For the The Apprentice (UK)

The Apprentice (UK)

The Apprentice is a British reality television series in which a group of aspiring young businessmen and women compete for the chance to win a £100,000-a-year job as an apprentice to the British business magnate Lord Sugar in series one to six...

 candidate, see Katie Hopkins

Katie Hopkins

Katie Hopkins is a British reality television contestant, businesswoman and journalist, best known for her 2007 appearance on the third UK series of TV reality programme The Apprentice, in which contestants compete for a £100,000-a-year job working for British businessman Sir Alan Sugar. Hopkins...

Cathy Hopkins (born January 23, 1953, Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

) is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 novelist, best known for her teenage books Mates, Dates series

Mates, Dates series

Mates, Dates is a series of books written for teenagers by Cathy Hopkins. The characters later cross-over into her other popular book series Truth, Dare, Kiss or Promise....

. Hopkins is one of the most popular writers for aged 11-15 girls in 2011.

Early life

Hopkins was born in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, but lived in Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

 from the age of five until she was eleven and her family returned to England. When she was eighteen, she went to study at Manchester Art College. She also sang with a rock and roll band named Driving Rock and the Rockettes, which toured local colleges and universities as the warm-up band to groups such as Wizard and The Average White Band

The Average White Band

Average White Band is a Scottish funk and R&B band, who had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They are best known for their million selling song, "Pick Up the Pieces". The band name was initially proposed by Bonnie Bramlett...

.
Her father writes under the name Billy Hopkins. His titles include Our Kid, Kate's Story, High Hopes, Going Places, Anything Goes, Whatever Next, Tommy's World and Big Mama.

Books

Hopkins started writing books in 1987, collaborating with cartoonist Gray Jolliffe

Gray Jolliffe

Graham Jolliffe is the illustrator of the Wicked Willie books that have been published world wide such as the easy peasy people series...

 on a series of humour books. She has had 55 books published in 33 different countries, including the Mates, Dates series

Mates, Dates series

Mates, Dates is a series of books written for teenagers by Cathy Hopkins. The characters later cross-over into her other popular book series Truth, Dare, Kiss or Promise....

, the Truth, Dare, Kiss or Promise series, the Cinnamon Girl series (published by Piccadilly Press) and the Zodiac Girls series (published by Kingfisher/Macmillan) and Holy Moley, I'm a Dead Dude for Chickenhouse. Her most recent series is Million Dollar Mates, published by Simon and Schuster.

Cathy Hopkins was shortlisted for the Queen of Teen award in 2010.

Mates, Dates series

• Mates, Dates and Inflatable Bras (2001)
• Mates, Dates and Cosmic Kisses (2001)
• Mates, Dates and Portobello Princesses (US title Mates, Dates, and Designer Divas) (2001)
• Mates, Dates and Sleepover Secrets (2002)
• Mates, Dates and Sole Survivors (2002)
• Mates, Dates and Mad Mistakes (2003)
• Mates, Dates and Pulling Power (US title Mates, Dates, and Sequin Smiles) (2003)
• Mates, Dates and Tempting Trouble (2004)
• Mates, Dates and Great Escapes (2004)
• Mates, Dates and Chocolate Cheats (2005)
• Mates, Dates and Diamond Destiny (2005)
• Mates, Dates and Sizzling Summers (2007)
• Mates, Dates and Saving the Planet (2008)
• Mates, Dates and Flirting (2008)
• Mates, Dates: The Secret Story (2009)
• The Mates, Dates Guide to Life, Love and Looking Luscious (2005)

Cathy also has three 3 in 1 books out at the moment:

• Mates, Dates Utterly Fabulous (books 1 - 3) (2008)
• Mates, Dates Perfectly Divine (books 4 - 6) (2008)
• Mates, Dates Absolutely Amazing (books 7-9) (2009)
• Mates, Dates Strictly Gorgeous (books 10-12) (Releases in June 2010)

Truth, Dare, Kiss XO or Promise series

• White Lies and Barefaced Truths (2002)
• Pop Princess (2002)
• Teen Queens and Has-Beens (2003)
• Double Dare (2004)
• Starstruck (2005)
• Midsummer Meltdown (2005)
• Love Lottery (2006)
• All Mates Together (2006)

Cinnamon Girl series

• This Way to Paradise (2007)
• Starting Over (2007)
• Looking for a Hero (2008)
• Expecting to Fly (2009)

Zodiac Girl series

• From Geek to Goddess (2007) Gemini
• Recipe for Rebellion (2007) Sagittarius
• Discount Diva (2007) Taurus
• Brat Princess (2007) Leo
• Star Child (2008) Virgo
• Double Trouble(2009) Scorpio
• Dancing Queen (2009) Aries
• Bridesmaids' Club (2009) Libra

External links

• Author's official website
• Cathy Hopkins page on the Publisher's website
• Cathy Hopkins (1953–) Biography - Personal, Addresses, Career, Writings, Adaptations, Sidelights
• Review of Mates, Dates and Tempting Trouble
• Interview of Cathy Hopkins: 'I wanted to up the glam stakes a bit'