Harry Wallop

Harry Wallop is a freelance feature writer, specialising in consumer and business trends, working mostly for the Times, Daily Mail and Sunday Times; he is also a columnist for the business pages of The Times. His features are often fascinating deep-dives into different industries or brands, full of well-researched data while never being dull.

His cover feature for The Sunday Times, investigating JD Wetherspoon, 'Happy Hours', was one of the Sunday Times stories of the year. Wallop spent 24 hours embedded in a Birmingham 'Spoons', speaking to 60 different customers, while dodging drunks, vomit and tucking into the famous chicken jalfrezi. It wove customers' anecdotes and insights, along with an interview with Sir Tim Martin, into an engrossing piece of journalism, which dissected the peculiarly British success story. Frequently amusing, never patronising, it shone a light on a divisive company.

Wallop's Deliveroo feature for the Daily Mail involved him going under cover as a rider, and spending a full week working for the company, expertly unpicking the perilous nature of the gig economy and the strange world of dark kitchens. Thanks to his meticulous recording of his earnings, hour by hour, he was able to explain the ups and downs of working for Deliveroo, while analysing why so many riders have become disenchanted with the company.

His cover feature for the Sunday Times on fried chicken was a wry, but thoroughly-researched, history of how this junk food has become the go-to meal option for millions of British consumers. He interviewed chicken shop owners and entrepreneurs while also spending days on the London road with the most chicken outlets, speaking to customers to ask: why has fried chicken shop taken over Britain's high streets?