The Mirror  Saturday 6th March 1999

This EXCLUSIVE by our favourite celebrity columnist Matthew Wright was headlined 'I was so unhappy as my weight ballooned.  I'd look at myself in photos and think: It's not me;'

Speaking about Martine McCutcheon feeling on top of the world Matthew reports ' Her four years as Tiffany Mitchell in EastEnders are fast becoming a distant memory as she chases her dream of pop glory in the Big Apple.

Martine has a £1 million record contract to go with her stunning looks and universal appeal.  As she shoots her first pop video in a fabulous loft apartment near Central Park, she looks more lithe and gorgeous than poor doomed Tiff ever did.

A year ago, everything seemed to be going wrong for her.  She was struck down with pneumonia, her figure was ballooning and she felt terrible. Martine says, " I'd come down with it while I was doing panto, but I just ignored it and that's what made the glandular fever so bad later.

After the panto, I went straight back to EastEnders. I went on holiday to Spain with Patsy Palmer to when I got the first chance to have a break. I remember getting there and falling asleep. When Patsy woke me up, she said 'You're not well, Martine you keep sleeping for ages' I said 'How long?' and Patsy said, 'About two days. "

Although Martine wanted to take a break from EE, she was deeply shocked when her character was abruptly killed off.
"I was heartbroken" she continues, "I kept saying  'But why does Tiffany have to die?" but they'd made their minds up.

"I look back on it now and think: 'Maybe they did me a favour killing off Tiff, because I'm free to do whatever I want now."'

Thanks Matthew, great stuff.

Martine's single 'Perfect Moment' is released on April 5 and you can hear it using real audio/player on her website www.martinemccutcheon.com.

Article rating 9/10

Quote of the day: Progress imposes not only new possibilities for the future, but new restrictions. NORBERT WIENER 1954