Martine McCutcheon

She studied at the renowned Italia Conti stage school in London from the age of 10. She appeared in several billboard ads and television commercials as a child, then won a part in the BBC children's series Bluebirds in '89, after which further TV and theatre roles followed.

At 15 she was picked to front the all-girl band 'Milan', who went on tour with East 17, but they disbanded in April '94. She earned her Empire and MTV Movie awards.

Her big break came in January '95 with the part of Tiffany Raymond in BBC's soap opera 'Eastenders' and her role in the 2003 romantic comedy Love Actually. She was written out of EastEnders at the end of 1998 and then embarked on a pop career, this time as a solo artist. She has so far released 6 hit singles and 3 albums, two of which reached Gold and Platinum status.