, 2021, Sarah Everard wrapped herself up in a cream beanie and turquoise raincoat, and set off on the two-and-a-half-mile walk from Clapham to her home in Brixton. At 9pm, she started walking along a busy, well-lit street and...
Lying in the delivery suite, Kirsty Rollings sobbed. She'd always imagined being full of joy there as she welcomed her longed-for baby with fiancée Faye Charles. But instead, she was in the midst of a miscarriage - her second - following four rounds of IVF at a crippling cost of £23,820...
“The nurses were talking to me, but all I could hear was muffled speech, as though I was trapped inside a bubble. I sat in a small room at a Bristol sexual health clinic in July 2016 and struggled to understand what I’d just been told: I was HIV positive.”
“Looking in the mirror, I saw a deep-purple bruise on my right tricep. And right there, in the centre, was a puncture wound. Suddenly, my strange behaviour the night before – and unexplained hangover from hell – made sense. I’d been drugged by injection at a nightclub in Worcester..."
Pre-pandemic, my shopping habits would have landed me in hot water with the green police. A repeat offender of one-time wears, I was spending around £250 a month on outfits for work events or special occasions – a terrifying waste of money and materials.
"There used to be a running joke in my family. “Are you due on?” my mum would ask, a smile resting on her face. She’d say it after witnessing one of my many meltdowns. But I wasn’t just snappy or bursting into tears at silly things, as so many of us do when our period is about to arrive."
"Looking at my naked body in the hospital bathroom mirror, I began to cry. After an emergency C-section, following a traumatic 52-hour labour, I had an angry scar across my abdomen, my breasts were swollen and I felt exhausted and ugly. I was consumed with guilt..."
“My heart raced with panic as I lay in bed, too frightened to fall asleep alone in my bedroom. Aged 18, I had just been diagnosed with anorexia, bulimia and orthorexia, and doctors had warned I was so malnourished my heart could stop beating at any moment."