Tamzin Maria Outhwaite (; born 5 November 1970) is an English actress, dancer, presenter and narrator. From 1998 to 2002, and again from 2018 to 2019, she played the role of Mel Owen in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She has also starred in a number of theatre and television productions, including army series Red Cap and crime drama New Tricks. She also played Rebecca Mitchell in the BBC drama series Hotel Babylon (2006–2009).
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Early life
The only daughter of Anna (née Santi) and Colin Frank Outhwaite, born in Ilford, Greater London, Outhwaite has two younger brothers. She was educated at Trinity Catholic High School, Woodford Green. Her mother is of Italian heritage. Her maternal great grandfather and his eldest son were born in Barga, Italy, and became naturalised British citizens in 1957, living first in Glasgow, Scotland, and then settling in Fishburn, England running an ice cream business.
Outhwaite attended the Stagestruck Theatre Company as a teenager, taking part in several productions during the mid-1980s. While at school, she studied part-time at Sylvia Young Theatre School, and on leaving school in 1987, she joined the London Studio Centre to study drama and dance.
