Nicola Taylor

Also known as  –  Janice Redman, Maggie Foster, Jean Farmer

Nicola was among the very greatest of the ToCo girls, currently holding Bronze Medal in our statistics as number three in the rankings after Susan Douglas and Dawn Grayson. She was a young Dorset housewife and mother of two girls, an avid gardener who loved good books, fine music and witty plays. Nicola was one of Ken Howard’s first models and played a major role in his operation.

Her work started out with delightfully fresh and innocent studies but she quickly graduated seamlessly (despite the fact that she was never seen in fully-fashioned seamed stockings) to full-on Spick and Span “smutty”, with up-skirt traffic stoppers and silly romps with her friends; though we never got to see Nicola without her bra. She also featured in sets of Ken Howard’s strange penchant for crossed suspenders alongside Marie Graham and others with whom she did a lot of Spick and Span work.

In fact, it is thought that Nicola may have been responsible for bringing to the ToCo pages the likes of Marie Graham, Laura St John, Joanna Young and Eve Law, she was certainly seen in sets with all of them. The thing that you remember most about Nicola, apart from her fantastic legs and biteable bum, is that she always seemed to be thoroughly enjoying what she was doing; there are almost no photos of her when she doesn’t have an ear to ear grin (unlike Jane Paul, for example, who could look downright grumpy).

Once again, there is frustratingly little information to be found about this star of the Naughty Pin-Up Mag.  Who was she and how and why did she start posing for the mags?  We would all love answers to those questions – all we’ve got is that she enjoyed water skiing. And hundreds of photos of her proudly displaying what Spick and Span readers loved above all – stocking tops, suspenders and knickers; though she did go modern occasionally and put on a pair of tights – and still looked sensational. It is interesting to note that many girls in those days, shortly after the arrival of tights, wore their knickers on top – you hardly ever see that nowadays. Presumably because they still put their clothes on in the same order they did in pre-mini days – suspender belt first, then stockings and then knickers.

To make the mystery even more tantalising, some have speculated that perhaps Nicola Taylor was indeed Mrs Ken Howard. It seems right somehow.

Personal Details –  36-25-37          5ft 4in (163cm)

Appearances  –  78 (11 covers, 8 back covers), debut Span 157 (September 1967)

Spick  –  167, 169, 175, 181, 182, 184, 198(bc), 201, 206, 216, 227(bc), 228, 243(bc), 248, 255(bc), 268

Span  –  157, 158(bc), 163, 171, 176, 182, 183, 187, 193, 194, 205, 206, 230(bc), 238, 243(bc), 252(bc), 253, 265

Beautiful Britons  –  143, 147, 149, 151, 153, 154, 157, 164, 185, 186, 191, 192, 193, 196, 199, 221, 227, 240, 242, 244, 246, 250

Spick & Span Extra –  27, 28, 30, 32, 36, 37, 38, 40, 42, 46, 47, 48, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 61