Tara Palmer-Tomkinson (born December 23, 1971) also known as TPT, is a well-known one-time English "it girl", television personality, presenter, commercial model, columnist and sometime concert pianist.

Early life

Her parents are Charles (an Argentine Briton) and Patricia Palmer-Tomkinson (née Dawson). Palmer-Tomkinson's father has represented his country as a skier at Olympic level. Tara grew up on her parents' estate in Dummer, Hampshire, and was educated at Sherborne School for Girls in Dorset. After she left school she briefly worked in the City of London for Rothschilds bank.

Notoriety

Since 1990, her antics have been well-covered by the British tabloid press, and in the mid to late 1990s, she wrote a weekly column for the Sunday Times and subsequently contributed to The Spectator, The Mail on Sunday, GQ, Eve, Harpers and Queen, Tatler, Instyle and The Observer sporadically. She is regularly, and perhaps derisively, referred to as "posh", as are other British upper-class "It girls".

In 1999, she made an appearance on Frank Skinner's chat show on ITV1, dishevelled and disjointed. It was then that her longstanding cocaine addiction became very public knowledge.[citation needed] Within 48 hours, she checked into an exclusive rehab clinic in Arizona. She claims to have been totally clean since 2002.[citation needed] In 2001, Palmer-Tomkinson launched the annual Fish & Chip Shop of the Year competition organised by the Sea Fish Industry Authority (Seafish).

Television appearances

In 2002, her public profile was revitalised when she made an appearance on the British television series I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, finishing runner up. In November 2005, Palmer-Tomkinson presented her third 'behind the scenes' series on ITV2 for the hit show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Now.

She has also appeared on the reality shows Spelling Bee and Cold turkey, which followed her attempts to quit smoking with Sophie Anderton, celebrity specials of A Place in the Sun and Blind Date and in episodes of Tabloid tales, With a little help from my friends, Russian Roulette, Celebrities under pressure and Project Catwalk.

Palmer-Tomkinson's presenting credits include Animals do the funniest things with Tony Blackburn, Junior Eurovision, The British comedy awards...Party on, What kids really think, Popworld, Top of the pops, SM:TV Live, Company Magazine Bachelor of the year, Dumb Britain, Extreme, a role as a team captain on Bognor or bust which was hosted by Angus Deayton and work for GMTV, Five, LBC radio and the music channel The Hits.

Palmer-Tomkinson is a regular talking head on celebrity based documentaries and in 2005, was named Woman of the year by New Woman magazine. She has played herself in the film Mad Cows and an episode of Footballers Wives and also acted in a film version of An Ideal Husband and was for a period, the face of Walkers Crisps replacing Victoria Beckham.

Palmer-Tomkinson has been a contestant on Comic Relief does Fame Academy for the BBC. She gave away tickets to see her compete in Comic Relief Does Fame Academy to "ordinary people" who had helped her out (the other contestants generally giving their free tickets to other celebrities). She invited the policeman who found her stolen car, the locksmith who helped when she was locked out of her house and her parents' local shopkeepers. On Friday 16th March 2007 (Red Nose Day - Comic Relief) Tara won Comic Relief does Fame Academy, beating Tricia Penrose in the final. She was recently recorded as a guest in the BBC's 'Would I Lie to You', a new comedy quiz which was aired in the Spring of 2007, alongside regulars Lee Mack and David Mitchell.

Other work

Palmer-Tomkinson is an accomplished concert pianist having played at the Royal Festival Hall with the National Symphony Orchestra, entertained audiences at the Royal Albert Hall with Mozart and performed at The Coliseum for a Leonard Bernstein Tribute. She was also the star host of the Classic FM Gramophone Awards 2005. She has said she rehearses the piano daily for around 90 minutes.

She will be releasing an album of self-written music (originally planned for January 2008 ), which will be preceded by a single, I Don't Need You Anymore which she revealed is "about a narcotic, but I guess if you were listening to it, you could relate it to anything you liked.

Personal life

In 1999, she was treated at the Meadows clinic in Arizona for a cocaine addiction, and since her recovery has supported various drugs charities.

In 2006, Palmer-Tomkinson received extensive publicity after her septum nasi separating her two nostrils collapsed due to her former £400-a-day addiction to cocaine. Pictures were printed in several British tabloids. She underwent cosmetic surgery to have it rebuilt, at a cost of £6,000.

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