But Nuttall - the reigning 5000m outdoor champion - hit back before the home straight and breezed past Muir to take gold, coming home almost a second before Muir.
Muir, alongside Nuttall, gradually broke away from the rest of the pack but it was the former who made the first move with just over a couple of laps to go and looked like she would go on to retain her title from 2024.
Hannah Nuttall produced a stunning sprint finish to beat Laura Muir and clinch the women's 3000m title.
The Paris bronze medal winner tracked the leaders all the way and turned on the afterburners as the bell rang for the final lap, passing Nolan-Walcott and storming down the home straight in front of the Birmingham crowd, a week after her personal best at the Keely Klassic.
Olympic relay medal winners Amber Anning and Lina Nielsen came home in first and second respectively in the women's 400m race, while Katarina Johnson-Thompson finished 10th in shot put.
