Tamzin Outhwaite has opened up on her current relationship status as she’s set to dazzle the Strictly dancefloor after her devastating split with her boyfriend earlier this year

Tamzin Outhwaite is on a personal mission – and it involves sequins, salsas and facing her fears. The 54-year-old actress has waltzed into the line-up for Strictly Come Dancing’s 2024 Christmas Special alongside salsa superstar and pro dancer Nikita Kuzmin.

She’s finding the whole experience “terrifying”, her back is in agony and she’s waking up “like a nana” reports OK!. But it’s all part of her quest to challenge herself, build on things that make her happy and “fill up my own cup”. “I’m just trying to stay open, get out of my comfort zone and do different things to help me grow,” says Tamzin. “I’m on a bit of a mission at the moment. I want to do more things that give you fear because even going through the fear is important. That’s where your growth happens as a person.”

Tamzin is taking part in this year’s Strictly Christmas special ( 
Image:
Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Tamzin’s change in pace began after the menopause hit while she was trying to juggle her busy life as an actress, a mum-of-two, and a doting daughter to her elderly father who lives “at the end of the garden”.

Overwhelmed, she threw herself into wellness, learning breathwork, stepping up her yoga practice and building a sauna in her spare room.

Tamzin says, “Taking stock, taking a breath and retreating is something I’ve been learning to do so I can fill up my own cup then come back into my life and do everything that I do, which is keeping up a career, keeping up home, keeping up everything to do with my children and my dad, who lives with me at the end of the garden. It’s making sure everyone is OK. I’m not a saint but juggling all the plates and a career on top of that can be quite stifling.”

Earlier this year, Tamzin split up with her boyfriend of six years, Tom Child, 33. Before that her marriage to actor Tom Ellis, 46, hit the rocks in 2013 when she reportedly discovered he had an affair with a co-star and the couple divorced the following year.

Ending a long-term relationship is never easy, but Tamzin is enjoying her freedom and determined not to rush into a new relationship. “I’m happy single,” Tamzin says, firmly. “There’s a lot on! Life is really busy, throwing a relationship into that is a whole other thing. Freedom fills up my cup, freedom to do as you please is a lovely thing. That makes me happy.”

Tamzin split with Tom earlier this year ( 
Image:
DAILY MIRROR)
On the festive edition of Strictly, Tamzin is dancing with Nikita, who has been given a nickname in the home she shares with her daughters Florence, 16, and Marnie, 12. “We call him Prince Charming,” says Tamzin. “He just has the hair and face and the body and everything. He looks like Prince Charming.”

Over Strictly’s 20 years, there have been quite a few romances between the show’s celebrities and their professional dance partners. However, Tamzin insists she has never been in danger of falling for her partner. “Of course I haven’t!” she laughs. “He’s a 26-year-old man with a wonderful girlfriend.”

However, the pair have had fun in rehearsals, with Nikita teaching her the Viennese waltz. “He’s got such great energy,” says Tamzin. “As soon as I walked in the room I could tell that his energy was a similar vibe to mine.”

Unable to commit to a whole series of the show, Tamzin describes doing the Christmas Special as “a little snippet, a little hors d’oeuvre of Strictly”.

However, training left her obsessed with all things ballroom and hungry for more. She says, “I thought, I’ll never get sucked into the Strictly thing, no way, it’s only a couple of weeks. But I fell hook, line and sinker into this little magic bubble!”

Although she admits the thought of dancing in front of millions is scary. “The idea of doing Strictly does fill me with fear,” says the ex-EastEnders star. “You’re out of your comfort zone and doing a dance you’ve never even done a step of and knowing it’s in front of millions of people.”

The former EastEnders star says she’s ‘out of her comfort zone’ ( 
Image:
Daily Mirror)And the training is taking its toll. “I’m of a certain age and waking up the following morning in agony thinking, ‘Why didn’t I do this in my forties?’ I’ve been holding the frame of a Viennese waltz, which I’ve never done, and my back was in such an alien position but it felt beautiful to do it. But dancing brought all the joy of dance back into my life – it sounds cheesy but it’s real and it really happened.”

Last year, EastEnders’ Jamie Borthwick did the festive special and loved it so much he took part in this year’s main competition. So would Tamzin sign up for 2025?

“It would terrify me,” she admits. “I don’t think my body would hold out. Maybe I should have done it when I was younger.”

Instead, she wants to sign up to classes so she can keep dancing while not having the stress of braving critiques from judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke. “I’ve got the bug to do a class, or do some ballroom or go to a workshop,” says Tamzin.

After having her self-care epiphany, Tamzin began her own charity called We Free Women, which holds free retreats for women who are struggling to cope under the strain of their busy lives.

“We’re helping women who are stuck and who can’t carry the load,” says Tamzin. “Women are the people who really hold society and family together a lot of the time and when they hit a certain age and menopause kicks in they can’t keep spinning all the plates. That’s how I felt three or four years ago. I was on a retreat and I came up with this idea and then basically I got an influx of people saying, ‘This is what I need, I need to escape from life and not be a plate spinner.’”

Now, alongside acting, Tamzin holds six retreats a year for eight to 10 women at a time. She says, “They’re completely financed from fundraising. It’s a wonderful, life-affirming thing and I really love doing it.”

Part of Tamzin’s self-care is keeping up a strong friendship group, which includes fellow TV stars Lisa Faulkner, Amanda Holden, Sarah Parish and Angela Griffin. At the time of our interview she’s about to embark on a Christmassy weekend with her girl gang. However, she’s slightly worried she won’t be able to stop thinking about Strictly.

“I’m seeing them all this weekend, which I’m really excited about,” says Tamzin. “It’s our Christmas weekend we do every year – I must remember not to bore them with my Strictly stuff!”