Martine McCutcheon

Martine Kimberley Sherrie Ponting was born on 14 May 1976 at the Salvation Army Mothers' Hospital in the London Borough of Hackney to Jenny Ponting and Thomas "Keith" Hemmings. While in a relationship with Keith, Jenny experienced domestic violence, which continued for many years after their split. After one of many incidents in which he attempted to kill both Jenny and Martine, he was arrested and later charged and remanded in custody for six months. Jenny then met John McCutcheon, whom she later married. When Martine was nine, Keith contacted Jenny and asked for access to her. Jenny refused, prompting him to seek sole custody of Martine through the courts. He eventually lost the case, was denied any access to Martine until she was 18 and told that he could not apply for it again due to his past behaviour. Shortly after, her surname was changed to her stepfather's, McCutcheon. When Martine was sixteen, her mother gave birth to her half-brother, Laurence "LJ". Jenny and John eventually divorced and she married Alan Tomlin in 2000. McCutcheon attended a nursery school in Colchester, Essex, and later the Shacklewell Infants' School in Hackney, where she performed in her first play Away in a Manger before progressing to the Shacklewell Juniors' School at the age of six, where she appeared in more plays, including ''Noah's Ark''. At the age of five, she began attending extra dance classes and later enrolled in a dance school in Stoke Newington. Shortly before her tenth birthday, she successfully auditioned for a place at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. However, because of the changing policy of the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA), she was no longer eligible for the grant she was supposed to receive for coming second in the audition and, with no financial support, she was forced to withdraw. Instead, she began to attend Italia Conti's Saturday lessons. Later, the Reeves Foundation, a Church of England charity based in Moorgate, offered McCutcheon a grant and she was able to enrol at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. She finished school with nine GCSEs. ==Career==

