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John Partridge (actor)

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John Partridge
John Partridge photographed in 2012
Born (1971-07-24) 24 July 1971 (age 53)
Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, England
NationalityBritish
Education
Occupation(s)Dancer, singer, actor, television presenter
Years active1988–present
Known forEastenders
Over the Rainbow
Celebrity Big Brother
Taking the Next Step
PartnerJon Tsouras (2011–present)

John Partridge (born 24 July 1971 in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester) is an English actor, dancer, singer, panelist and television presenter, who is probably best known for the role of Christian Clarke in the long-running BBC television soap opera EastEnders, having joined the cast in January 2008. He has worked extensively as a singer and dancer in musical theatre, portraying Rum Tum Tugger in the official film production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats.

Professional career

Partridge initially trained in ballet at the Royal Ballet Lower School,[1] appearing in the television adaptation of Stan Barstow's novel A Kind of Loving in 1982. He went on to train in musical theatre at the Bush Davies School of Theatre Arts and Doreen Bird College of Performing Arts. He left college early at the age of 16, to join the cast of the original UK tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats.[1]

Partridge joined the touring cast of Cats in 1988 and was dance captain from 1989 to 1990.[2] He played the roles of Alonzo and Rumpus Cat and understudied the roles of Mr. Mistoffelees and Rum Tum Tugger. He later joined the West End production of the show at the New London Theatre, playing the roles of Rum Tum Tugger and Munkustrap and in 1998, he appeared as Rum Tum Tugger in the official film production of the show, produced by Lloyd Webber and filmed at the Adelphi Theatre. Partridge later returned to the West End cast of the show prior to its closure in 2002 and has also appeared as Rum Tum Tugger in the German production in Düsseldorf.[2]

Partridge's TV appearances include The Hot Shoe Show, a documentary called Aspects of Dancing, and BBC2 comedy Game On where he portrayed a predatory gay gym member attempting to chat up the sexually confused lead character Matthew. He has appeared in television commercials for Fox's Biscuits, Colgate Toothpaste, Maltesers and Cadbury's Twirl.[3] He has also been a guest on daytime chat shows such as This Morning and Pebble Mill. From January 2008 to November 2012, Partridge was a permanent cast member of the BBC One soap opera, EastEnders playing the role of Christian Clarke, the gay brother of Jane Beale and was typically recognised as a member of the Beale family.[4] His last appearance was on 15 November 2012. Partridge also worked as a choreographer on the show.[5]

Partridge has worked with several rock and pop acts, including U2, Pet Shop Boys, Kim Wilde, Neneh Cherry, Pete Townshend, Mica Paris and Ultra Nate.[6]

In 2010, Partridge, together with Sheila Hancock and Charlotte Church, was one of the judges for the new Andrew Lloyd Webber TV show Over The Rainbow, in search to find a young girl to play Dorothy in a new production of The Wizard of Oz.[2] In April 2010, Partridge was a guest panellist on an episode of ITV's Celebrity Juice. In November 2010, Partridge was awarded the Entertainer of the Year award at the annual Stonewall Awards ceremony.[7]

Since 2010, Partridge has presented the National Lottery[8] and has co-presented the programme with Jenni Falconer since 2011.[9] On 12 December 2010 he appeared on All Star Family Fortunes to raise money for the Terrence Higgins Trust but lost to Caroline Flack.[10]

During Christmas and New Year of 2011 and 2012, Partridge starred as Prince Charming in the pantomime Cinderella at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury.[11]

In July 2012, it was announced at a press launch that Partridge will be once again taking on the role of Prince Charming in Cinderella, this time at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, which ran from 8 December 2012 until 13 January 2013.

On 7 September 2012, Partridge announced that he would be leaving EastEnders filming his final scenes two weeks later. Partridge briefly reprised the role in May 2014 for two episodes when his character attended the funeral of Lucy Beale.[12] In January 2015, it was announced that Partridge will be reprising the role once again for a week-long stint to celebrate EastEnders 30th anniversary celebrations in February 2015.[13]

In November 2012, it was announced that Partridge would be taking on the role of Zach in the West End revival of A Chorus Line, starting in February 2013,[14] and that he would be appearing in Dames 'n' Dudes at the Hippodrome, London from 22–27 April 2013.[15] He later appeared on Let's Dance for Comic Relief in 2013 with his co-stars to perform one of the numbers from A Chorus Line.

