Coronation Street’s Nicola Thorp wades into Catherine Tyldesley ‘cake gate’ scandal as she insists it was the actress’ ‘duty’ to make sure the baker was paid
Nicola Thorp has waded into the Catherine Tyldesley ‘cake gate’ scandal and told how she believes it was the actress’ ‘duty’ to ensure the baker involved was paid.
The former Coronation Street actress, 34, gave her very honest opinions on the controversy during an appearance on The Talk on Wednesday.
Her Corrie co-star Catherine, 39, became embroiled in a scandal after a bakery was approached by party planners organising a 40th birthday bash on her behalf.
They asked for more than 100 cakes to be made in exchange for exposure, and baker Rebecca Severs took to social media to share the email, prompting Catherine to hit back at the ‘bizarre’ scandal in a video.
Now, Nicola has waded into the drama as she told how she ‘feels sorry’ for the baker, saying she shouldn’t have been expected to provide a service without payment.
Opinions: Nicola Thorp has waded into the Catherine Tyldesley ‘cake gate’ scandal and told how she believes it was the actress’ ‘duty’ to ensure the baker involved was paid.
She insisted it wasn’t Catherine’s fault because she was unaware of the emails, but went on to describe the star’s video response to the scandal as ill-advised.
Speaking to panellists Penny Smith, Kevin O’Sullivan, JJ Anisiobi and Isabel Oakeshott, Nicola said: ‘I feel sorry first and foremost for the cake woman. She’s brilliant.
‘What she said is so clever. She was like, ‘I can’t pay my staff with heart emojis on Instagram’. She’s absolutely right. She runs a business.
‘Why on earth should it be expected? Because this PR company are making money somehow. So they are getting money, they are just choosing not to pass it on to her.
‘But it’s also not Cath’s fault, Catherine, because she wasn’t aware of it and I believe that because this is just the way these PR companies work.
‘I agree, that video was not well-advised at all. She shouldn’t have been shooting down another woman. I believe strongly in this.
‘It’s a woman’s business… It happens all the time and I don’t think that’s a good thing and I’m sick of it.’
Nicola, who starred on Coronation Street with Catherine for around a year until 2018, went on to insist that it was the soap star’s ‘duty’ to ensure the baker was paid.
Controversy: Her Corrie co-star Catherine, 39, became embroiled in a scandal after a bakery was approached by party planners organising a 40th birthday bash on her behalf
Opinions: Now, Nicola has waded into the drama as she told how she ‘feels sorry’ for the baker, saying she shouldn’t have been expected to provide a service without payment
She continued: ‘What Cath went on to say in that video, was you know, ‘I use this company all the time and they have provided performers for me’ etc, etc.
‘Well, it’s your duty as the person who is having the party done for you, to know that everybody who turns up is being paid.
‘That’s a moral duty and also from a PR perspective, you would want to make sure that this kind of thing wasn’t happening.’
‘I don’t mind it if you are approaching a big hotel chain and you’re saying, ‘Have you got a free night for my client?’, but it’s an individual’s business,’ she added.
The scandal emerged when bakery owner Rebecca Severs, from Keighley, shared a Facebook post this week with a screenshot of an email exchange between her bakery and a PR company.
The party planners claimed to represent an unidentified ‘well-known’ celebrity asking for a cake for a 40th birthday party in September. They also requested 100 cupcakes and an extra smaller birthday cake for her husband.
The founder of Three Little Birds Bakery wrote: ‘This poor celebrity apparently can’t afford to pay people for their products and services. Spare a thought! What happened to women supporting women.’
The Mail then revealed that the company were organising a 40th birthday bash for Catherine, and the actress has since hit back at the baker on her Instagram page.
Sharing a video this morning, she gave a thumbs up to the camera as she said: ‘Utterly bizarre. I don’t really know what to say. I mean I hope the cake lady got the exposure she was craving.’
Starting the video, Catherine said: ‘Cake gate! WHAT!’
‘So I had no idea those emails were being sent. I’m not working with the lovely Ok magazine on anything that I’m aware of and NVRLND are an amazing company.
Scandal: They asked for more than 100 cakes to be made in exchange for exposure, and baker Rebecca Severs (pictured) took to social media to share the email
Hitting back: The Mail then revealed that the company were organising a 40th birthday bash for Catherine, and the actress has since responded in a video shared to her Instagram page
‘They’ve supplied me with performers in the past. They’re insane and they’ve been completely misrepresented in this matter.’
She went on to brand the scandal ‘utterly bizarre’ and suggested Rebecca was ‘seeking exposure’ with her Facebook post sharing the email.
The email from the celebrity management team, which was posted on Facebook by Rebecca, read: ‘We are organising a 40th Birthday Party for a well-known celebrity on the 1st of September 2023 in Manchester.
