'I FEEL AS IF I'M GOING A BIT CRAZY RIGHT NOW'

DEATH IN PARADISE'S NEW GIRL TAMZIN OUTHWAITE OPENS UP ABOUT GOING THROUGH THE MENOPAUSE AND COPING WITH THE LOSS OF HER MUM

- SAMUEL MCMANUS-MAXWELL, TONY COWELL

Tamzin Outhwaite has had a seriously impressive career to date playing wicked Mel Owen in EastEnders, stern Rebecca Mitchell in Hotel Babylon, and even dressing up as the lovable Scarecrow on The Masked Dancer. But the 51-year-old says she’s been feeling “unsettled”.

“It’s very strange for a woman to get to a stage of her life and think, ‘Who am I?,” she admits as we catch up with her.

She has been coming to terms with the menopause and battling with grief after the sudden death of her mum, Anna, who passed away in 2018 after suffering an aneurysm.

However, Tamzin, who shares daughters Marnie, nine, and Florence, 13, with her ex-husband Tom Ellis, has recently celebrated four years in a “very happy” relationship with the actor and director Tom Child, 30, and has landed a “really meaty role” in the forthcoming series of Death In Paradise.

Here, Tamzin tells us what she misses most about Albert Square, why she’s swapped to a plant-based diet and how she’s learning to not be hard on herself as she copes with grief...

Hi Tamzin! You must be so excited to be playing Holly Faircroft in the new series of Death In Paradise?

It’s something that I have been offered before but never had the opportunity to do. Flying to Guadeloupe in the Caribbean takes a little bit of planning, so I’m so happy I could finally do it. Filming every day in the sun is just so amazing. I felt like Shirley Valentine!

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