Tamzin Outhwaite winding back the years
Tamzin Outhwaite talks about EastEnders, her toyboy lover Tom - and why she wouldn’t mind turning back the clock
Tamzin Outhwaite shot to fame playing feisty Mel Owen in EastEnders, before leaving in 2002 after four years. She then went on to star in
hits like Red Cap, Hotel
Babylon and BBC’s New Tricks. Married for seven years to Miranda star Tom Ellis, the couple had two daughters, Florence, 10, and Marnie, six, before divorcing in 2014.
The actress, 48, is now dating Tom Child, a hunky actor and fitness instructor 21 years her junior.
Last year, she reprised her role as Mel, admitting she made her comeback on her daughters’ advice, but it’s been fireworks in Albert Square for the ballsy businesswoman since, as she reveals…
Tamzin, it’s been kicking off in EastEnders for Mel, hasn’t it?!
It’s always kicking off at some point! This storyline is wonderful for an actress to get her teeth into – but filming those murder scenes in the woods, I felt like I’d been propelled out of EastEnders and into a horror film! Sean [Mahon], who played Mel’s ex, Ray, was brilliant – when he was chasing after me, I was really scared! Now she and her son Hunter [Charlie Winter] are back in the Square, Mel has a dilemma: what would a mother do to save her son? Hunter killed Ray to save her, but she now knows he is a psychopath. She can’t trust him not to spill the beans. She’s trying to act out of love, but she’s so torn. Would she go to jail for him, or give him up? She’s questioning all her parenting skills and is caught in a web of lies. So she turns to old flame, Jack, for help. She feels like he’ll protect her.
So you’re enjoying being back in Walford...
I really am. I love turning up for work and knowing everyone. There’s such a positive vibe there. I’m close to Charlie and Scott [Maslen], who plays Jack, and I’ve got Natalie Cassidy there and lovely Tilly Keeper [who plays Louise Mitchell]. There are no bad eggs. I wouldn’t mind seeing Mel and Jack get back together, and I love working with Scott. They’ve got history and a lovely energy together, so it makes sense! They’d have to put a lot behind them, but I hope they get through this!
On the subject of love.. how’s it going with the man in your life, Tom?
I’ve known Tom a while. We’ve only been together for a year and three months or something. When I started EastEnders, I started seeing him. It’s a lovely position to be in, to be appreciated and loved. He makes me very happy.
You seem very close to your daughters. What kind of mum are you?
Different every day! I’m very aware these are the years you can miss because we’re all working so hard. So I try to create memories with them. Last weekend, I had a ‘Marnie Do Day’ – I asked what she wanted to do and she said, ‘Ikea and trampolining.’ So we went to Ikea to get some bits for her bedroom, then trampolining. It was brilliant!
You lost your own mum, Anna, last year. How are you dealing with that?
Well, I feel blessed that I had such a wonderful mother. Grief doesn’t have a timescale. It comes on, it goes… My mum was full of positivity, she’d have hated me to be unhappy through it. So what I try to do is remember her in the best possible light. She was goodness. I talk about her and keep her memory alive.
You have a great girl gang, which includes Holly Willoughby, Emma Bunton and Nicole Appleton…
I’d struggle without my girls. I could call on them any time of the day or night, and they’d be there. My first cousin, Dan, is married to Holly and we all get together as much as a group of very busy girls can!
How do you juggle motherhood and work?
I manage because I have a lot of help and all my girls’ activities are local. Sometimes, I’m working on a storyline all day, every day on EastEnders for weeks, but as there are so many characters, other weeks can be lighter.
You’ve not appeared on Strictly yet. Would you?
It’s probably the worst thing I could do! I had a stress fracture in a bone in my foot two years ago, and had to pull out of the stage show Stepping Out. Maybe someone up there was telling me that I shouldn’t be on stage tap dancing every night of the week.
EastEnders, Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, BBC One.