Tamzin Outhwaite
Encyclopedia
Tamzin Maria Outhwaite is an award-winning English
actress. She became known for her role as Melanie Owen
in the British soap opera
EastEnders
, whom she portrayed from 1998 until 2002.
and she joined the London Studio Centre to study drama and dance, where one of her friends was television presenter Lucy Alexander
. She went on to many stage roles including Grease
, Oliver!
and work at the Stephen Joseph Theatre
before landing bit parts in The Bill
and Men Behaving Badly
.
, Outhwaite's feisty character was central to many explosive storylines. Outhwaite left EastEnders in 2002, shortly after the departure from the soap of co-star Martin Kemp
, who had played her on-screen husband Steve Owen. She stated in 2006 that she wouldn't rule out returning to EastEnders.
Since quitting the serial, she has starred in leading roles in Out of Control
, and the BBC army drama Red Cap
, which she played until the series ended in 2004. After this she went on to star in a number of television dramas, including Hustle
, Final Demand and Frances Tuesday. She fronted an advertising campaign as part of a one million pound contract with cosmetics company Avon; she also modeled the Spirit range at Debenhams
in 2004.
In 2005 Outhwaite began edging into the Hollywood film industry, starring with Wesley Snipes
in the unsuccessful direct-to-video
film 7 Seconds
. In 2006, she starred in the ITV series Vital Signs
(as a frustrated mother who decides to leave her dreary job at the supermarket and enroll in medical school) and in the BBC
series Hotel Babylon
as hotel manager Rebecca Mitchell. A second series aired in Spring 2007. Outhwaite will not appear in the third series of Hotel Babylon in order to focus on other projects.
In October 2006 she had a starring role in the movie thriller Backwaters, set in India
. On 12 January 2007, she guest hosted episode two of the fourth series of The Friday Night Project
on Channel 4
. She can also be seen in U2
's music video for their song Even better than the real thing; not Mysterious Ways as has been regularly incorrectly reported. She plays a VJ in the video.
She recently appeared in a revival of Boeing Boeing
at the Comedy Theatre, the film Cassandra's Dream and the ITV drama series, The Fixer
, which was shown in March and April 2008.
Outhwaite and her husband were the winners of the ITV
charity gameshow All Star Mr & Mrs
Christmas Special on 20 December 2008. In the feature film, Radio Cape Cod
, she plays a radio interviewer who has a new love entering her life & whose daughter, played by Tamzin Merchant
, is experiencing her first love.
In 2009, she played the lead in the sci-fi crime series for the BBC
entitled Paradox
, which first aired on BBC1 on 24 November 2009.
She appeared in Over the Rainbow
the talent show currently casting for Andrew Lloyd Webber's new stage production of The Wizard of Oz
. More recently, in 2010 she was a member of the judging panel on the UK television programme Don't Stop Believing
broadcast on Five.
Outhwaite is currently starring in Sweet Charity
which has recently moved to the Theatre Royal Haymarket after its successful run at the Menier Chocolate Factory
.
and has two brothers. Her mother is Italian
. She attended Trinity Catholic High School, Woodford Green
.
She is married to former EastEnders
actor Tom Ellis
. They have one child.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actress. She became known for her role as Melanie Owen
Melanie Owen
Melanie Jane "Mel" Owen is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Tamzin Outhwaite. She appeared from October 1998 to April 2002 when Outhwaite opted to leave the role...
in the British soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, whom she portrayed from 1998 until 2002.
Early career
The daughter of Anna (nee Santi) and Colin Frank Outhwaite, Tamzin has two younger brothers, Kes and Jake Outhwaite. Outhwaite attended the Stagestruck Theatre Company as a teenager, taking part in several productions during the mid-1980s. On leaving school in 1987, she studied at Sylvia Young Theatre SchoolSylvia Young Theatre School
Sylvia Young Theatre School is an independent fee-paying stage school, in Westminster, London, named after its founder and Principal, Sylvia Young.-Outline:...
and she joined the London Studio Centre to study drama and dance, where one of her friends was television presenter Lucy Alexander
Lucy Alexander
Lucy Alexander is a British television presenter.Alexander graduated at the London Studio Centre in drama and dance. One of her friends there was actress Tamzin Outhwaite.-Presenting career:...
. She went on to many stage roles including Grease
Grease (musical)
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...
, Oliver!
Oliver!
Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....
and work at the Stephen Joseph Theatre
Stephen Joseph Theatre
The Stephen Joseph Theatre is a theatre in the round in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England that was founded by Stephen Joseph and was the first theatre in the round in Britain....
before landing bit parts in The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
and Men Behaving Badly
Men Behaving Badly
Men Behaving Badly is a British comedy that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang and his flatmates, Dermot Povey and Tony Smart It was first broadcast on ITV in 1992...
.
Mainstream success
She found fame in 1998 when she was cast as Melanie Healy in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders. Her first appearance was aired in October 1998 and her final one was in March 2002. During nearly four years in WalfordWalford
Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The name Walford is both a street in Dalston where one of the series' creators, Tony Holland, lived and a blend of Walthamstow, where Holland was born, and Stratford. The suffix 'ford' is also found throughout East...
, Outhwaite's feisty character was central to many explosive storylines. Outhwaite left EastEnders in 2002, shortly after the departure from the soap of co-star Martin Kemp
Martin Kemp (actor)
Martin John Kemp is an English actor, musician, and occasional television presenter, best known as the bassist in the New Romantic band Spandau Ballet, as well as for his portrayal as Steve Owen from the BBC soap opera EastEnders...
, who had played her on-screen husband Steve Owen. She stated in 2006 that she wouldn't rule out returning to EastEnders.
Since quitting the serial, she has starred in leading roles in Out of Control
Out of Control (TV film)
Out of Control is a BBC television film written and directed by Dominic Savage. It stars Tamzin Outhwaite as Shelley Richards, an impoverished single mother whose son, Dean , is involved in a string of crimes that lead to his incarceration in a young offenders institute...
, and the BBC army drama Red Cap
Red Cap (TV series)
Red Cap is a British television series produced by Stormy Pictures for the BBC and broadcast on BBC One. Two series of 6 episodes each were produced following a feature length pilot. It featured the investigations of an SIB unit of the British Army based in Germany...
, which she played until the series ended in 2004. After this she went on to star in a number of television dramas, including Hustle
Hustle (TV series)
Hustle is a British television drama series made by Kudos Film and Television for BBC One in the United Kingdom. Created by Tony Jordan and first broadcast in 2004, the series follows a group of con artists who specialise in "long cons" – extended deceptions which require greater commitment, but...
, Final Demand and Frances Tuesday. She fronted an advertising campaign as part of a one million pound contract with cosmetics company Avon; she also modeled the Spirit range at Debenhams
Debenhams
Debenhams plc is a British retailer operating under a department store format in the UK, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in other countries. The Company was founded in the eighteenth century as a single store in London and has now grown to around 160 shops...
in 2004.
In 2005 Outhwaite began edging into the Hollywood film industry, starring with Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...
in the unsuccessful direct-to-video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
film 7 Seconds
7 Seconds (film)
7 Seconds is a 2005 American action film, starring Wesley Snipes and Tamzin Outhwaite. The film was directed by Simon Fellows and written by Martin Wheeler and was filmed in Bucharest,Romania. It was released Direct-to-DVD on June 28, 2005...
. In 2006, she starred in the ITV series Vital Signs
Vital Signs (TV series)
Vital Signs is a British television drama series airing on ITV from 2006. It stars Tamzin Outhwaite as a supermarket check-out operator who decides to become a doctor. The series co-stars William Beck, Fraser Ayres, Eve Best, Claudie Blakley, Lucinda Dryzek, Beth Goddard, Alfie Hunter, Brooke...
(as a frustrated mother who decides to leave her dreary job at the supermarket and enroll in medical school) and in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
series Hotel Babylon
Hotel Babylon
Hotel Babylon was a BBC television drama series based on the book of the same name by Imogen Edwards-Jones, that aired from 19 January 2006 to 14 August 2009, produced by independent production company Carnival Films for BBC One...
as hotel manager Rebecca Mitchell. A second series aired in Spring 2007. Outhwaite will not appear in the third series of Hotel Babylon in order to focus on other projects.
In October 2006 she had a starring role in the movie thriller Backwaters, set in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. On 12 January 2007, she guest hosted episode two of the fourth series of The Friday Night Project
The Friday Night Project
The Sunday Night Project was a British comedy-variety show by Princess Productions that first aired on Channel 4 in February 2005 under the title The Friday Night Project...
on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
. She can also be seen in U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
's music video for their song Even better than the real thing; not Mysterious Ways as has been regularly incorrectly reported. She plays a VJ in the video.
