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Jorgie Porter and Ollie Piotrowski
Interview: Jorgie Porter and Ollie Piotrowski
By Lolo Stubbs
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“…I lost my best friend to cancer – I channelled my grief into a way to keep pushing forward as I knew he was my number one supporter.”
– Oli Piotrowski
Jorgie Porter became a household name when she burst onto the screen as feisty Theresa McQueen in Hollyoaks in. 2008, and most recently people have got an insight into Jorgie herself in the new ITV series Drama Queens. During this new series, the British public was introduced to Jorgie’s fiancé, Ollie Piotrowski. Ollie is well known within the business world for his impressive portfolio of businesses and huge success at such a young age. After leaving home at 16, Ollie spent his teenage years cycling an hour to work earning £20 a day as a roofer to scrimp and save enough from his job to buy his first property. When he bought his first terraced house for £30,000 it set into motion what has now become a hugely successful property business – Pinnacle Holding – which is celebrating its 10 year anniversary. Ollie did it all without family money or direct access to investors at the start – instead teaching himself and learning the hard way how to become a successful entrepreneur, all alongside being a single Dad to his firstborn son, Alfie.
The couple who have been together since 2020 have been through some heartbreaking times during their time together, including the excruciating loss of their quadruplets, when Jorgie was 14 weeks pregnant in 2021. Fortunately, the heartbreak only strengthened their bond and they have since announced their engagement and welcomed their first child together in November 2022 – the adorable little Forest.
Jorgie Porter, Ollie Piotrowski and their son Forest. Image by Tom Pitfield for BROOD Magazine Limited © Jorgie Hair Wrap: Hair Made Easi
Jorgie Porter and Ollie Piotrowski. Image by Tom Pitfield for BROOD Magazine Limited ©
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One of the biggest topics of discussion for Jorgie & Ollie whilst recording Drama Queens centred around childcare for Forest and the importance of each of their individual careers – the type of conversation that all BROOD readers understand all too well. Following the announcement that Jorgie and Ollie will be adding a new addition to their brood later this year, we sat down with them to hear how they currently manage the struggle of the juggle and how they each got to where they are today.
Alfie was at school when we came to do the photoshoot at the couple’s stunning family home, and in true BROOD style little Forest fell asleep just as we started taking the pictures, so after Ollie put down Forest for a much-needed nap, and Jorgie had a quick pregnancy snack, we sat down with the inspiring and down to earth couple to chat all things career and parenthood.
What advice would you give to fellow parents who are chasing their career dreams whilst also juggling parenthood?
Ollie – “Compromise, you’ve got to find a way to compromise.”
Jorgie – “Yeah, Ollie is really good at stuff like this. He always seems to know when I need rest, I think because when you’re pregnant and growing a baby, whilst looking after a baby you can’t do it all and end up moaning and getting emotional, but Ollie realises that I just need a rest.”
Ollie – “Yeah nothing is perfect, so you’ve to try and focus on your career whilst also trying to make the most of bringing up your kids. It is difficult, but it is achievable.”
Jorgie – “Yeah, what you’re really good at is coming home, and switching off and being a Dad, and actually giving that time to the children.”
Is that something you find easy to do though, as it’s not easy to switch off when you run a business and you run a few businesses?
Ollie – “No, secretly it’s difficult to switch off but your kids are the best things in the world aren’t they so that overrides any feeling of stress…and then as soon as they go to bed the stress comes back!” [We all laugh] “It’s the only thing that I would say distracts me from the stresses that can come from running a business”
What has been your career highlight to date?
Jorgie – “I’ve been so lucky to do so many incredible things, meet so many amazing people on loads of jobs. But I’d have to say that because when I was growing up as a kid, like a young little ballerina wannabe, aspirational sort of everything I wanted to be was a ballet dancer on a stage and I managed to do ballet dancing on West End stage in Fame the Musical and that I think has always been a lifelong dream as a child and I sort of look back at myself as a kid going, aww she’d be really proud of me right now.”
Ollie – “If I’m honest, I think it’s massively underrated to just celebrate growth. I am proud to have a group of companies that to date have stood the test of time, and have lasted over ten years – We’ve navigated through some tough times – Brexit, COVID, inflation and a recession!”
What was the most challenging time in your life, and how did you navigate your work life at that time?
Ollie – “In the early days of Pinnacle after a long battle I lost my best friend, Josh, to cancer – I channelled my grief into a way to keep pushing forward as I knew he was my number one supporter. Josh, was the only one who supported me in the concept of setting up the investment and developing the company when everyone else was telling me to work for a company. I channelled my grief into a way to keep pushing forward as I knew he was my number one supporter. At the same time, I had just had my first child and was a single parent from birth with Alfie. This in itself was a super difficult balancing act! To this day if I think of anything Pinnacle related it brings me back to Josh.”
