Tamzin Outhwaite (/ˈaʊθweɪt/; born 5 November 1970) is an English actress. Since coming to national notice playing Melanie Owen in the British soap opera EastEnders from 1998 until 2002, she has since starred in both theatre and television productions, including army series Red Cap and crime drama New Tricks.

Biography

Outhwaite lives in London. From 2006 to 2014 she was married to actor Tom Ellis. They have two daughters Florence Elsie Ellis (born 2008) and Marnie Mae Ellis (born 2012). It was announced in 2013 that the couple had separated and the following month, Outhwaite filed for divorce, citing Ellis' infidelity as the grounds for dissolution of the marriage.

Outhwaite was the subject of an episode of BBC TV series Who Do You Think You Are? shown on 21 August 2014. Her mother is of Italian heritage. Her maternal great grandfather Adelmo Santi and his eldest son Pietro Santi were born in Barga, Italy and became naturalised British citizens in 1957, living first in Glasgow and then settling in Fishburn, County Durham with a thriving ice cream business.