She recently appeared in a revival of Boeing Boeing
Boeing Boeing (play)
Boeing-Boeing is a classic farce written by French playwright Marc Camoletti. The English language adaptation, translated by Beverley Cross, was first staged in London at the Apollo Theatre in 1962 and transferred to the Duchess Theatre in 1965, running for a total of seven years...
at the Comedy Theatre, the film Cassandra's Dream and the ITV drama series, The Fixer
The Fixer (TV series)
The Fixer is a British drama television series, produced by Kudos for ITV. Set in modern Britain, it follows the life of an ex-British Special Forces soldier arrested by police after he killed his aunt and uncle following his discharge from the military...
, which was shown in March and April 2008.
Outhwaite and her husband were the winners of the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
charity gameshow All Star Mr & Mrs
Mr. and Mrs.
Mr. & Mrs. is a television show that originated in Canada in 1963, debuting in Britain shortly afterwards. The Canadian version was produced at CFTO-TV in Toronto and ran on the CTV network for 780 episodes, and was hosted by Roy Ward Dickson, who was also the show's creator...
Christmas Special on 20 December 2008. In the feature film, Radio Cape Cod
Radio Cape Cod
Radio Cape Cod is a 2008 film directed and produced by Andrew Silver. It stars Tamzin Outhwaite as a radio interviewer coming to terms with the loss of her husband and a new love entering her life. She also must cope with her teenage daughter, played by Tamzin Merchant, who is experiencing her...
, she plays a radio interviewer who has a new love entering her life & whose daughter, played by Tamzin Merchant
Tamzin Merchant
Tamzin Merchant is an English actress. She is known for her role as Georgiana Darcy in Pride & Prejudice and for her role as the ill-fated Queen Catherine Howard in The Tudors.-Career:...
, is experiencing her first love.
In 2009, she played the lead in the sci-fi crime series for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
entitled Paradox
Paradox (TV series)
Paradox is a 2009 British science fiction police drama, starring Tamzin Outhwaite as Detective Inspector Rebecca Flint. Written by Lizzie Mickery and produced by Clerkenwell Films for the BBC, it was filmed and set in Manchester, England....
, which first aired on BBC1 on 24 November 2009.
She appeared in Over the Rainbow
Over the Rainbow (2010 TV series)
Over the Rainbow is a British television talent series which aired on BBC One from March to May 2010. It documents the search for a new, undiscovered musical theatre performer to play the role of Dorothy in the forthcoming Andrew Lloyd Webber stage production of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and a...
the talent show currently casting for Andrew Lloyd Webber's new stage production of The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (adaptations)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum, which has been adapted into several different works, the most famous being the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland...
. More recently, in 2010 she was a member of the judging panel on the UK television programme Don't Stop Believing
Don't Stop Believing
Don't Stop Believing is a British television talent show that aired on Channel 5 in summer 2010. It was inspired by the musical comedy-drama Glee, which airs in the United States on the Fox network. The series featured live shows in which musical performance groups competed against each other, with...
broadcast on Five.
Outhwaite is currently starring in Sweet Charity
Sweet Charity
Sweet Charity is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon. It is based on Federico Fellini's screenplay for Nights of Cabiria...
which has recently moved to the Theatre Royal Haymarket after its successful run at the Menier Chocolate Factory
Menier Chocolate Factory
The Menier Chocolate Factory is an award-winning 180 seat fringe studio theatre, restaurant and gallery. It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate Company factory in Southwark Street, a major street in the London Borough of Southwark, central south London, England. The theatre stages plays...
.
Personal life
Outhwaite is from IlfordIlford
Ilford is a large cosmopolitan town in East London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Redbridge. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It forms a significant commercial and retail...
and has two brothers. Her mother is Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
. She attended Trinity Catholic High School, Woodford Green
Trinity Catholic High School, Woodford Green
Trinity Catholic High School is a co-educational, Catholic comprehensive school located in Woodford Green, Greater London, England. It is split between two sites, with years 7-9 on the Lower Site, Sydney Road, and years 10-13 on Upper Site, Mornington Road. There are approximately 1750 pupils, with...
.
She is married to former EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
actor Tom Ellis
Tom Ellis (actor)
Tom Ellis is a Welsh actor best known for playing Dr. Oliver Cousins in the BBC soap opera EastEnders and Detective Sergeant Sam Speed in a Life on Mars parody on the The Catherine Tate Show...
. They have one child.