Martine Fattened Up Actually

Martine McCutcheon will not be outdone by anyone... even A-list actresses.

If Renee Zellweger can pile on the pounds for a film role and then lose them, then so can Martine.

And that's exactly what the former EastEnders star has done.

For Love Actually, in which she plays Hugh Grant's bit of totty, the British actress had to pile on 10lb.

(Anyone would think that Mr Grant loved a plump co-star.) Her character - a tea lady in Downing Street - attracts the attention of the Prime Minister, played by Hugh, and needed to be "plump, gorgeous and juicy" she said.

She went on to tell In Style magazine that it wasn't too much of a struggle:

"I was fine with that, because you can't have a big ego if you want to play a real part.

"I loved eating whatever I wanted.

In the film, references are made about her character's weight, with her telling the prime minister that one boyfriend dumped her because she was too fat and one of the PM's aides complaining about her 'fat thighs'.

But she did admit it was a tough slog to shift the weight again after filming finished.

(Perhaps she could have taken advice from Ms Zellweger who managed to shed a massive four stone after the first Bridget Jones film, only to have had to put it all on again for the second film.

"When I put on weight I put it on everywhere. It's something I need to watch and, if most stars were honest, it's something they all need to watch," Martine blabbed.

"All these women go, 'I can eat whatever I want'... rubbish... you never see them eat," she revealed with the subtlety of a scud missile.

She'll have to learn to be more au fait with the whole tinseltown schmoozing and non-revealing of secrets if her plans turn into reality:

"The Hollywood movie thing is something I've wanted for ages... I'd love to be the next Catherine Zeta-Jones."