Early career At the age of 12, McCutcheon obtained her first acting role and was paid £350 to appear in an American television commercial for the drink Kool-Aid, which was followed by modelling assignments and bit parts in television shows. She was given the part of Mandy in the television series Bluebirds (1989) alongside Barbara Windsor and played Susan, Jane's sister (played by Denise van Outen), in the Anthony Newley-directed production of Stop the World – I Want to Get Off, at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley, London, which was later transferred to the West End Lyric Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue. This was followed by two guest appearances on the ITV police drama The Bill in 1991 and 1992. McCutcheon also appeared in the music video for the song "Caribbean Blue" by Irish singer Enya. By the time she was 15, she was part of an all-girl group, Milan, with two fellow pupils, and landed a record contract with Polydor and a gig touring as the warm-up act for the British boyband, East 17. Milan were reasonably successful. Three of their singles: "Is It Love You're After", "Affectionately Mine" and "Lead Me On", charted in the top ten of the dance charts, with the latter also making it to the top 100 of the UK Singles Chart. However, they were not successful enough to make a living and disbanded. In reality, McCutcheon had decided to leave the soap in order to embark on a pop career and the death of her character was not viewed favourably by the actress as she had intended to return. Since leaving the show, McCutcheon has publicly slammed the BBC's "Controller of Continuing Drama Series", Mal Young, who made the decision to kill her character. She accused him of treating her unfairly and bringing her role in the soap to an end so irrevocably, merely as punishment for leaving. In 2000, McCutcheon released her second album, Wishing, which was less successful, charting at number 25 in the UK. The album spawned two singles – the number two hit "I'm Over You" and the follow-up song, a cover of the Donna Summer classic "On the Radio" which peaked at number seven. Despite peaking at only number 25, the album still managed to sell around 250,000 copies, and received a gold certification from BPI. McCutcheon released her third album, Musicality, a Broadway-influenced cover album, in 2002. It reached number 55 in the UK and was certified silver by BPI. Due to poor sales, her recording contract was cancelled and her pop career stalled. McCutcheon returned to music in 2017 with her fourth studio album, Lost and Found, released in August by BMG. Its lead single, "Say I'm Not Alone" was released on 30 May 2017. The album peaked at number 17 in the UK, becoming McCutcheon's highest-charting record since You Me & Us. Film, stage and television McCutcheon regularly appears in pantomimes. She appeared in ITV's The Knock as well as the British film Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang) in 2000. She went on to play Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady at the National Theatre in London. Despite missing many performances (citing health problems) and withdrawing nearly five months early from the production's transfer to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical at the 2002 ceremony. In 2002, McCutcheon presented the National Music Awards for ITV1 and in 2003 she featured in her only major film role. She appeared as tea-lady Natalie in the Richard Curtis romantic comedy Love Actually, where the British Prime Minister played by Hugh Grant, falls in love with McCutcheon's character. The film received positive reviews and was a box office success. McCutcheon went to America in the wake of the film's success, but a Hollywood career did not materialise. Nevertheless, she won the MTV Movie Award for Best Trans-Atlantic Breakthrough Performer and the Empire Award for Best Newcomer at the 9th Empire Awards for her performance. In September 2005, she appeared in two episodes of BBC drama series Spooks. Screened on the UK television network ITV1 in December 2005, McCutcheon appeared in The English Harem, playing a woman in love with a Muslim man (Art Malik), who marries him, despite knowing he already has two wives. That same year, she presented and performed on ITV's entertainment programme, Moviemusic Mania. In 2007, McCutcheon was seen in two independent films, Withdrawal and Jump!, as well as the ''Agatha Christie's Marple'' television series episode "At Bertram's Hotel". She was also a judge for the second series of ITV1's Soapstar Superstar. Her appearance on the show drew criticism, with reports alleging that she was becoming a hate figure for the contestants, who were said to have found her comments relentlessly critical and at times patronising. On 8 March 2007, she performed in an Art Plus fundraising event at the Whitechapel Art Gallery opposite Natalie Press, Samantha Morton and Rhys Ifans, and in January 2008, she featured in the ITV soap Echo Beach as the character Susan Penwarden. In September 2016, McCutcheon was announced as a panelist on the ITV daytime show Loose Women, after making a few guest appearances on the show earlier in the year. In 2021, she competed on the second series of The Masked Singer as Swan, and was the third contestant to be unmasked. Books In 2000, McCutcheon released her autobiography, Who Does She Think She Is?. In 2003, Martine McCutcheon: Behind the Scenes – A Personal Diary was published by HarperCollins. In 2009, her first novel, The Mistress, was published by Pan MacMillan. Other work McCutcheon was one of many celebrities who featured in a 2004 promotional film for London's successful bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. A fitness DVD, Martine McCutcheon: Dance Body, was released in December 2005. In 2006, the supermarket chain Tesco announced that they would be using McCutcheon in a series of adverts to promote a new green scheme for recycling used plastic carrier bags. From 2010 to 2011, she was the face on Danone's UK advertising campaign for its Activia yogurt brand. ==Awards and honours==

In July 2014, she was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Bolton for her services to entertainment. ==Personal life==

McCutcheon was engaged to DJ Gareth Cooke, but broke off the relationship in 1996. She was later in a relationship with Jonathan Barnham, by whom she became pregnant in 1999, but suffered a miscarriage in the second month. McCutcheon married singer Jack McManus at Lake Como in September 2012; the couple had been dating since 2009. On 4 February 2015, she gave birth to a son, Rafferty Jack McManus. In August 2024, McCutcheon announced that she and her husband had separated. In 2011, McCutcheon was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and six years later also with Lyme disease. On social media, she shares her experiences with flare-ups of fibromyalgia and how this impacts her, such as slowing down her journey with weight loss. She also has ADHD. In 2013, she was declared bankrupt by the Kingston upon Thames County Court with creditors including HM Revenue and Customs. ==Filmography==

Studio albums Extended plays Compilation albums Singles As lead artist As featured artist Other appearances ==References==