While many celebs opt for luxury living, actress Nicola Thorp left all that on dry land living alone on a canal barge which she calls home.The 34 year old, who is starring on Celebrity Hunted on Tuesday night, is the proud owner of the 60ft boat which she bought off eBay and maintains and runs totally independently.She says that she decided to make the move after growing tired “of living with strangers” and unable to afford a mortgage in London.Nicola has lived on the narrowboat she named Nora for four years, and credits herself as a proud ‘canal boat captain’ in her Instagram bio.The political campaigner admitted to Metro that living on a narrowboat was “hell” to begin with as she adjusted to the realities of life on the water.“Once the novelty wore off, I was faced with the reality of having to empty my own sh*t into a sewage drain,” she previously told the newspaper.However, now Coronation Street star Nicola credits living on the boat as helping her organise herself and her mind.She said: “If I don’t charge the batteries, the electricity cuts out. If the electricity cuts out, I can’t turn on the water. If I can’t turn on the water, I can’t use the toilet. And it all goes to sh*t.Keeping on top of the essentials that Nora needs in order to function is a chore, but if I don’t, the consequences are far worse.”The soap star has said that living on the canal during the lockdown was a “godsend” as there was always something to do.