In August 2014, Partridge appeared in Tumble, a gymnastics reality show airing on BBC One.[16] He became the third celebrity to leave the competition.[17]

In September 2014, Partridge released his first album, entitled Dames, Dudes + Cowboys Too, an 11-song, 10-track album (10 official tracks, with an additional surprise song embedded in the final track). He held a launch party to promote the release of the album at The Borderline, a London club, on Wednesday 17 September 2014. In November 2015 it was announced that he will play Billy Flynn in the 2016 UK tour of Chicago.[18]

In January 2016 it was announced that he would be taking part in the seventeenth series of Celebrity Big Brother.[19] He left the house on 5 February having finished in sixth place.

In April 2016 Partridge said he was "thrilled" to be returning to EastEnders later that year.[20]

Personal life

Partridge has been in a civil partnership with Jon Tsouras, an actor, since September 2011.[21]

Partridge's mother suffers from Alzheimer's disease. In August 2014 he revealed he has lost four stone since 2012 due to the stress of seeing his mother develop the disease. Partridge has also cited this as the reason why he will not be returning to EastEnders,[22] although he has briefly returned to EastEnders for two episodes in May 2014 and for a week for the shows anniversary celebrations in February 2015. He will also make a brief return in summer 2016.[23]

Awards and nominations

  • 2008 – TV Quick and TV Choice Awards – Best Newcomer – nominated[24]
  • 2010 – Stonewall Awards – Entertainer of the Year – won[7]

Theatre credits

Other

Discography

References

  1. ^ a b Jefford, Kasmira (17 August 2008). "Fame and fortune: John Partridge". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  2. ^ a b c "Over The Rainbow: meet the panellists – John Partridge". BBC. 16 March 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  3. ^ "BBC EastEnders Characters: Christian Clarke". United Kingdom: BBC. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  4. ^ Green, Kris (20 November 2007). "Jane Beale's gay brother cast in EastEnders". United Kingdom: Digital Spy. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  5. ^ Neil, Beth (1 January 2010). "EastEnders Asian Wedding – we go behind the scenes". United Kingdom: Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  6. ^ "John Partridge Biography". hellomagazine.com. hellomagazine.com. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  7. ^ a b Kilkelly, Daniel (5 November 2010). "Corrie, Partridge win Stonewall Awards". Digital Spy. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  8. ^ "BBC – BBC One Programmes – The National Lottery Saturday Night Draws – Episodes from 2010". BBC Online. BBC. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  9. ^ "BBC – BBC One Programmes – The National Lottery Saturday Night Draws – Episodes from 2011". BBC Online. BBC. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  10. ^ Presenter: Vernon Kay (12 December 2010). "All Star Family Fortunes". All Star Family Fortunes. 04:28 minutes in. ITV.
  11. ^ "Marlowe Theatre opens doors with three captioned performances – STAGETEXT News". Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Duncan, Amy (8 April 2014). "EastEnders spoiler: John Partridge returns for Lucy Beale's funeral". Metro. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  13. ^ Ahmed, Tufayel (18 January 2015). "EastEnders 30th anniversary spoilers: John Partridge to return as Christian Clarke - Mirror Online". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  14. ^ Bamigboye, Baz (22 November 2012). "EastEnders to A Chorus Line: John Partridge back on the stage in West End revival of musical". Mail Online. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  15. ^ Bosanquet, Theo (12 February 2013). "John Partridge On.............Judging A Chorus Line and his 30 years in showbiz". Whatsonstage.com Awards. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  16. ^ "BBC One - Tumble - John Partridge". BBC Online. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  17. ^ Love, Ryan (30 August 2014). "John Partridge fails to make semi-final of BBC One's Tumble - TV News - Digital Spy". Digital Spy. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  18. ^ "John Partridge, Hayley Tamaddon, Sam Bailey to star in Chicago in Torquay and Truro in 2016". Plymouth Herald. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2016.[dead link‍]
  19. ^ Lindsay, Duncan (3 January 2016). "Celebrity Big Brother 2016 lineup 'confirmed' – how many do you recognise?". Metro (British newspaper). Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  20. ^ "John Partridge and Lynda Baron to return to EastEnders". BBC. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  21. ^ "EastEnders star John Partridge ties the knot with his long-term boyfriend". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror. 1 October 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  22. ^ Leigh, Rob (9 August 2014). "Tumble favourite John Partridge has lost four stone since leaving EastEnders to become a carer for his mother - Mirror Online". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  23. ^ "John Partridge and Lynda Baron to return to EastEnders". EastEnders News & Spoilers. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  24. ^ Miles, Tina (15 July 2008). "TVQuick and TVChoice Award nominations announced". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
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