Jorgie – “I think for me, it was when I moved to America. I was so brave and so sort of strong, I think going out there on my own. I lived there for four years back and forth, and I just did everything I needed to do, except the end goal which was to get a job. The only thing I needed to do was work and it didn’t happen. It was such hard work and I really struggled. Then I realised that actually everything I needed and everything I want is back in England. I could have kept trying in America and carrying on, but I just think I would have really, really struggled a lot and so I think that was really challenging and also I was just sort of living off my savings and then I kind of had to come back and I was able to then come back to Hollyoaks which was really really good and I’m just so grateful that I was able to come back to work after that.
So really I didn’t have a work life when I lived in America, I just kind of just spent money like it was Gonna be there and it wasn’t and so I think that was when I was like, oh right This is this way. I’ve got to really come back and work hard and save money again, and that’s what I had to do.”
What is your favourite thing about being a parent?
Ollie – “No matter what is going on in the outside world or what has happened both good or bad in business your children don’t really care. You close the door and it’s a feeling of pure love. They just want you as their Daddy to play, cuddle, be silly and feed them!”
Jorgie – “I actually didn’t think being a parent would be this good. I genuinely, you just get, like when you see him just flourish a bit or do something new or he’ll learn a new word or all of a sudden he’ll do something and you’ll be like where have you learnt that from? It’s like the biggest shock and the biggest surprise and also that when he’s so happy doing something you get really happy. I think, honestly I am so shocked every day how much I love it about being a parent. I am obsessed with Forest. I actually can’t wait for this other baby to come into our life and I think, I think yeah it’s just the surprises that come with it. I even don’t mind waking up early, which I absolutely can’t do, but when he wakes up laughing and he’s saying Mummy I think aww okay yeah. So he’s changed my life a lot and the little things I do and also just like putting a little human being first before you is kind of like new and actually really just gives you that, I don’t know it gives you that sort of need for living, like you kind of now have a different like reason to live. It sounds deep doesn’t it when you ask these questions but it really is truly that awesome and that great.”
Do you hope that watching you both follow your career dreams will inspire your children to do the same?
Ollie – “Both me and Jorgie left home very young. 16, for me! So I want them to feel they can aspire to be anything. I think the world is programmed to put people in boxes and follow the narrative – education until 18/uni or work/house/mortgage/car/debt/pension…… I want my children to understand that they can create their own narrative and have a safe home to build the foundations from if they need.”
Jorgie – “Yeah, I really really do hope that this is a thing, I’ve always worked since I was a kid like I think from the age of 14 I was working in the hairdressers I just hope that our kids will be like right we need to work in order to sort of you know get somewhere I also hope that they see that we enjoy work I want them to have a job where they can go I’ll actually I actually like going to work and I hope that you know we give that inspiration of working hard you then have the side of you can have a great life so I yeah I really do think it’s important that they will sort of see how important work is but also to enjoy it is my sort of thing is because I laugh every day at work and so I hope they do too.”
Have you ever had a BROOD moment where work and parenthood collide?
Ollie – “A BROOD moment we had was when we went to Spain, and we were only going for 48 hours as Jorge was doing some work and Forest got really ill and we couldn’t get home, but Jorgie was filming the next day.”
Jorgie “ Oh yeah, we couldn’t have taken him on the plane he was literally going through 7-8 nappies an hour! It was the poorliest he’s ever been, but I had work the next day and it’s one of those things where you have to phone work and tell them and I wanted to film it to show them, to prove that it was actually happening, because you just think no one will ever get it! So we had to just make a decision not to get on the flight.”
Ollie – “We were full of anxiety, thinking we’ve got to get on a plane and he’s screaming and you know what everyone is like on a plane.”
Jorgie – “Yeah, he still wasn’t happy the next day, but there was no way we could get on that first plane!”
Ollie – “Another one is when we went out shopping for the first time after he was born, and we went to Selfridges and he had that poonami!”
Jorgie – “Oh the Poonami! That was definitely one of those things that happen that nobody warns you about! [She laughs] He needed feeding so I took him to the toilet, and Ollie was outside somewhere, and I decided to change his nappy…and he just started pooing everywhere, but then because he was so hungry he needed feeding, so I just fed him without a nappy on and he just poonamied down my tights, my clothes, everywhere! And I was trying to phone Ollie…”
Ollie – “But she had no signal, so I was thinking what the hell is she doing inside this bathroom! [We all laugh] I felt like I looked really weird lingering around outside the toilets.”
Jorgie – “And I was inside laughing hysterically – because what can you do! [We continue laughing]
Ollie – “Yeah, our first time out shopping with him”
Jorgie – “I don’t even know if we had another outfit for him!”
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