Martin John Kemp (born 10 October 1961) is an English actor, musician, and occasional television presenter, best known as the bassist in the new wave band Spandau Ballet, as well as for his portrayal as Steve Owen from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He is the younger brother of Gary Kemp, who is also a member of Spandau Ballet and has also had an acting career. He also finished third in the summer series of Celebrity Big Brother 2012.

Biography

Martin Kemp has been married to Shirlie Holliman since 1988. Holliman is a former backing singer of the group Wham! and one half of the 1980s pop duo, Pepsi & Shirlie. The couple have a daughter, Harley Moon, (born 1989) and a son, Roman (born 1993). Kemp is a patron of the British/Irish charity, The Encephalitis Society. At the time he became a patron, he confirmed that he had had controlled epilepsy since the 1990s, as a result of two brain tumours. Following the tumours, Kemp had a protective metal plate implanted over his brain under the scalp.

It is unnoticeable but not undetectable – during an appearance on the Frank Skinner Show in 2002, Kemp jokingly remarked that he could never slip quietly through metal detectors at airports, as the plate would set the alarm off. On 20 January 2006, Kemp opened a new CT scanning suite at Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley, West Midlands.