It Felt Like The Stars Had Aligned

EastEnders star Tamzin Outhwaite on her joy at returning to her soap roots, and why her number one role is being a mum…

- Alison Slade

SOAPS

EastEnders

MONDAY, TUESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY/ BBC1 / TIMES VARY

Last October, when EastEnders bosses announced that Tamzin Outhwaite would be reprising  her role as Mel Owen, it set tongues wagging at TV Times.

Since leaving the soap in 2002, she has notched up numerous roles on TV in the likes of Red Cap, Hotel Babylon and New Tricks, while also proving her acting chops in a raft of theatre productions. Of the actors we’d mentally tipped to return to the show, she was never on the list.

‘It definitely wasn’t in the plan,’ admits Tamzin, 47, ‘but to tell you the truth, I’ve never really had a plan. At the moment, it’s about being around for my children.’

Tamzin’s kids are nine-year-old Florence and five-year-old Marnie, from her eight-year marriage to actor Tom Ellis – best known for playing Gary in Miranda, and now making a name for himself in the States in comedy-drama, Lucifer. The pair divorced in 2014 and Tamzin, who lives in north London, now factors in filming locations when selecting roles to work on.