Nikki Sanderson had ‘hair set on fire’ after tabloids ‘painted her as promiscuous’, Prince Harry hacking trial told

Published

2 years ago

June 9, 2023

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Soap star Nikki Sanderson suffered abuse as a young woman over tabloid stories insinuating she was “promiscuous”, the High Court has heard – including people “screaming insults” and one incident when her hair was “set on fire”.

The actress, who now stars in Hollyoaks but rose to fame as a teenager when she landed the role of Candice Stowe in Coronation Street in 1999, followed Prince Harry in the witness box to give evidence against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), the publisher of the Daily Mirror.

Answering cross-examination questions on Friday, Ms Sanderson, 39, at one point became emotional and said reliving details of stories written about her had been “traumatic”.

She also accused MGN of “gaslighting” in their denial of her allegations.

Mirror hacking allegations court case – as it happened

It is alleged that journalists at MGN titles – which also include the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People – were linked to methods including phone hacking, so-called “blagging” or gaining information by deception, and the use of private investigators for unlawful activities.

Ms Sanderson, who starred in Coronation Street from 1999 to 2005, alleges the information in some 37 articles, published between 2003 and 2009, was obtained through forms of unlawful information gathering.

MGN says her claim has been brought too late and denies unlawful activity save for four occasions in 2004 and 2005, when its journalists instructed private investigators to obtain information about her.

Writing about the impact tabloid intrusion had on her life in a witness statement, Ms Sanderson described “stories insinuating that I was promiscuous” as “very distressing”.

One story made her out to be “bed-hopping and sleeping with three people in one week”, she said, which was “so far removed from the truth” – but the lines between her and her TV soap character had been “blurred”.

Key points from witness statements

Statements from Nikki Sanderson’s mum, ex-boyfriend, and actress Tina O’Brien have also been submitted in support of her case
Coronation Street star Ms O’Brien compares media interest to “toxic relationship”
Ms Sanderson’s mum tells how her daughter became paranoid and “lost some of her sparkle”
Ex-partner Danny Young, who also starred in Corrie, says being a famous actor “is not all it’s cracked up to be”

‘People would elbow me, push me’

Describing “the backlash” from the public, Ms Sanderson wrote: “I was subjected to both mental and physical abuse.

“People would shout at me in the street, calling me a whore, a slag or a slut.

“People would elbow me, push me and, on one occasion, a group of girls even set my hair on fire.”

This happened in a nightclub toilet, she said.

Ms Sanderson said: “I was washing my hands and I smelt burning. I looked down and they had set fire to the back of my hair.”

She also described another occasion when she felt forced to barricade herself in a toilet at a bowling alley after being threatened by a group of girls.

“This kind of thing was constant,” she said.

‘Like serial killer dramas’

In her statement, Ms Sanderson recalls paparazzi photographers following her to take pictures while she was on holiday, describing their actions as “creepy, like those things you see on serial killer dramas”.

She also criticises MGN for “hiring random men to follow” her.

“I was a young girl at the time… they could have done anything to me,” she wrote.

In court, she said she felt like she could not “go places without someone watching”.

Ms Sanderson claims MGN’s alleged “illegal activities” have had a “huge impact” on her life and left her paranoid about sharing information, even with friends and family.

At one point, she suspected a Coronation Street press officer of leaking information about her, she wrote in her witness statement – something she feels “awful” about now.

‘I said that and I stand by that’

She uses the word “abuse” several times throughout her statement, saying at the end that she does not do so lightly.

“These people were in positions of power,” she wrote. “I was attacked by people who were more powerful than me.”

“I said that and I stand by that,” she told Andrew Green KC, who is representing MGN in court.

Asked by Mr Green about this part of her statement in court, the actress replied: “The behaviour has been horrific, the gaslighting I feel has gone on with me. The fact that I’m having to do this today is traumatic.”

Mr Green then asked the actress: “If you consider your treatment by MGN to be tantamount to child abuse… why were you giving an interview to the Daily Mirror in 2019?”

Ms Sanderson said it was a planned piece for Valentine’s Day and later told the court there was a difference with prepared interviews which were under her “control”.

Mr Green showed the court instances where Ms Sanderson would willingly speak to the media.

He said that, “entirely fairly”, the actress needed media publicity “in order to continue to promote” her career.

He also showed the court features including one showing Ms Sanderson posing in lingerie for a men’s magazine.

