Finale
An all new second generation Renault Clio was launched in March 1998, and with it came the finale of Nicole's Provençale story.
Much publicity and speculation surrounded the question of whom Nicole would marry. Socialite and It girl Tara Palmer-Tomkinson noted, "I can't understand what she is doing getting married. I mean, she is giving up everything. She is one of the most beautiful, stunning, eligible girls around. She must be off her rocker. I mean, she had everything going for her, driving around the country in her Renault Clio, all at Daddy's, or rather Papa's, expense. I should be so lucky." [1]
The finale was itself a spoof of the film The Graduate . Wearing a dress by Deborah Milner and a hairstyle by Nicky Clarke, with her ring designed by Stephen Webster, Nicole was led up the aisle to the as yet unseen groom. The advert played during the advertising break for Coronation Street on 29 May 1998; an estimated 23 million viewers watched Nicole leave Vic Reeves at the altar and start a new life with Bob Mortimer in his new Renault Clio. The advert was also screened extensively during the 1998 FIFA World Cup. [3] Reeves and Mortimer had previously referenced the adverts in their 'Le Corbussier et Papin' sketches from The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer .
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