‘In return for being a supplier for the event, payment would be made in the form of promotion on their socials with over 700K followers, as well as promoted on OK Magazine.
‘They will be crediting all the suppliers on these platforms.’
It continued: ‘The party has a guest list full of celebrities and industry people from tv/film and music, so loads of work would come from it.’
The email went on to outline that the birthday theme has been designed with ‘pinks, sparkles and a touch of flamingos’.
They then requested one birthday cake with the theme ‘camp as tits’, as well as 100 cupcakes.
Finally, they asked for another, smaller, birthday cake because ‘it’s actually her husband’s birthday that day and we wanted to surprise him’.
Photographer Tom Pitfield, turns 37 on the day of the Manchester bash.
Message: The email claimed to be from the management company of a ‘well-known celebrity’ who was having a 40th birthday party
Response: Replying, Rebecca confirmed she had availability but jokingly said: ‘I’m so sorry to hear that your client has fallen on such hard times they can’t afford to pay small businesses’
In return, the small bakery would be rewarded ‘in the form of promotion on their [the celeb’s] socials with over 700k followers, as well as promoted in OK Magazine,’ while the party promised ‘a guest lists full of celebrities and industry people from TV / film and music, so loads of work would come from it’.
Rebecca, 37, did not know it was former Strictly star and mother-of-two Catherine that she would be providing for, but she has won an army of fans for her pithy response.
Replying to party planners NVRLND, she confirmed she had availability but jokingly said: ‘I’m so sorry to hear that your client has fallen on such hard times they can’t afford to pay small businesses their products.
‘Unfortunately as my mortgage provider doesn’t take payment ‘in the form of promotion on their socials’, and my staff can’t feed their kids with exposure on Instagram, I’ll have to decline your very generous offer.’
The bakery’s Facebook page last night said: ‘Hi to all our new followers. We deal in delicious cakes and a generous side of sarcasm when necessary.
‘We are getting a massive amount of phone calls, emails and messages as a result of the media coverage of the news story that is us refusing to work for heart emojis.
‘We are blown away by all your support and so happy to see that so many other people agree that small business shouldn’t be taken advantage of!’
And speaking to local station Rombalds Radio, she said: ‘It’s really important to highlight the issue of small businesses, especially in female-dominant industries, not earning a fair wage for their time and skill, especially in the cost-of-living crisis we are experiencing.
‘We are proud of our team who are all highly skilled at cake baking and decorating, and proud to have built a successful business based on correct pricing which means our staff are paid a decent wage and have job stability.
Party: The list of requests included a separate cake for Catherine’s husband, photographer Tom Pitfield (pictured together in 2021), who turns 37 on the day of the Manchester bash
‘We wish the same for NVRLND and offer them and their clients our best regards for the future.’
A different cake baker, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the Mail that they had also been passed on the opportunity to make cakes for the same party planners.
Best known for playing Eva Price on Weatherfield’s famous cobbles for seven years until 2018, Catherine has starred in BBC sitcom Scarborough and appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2019.
The star is very active on social media which she regularly uses to promote brands, businesses and products.
Earlier this week, Catherine had shared a post claiming she was not due to have a 40th birthday party.
In response to a fan questioning if she hoped to have a ‘big birthday bash’, she said: ”No plans. We’ve got a weekend away booked to one of our fave cities.
‘And my fave restaurant in town. Can’t wait. I still feel 21…I should probably grow up.’
In a statement, Leeds-based event management firm NVRLND said its email had been ‘completely misconstrued’.
Founder Victoria Eames said: ‘NVRLND contacted Three Little Birds Bakery to offer them the opportunity to collaborate with one of our clients to cater for a party.
‘As part of the collaboration, our client would cover all of Three Little Birds Bakery’s expenses and costs in exchange for social media content and local and national exposure for their business. To confirm, NVRLND are also retained on the same expenses-only basis.
‘We selected Three Little Birds Bakery to collaborate with a view to support a local business and help them grow.
Plans? Earlier this week, Catherine had claimed she had ‘no plans’ for a big birthday bash and said she ‘still felt 21’
Career: Best known for playing Eva Price on Weatherfield’s famous cobbles for seven years until 2018, Catherine has starred in Scarborough and appeared on Strictly Come Dancing
‘Our aim is to connect small local businesses with the opportunity of growth and the possibility of a full diary which is what we have experienced when working on past collaborations. We would never expect any business to be out of pocket and nor would our client.
‘Our email communication to Three Little Birds has unfortunately been completely misconstrued.
‘Due to contractual obligations, we are unable to comment on the identity of our client.’
Catherine’s agent did not return request for comment. Tom Pitfield insisted he knew nothing about the cake controversy or if his wife was involved.
Watch The Talk Monday to Thursday on TalkTV from 9pm.
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