In her witness statement, Ms Sanderson said it was not “fair” and added “insult to injury” for MGN to rely on press stories and photo shoots she consented to.

Working on a TV soap you “have an obligation to do certain interviews, television programmes and photoshoots”, she wrote.

“There is a massive difference between something you are aware of and in control of versus the defendant hacking into my voicemail messages against my will or hiring people to follow me and take photographs of me.”

Evidence is ‘weak’, MGN argues

Ms Sanderson’s barrister David Sherborne previously told the court that the actress only became aware she had a potential claim against MGN after chatting with her Hollyoaks co-star Gary Lucy.

The actress had suspected friends, people working on Coronation Street, and members of the public of selling stories about her, and therefore “didn’t suspect unlawful methods being used” until she spoke to Mr Lucy about it in 2019, Mr Sherborne said.

In response on Friday, Mr Green told the court that the evidence in Ms Sanderson’s case is “weak” and MGN does “not accept that it establishes a case of voicemail interception” nor that it shows “systemic hacking” of her phone.

The publisher has denied that 35 of the 37 articles involved phone hacking or unlawful information gathering, with one article being not admitted.

MGN has said Ms Sanderson’s claim has been brought too late, but “unreservedly apologises” over four payments made to private investigators which it admits are evidence of instructions to unlawfully obtain her private information.

Prince Harry and Ms Sanderson are two of four representative claimants whose evidence against MGN is being heard at the High Court, alongside Coronation Street actor Michael Turner, known professionally as Michael Le Vell, and comedian Paul Whitehouse’s ex-wife Fiona Wightman.

Entertainment

Taylor Swift announces 12th studio album

Published

2 hours ago

August 12, 2025

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Taylor Swift announces 12th studio album

Taylor Swift has announced her 12th studio album during an appearance on her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s podcast.

The pop megastar, appearing on New Heights, did not say when the record, titled The Life Of A Showgirl, will be released.

Fans can pre-order the album in various formats now and Swift’s website says physical copies will be shipped by 13 October.

On Monday, Taylor Nation – an official branch of the singer’s marketing team – teased the release on TikTok with a slideshow of 12 images alongside the caption: “Thinking about when she said ‘See you next era…'”

Swift is seen wearing orange in every picture.

A special limited vinyl edition of the album will be released in “Portofino orange glitter”, according to a pre-order page on her site. A special cassette edition is also available for pre-order.

A brief clip from the New Heights podcast, hosted by Swift’s NFL star boyfriend, Travis Kelce and his brother Jason, a former NFL player, was posted on Instagram early on Tuesday.

The video showed Swift pulling a copy of the album from a briefcase with the cover blurred.

The full podcast episode will be released at 11pm on Tuesday, UK time.

Swift is living up to her reputation as pop’s hardest-working star

Gemma Peplow

Culture and entertainment reporter

@gemmapeplow

You might think that after pulling off the highest-grossing tour in history, all while writing and releasing an unexpected record-breaking double album at the same time, Taylor Swift would be happy to take a little break.

But no. The singer-songwriter has announced her 12th album, her sixth in six years.

Since her self-titled debut in 2006, the longest period Swifties have had to wait is just three years, between 2014’s 1989 and 2017’s Reputation; the period in which the star took time out following her public feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.

Over the past few years, Swift has also re-recorded and re-released four of her early albums in a (now resolved) battle over the rights to her master recordings.

With the new announcement, she’s living up to her reputation as the hardest-working star in pop.

Album number 12 is titled The Life Of A Showgirl, hinting at inspiration drawn from spending the best part of two years on the road – and perhaps a return to pop after embracing folk and her more gothic side.

Fans are now eagerly waiting to find out what Swift’s new era will bring.

New Heights had previously teased Swift’s appearance by posting an orange image on social media with a mysterious silhouette, which many correctly identified as the pop star.

The Life Of A Showgirl follows Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department, released last year during her record-breaking Eras tour, which generated more than $2.2bn (£1.6bn) across two years and five continents, making it the highest-grossing tour of all time.

It marks her first release since she took back control over her entire back catalogue from private equity firm Shamrock Capital for an undisclosed amount.

In an effort to regain control over her music in recent years, Swift has been re-recording and releasing her first six albums. The move was prompted by Hybe America CEO Scooter Braun’s purchase and sale of her early catalogue.

Some of the ‘Taylor’s Version’ releases have included new songs as well as Easter eggs and visuals to offer a deeper understanding of her work.

