Former Crewe railway station ticket girl aims for the stars

Nicola Griffiths, 49, from Winsford, is making something of a name of herself within Virgin Rail after seeing stratospheric success with her Community Platform scheme.

The scheme supports small businesses by having ‘pop up’ shops on platforms around rail stations in the north west, and its success saw her named Rail Person of the Year 2014.

And while Sir Richard is attempting to become the world's first commercial spaceline, with his Virgin Galactic project, Nicola is also aiming for the skies with her venture.

She said: “I want pop up to grow, that’s what I’d like to achieve. We currently have around 150 businesses, and I would like to add another 100 to that.

“Richard’s support is fantastic. He’s built a business that supports good ideas.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of people in this last year who are off doing incredible things, and they have been given the support and freedom from Virgin to do that.

“I look up to Richard a lot, especially when you see what he has achieved.”

And if Sir Richard does achieve galactic success, Nicola may well be heading up to space with him, after revealing the British billionaire gave her a tantalising offer when they met six years ago.

She said: “I asked him whether he was planning on employing any air hostesses for Virgin Galactic and he offered me a job!”

Since her close encounter with the Virgin chief, Nicola has defied what she ever thought she was capable of, venturing where no man, or woman, has gone before.

From dealing with the public on the ticket desk in Crewe to rubbing shoulders with one of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs, it’s safe to say the force is strong with this one.

“It’s really overwhelming,” she said. “Sometimes I just have to really get a grip of myself. 

“Occasionally I get butterflies and think ‘they’re going to find me out, I’m just a ticket desk girl’, but then I just have to bring myself back down to earth.”