The four re-recorded albums released so far have been massive commercial and cultural successes, each one entering the Billboard 200 US album chart at number one, helping her become the woman with the most number one albums in history.

Entertainment

Harry and Meghan extend Netflix partnership – but it’s no longer exclusive

Published

17 hours ago

August 11, 2025

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Harry and Meghan extend Netflix partnership - but it's no longer exclusive

Harry and Meghan have signed a new “multi-year, first-look deal” with Netflix, following the deal they struck with the streaming giant five years ago.

Described by the Sussexes as “extending their creative partnership”, while the news quashes rumours the relationship might not be renewed, it would appear to be a less prestigious deal than their first.

As a “first-look deal” rather than an overall deal, the entertainment giant will be able to say yes or no to their content before anyone else, but they will not be under an obligation to stream it.

Several US outlets have suggested it is a downgrade from the Sussexes’ previous contract, which saw the streaming giant pay for exclusive rights for the content and was thought to be worth more than $100m (£74m).

British PR expert Mark Borkowski described the deal as a “downgrade” and suggested Netflix was “pivoting away” from Harry and Meghan.

Harry and Meghan set up their media company, Archewell Productions, after quitting as senior working royals in 2020.

Their partnership with Netflix had promised documentaries, docuseries, feature films, scripted shows and children’s television, but has so far only delivered documentaries and docuseries.

These include Harry & Meghan, a six-part series about their departure from the royal household, which is Netflix’s fifth most popular series of all time, and most recently, the lifestyle show With Love, Meghan, which is the streamer’s most-watched culinary show since its release earlier this year.

Speaking about the new deal, Meghan said: “We’re proud to extend our partnership with Netflix and expand our work together to include the As ever brand.”

As ever is Meghan’s lifestyle brand, launched in 2024, and rebranded this year, selling products including jams, shortbread and wine.

Meghan went on: “My husband and I feel inspired by our partners who work closely with us and our Archewell Productions team to create thoughtful content across genres that resonates globally and celebrates our shared vision.”

Netflix’s chief content officer Bela Bajaria called the Sussexes “influential voices” and said their stories “resonate with audiences everywhere”.

New output includes the second season of With Love Meghan later this month, and a Christmas special in December.

Archewell Productions is also working on a documentary about orphaned children in Uganda’s Masaka region, an area heavily hit by the HIV/AIDS crisis, titled Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within, and is developing a feature adaptation of the bestselling romantic novel by Carley Fortune, Meet Me At The Lake.

It comes as Harry has cut ties with his Sentebale charity but has said he still intends to do what he can to help young people in Lesotho, Botswana and Southern Africa.

Entertainment

Some call the Sussexes’ Netflix deal a demotion – but the company still sees them as a power couple

Published

19 hours ago

August 11, 2025

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Some call the Sussexes' Netflix deal a demotion - but the company still sees them as a power couple

While we’re all desperate to know what this new deal is really worth in dollars and pounds, one thing I can tell you for certain is that Prince Harry and Meghan want us to know they’re delighted that Netflix again wanted to get a deal done.

“Absolutely over the moon” is how it was described to me.

But they’ll also be aware of the attention it’ll attract as we all try to pick apart what it means.

Firstly because of that ongoing fascination in how they’re making money since stepping away from royal life and losing financial support from the King, but also because of the recent reports that Netflix were intending to cut ties.

Yes this is a different type of deal from their original one in 2020. Some have argued that a “first look deal” looks like a demotion from what they previously signed up to.

With no real clarity on how much their original deal was worth, and no numbers being publicly thrown around this time, that is hard to judge.

But talking to those who know something about these kinds of deals you do get a sense it could potentially be more lucrative than it looks on face value.

With first look deals, yes there is often financial commitments from the likes of Netflix to get that first exclusive look at projects and first refusal.

But there could be other significant monetary incentives for the Sussexes to sign.

For example, when the Obamas signed a first look deal with Netflix, the streaming service agreed to pay the operational costs for their production company “Higher Ground”.

Could it be that Netflix are also now covering the costs of Archewell Productions?

It’s stating the obvious to say that Harry and Meghan continue to divide opinions, some wanting to watch their programmes from a place of respect and fondness, others as a reason to grumble about them.

But signing on this latest dotted line shows Netflix still sees them as a power couple, who attract significant attention and are worthy of investment, whatever that really adds up to.