Martine's back in business

by BAZ BAMIGBOYE, Daily Mail

Last updated at 09:35 04 March 2005


There was a veritable constellation of stars near the bar at the Vanity Fair Oscar party - Adam Sandler, Reese Witherspoon, Halle Berry, Orlando Bloom, Matthew Vaughn, Jamie Oliver - and then she came into view. Martine McCutcheon.

It's a helluva long way from playing Tiffany Raymond in EastEnders to mixing with this crowd at what is still the biggest Oscar bash around.

Martine told me she'd been in Los Angeles for several weeks, but she was cautious about revealing what she'd been doing.

"I wish I was allowed to tell you, but I can't for now," Martine apologised.

An entertainment executive later explained that she has landed not one but two projects - one with an American television network, the other in a studio film - and has signed confidentiality agreements for both.

"I've been here for weeks, working away, meeting all kinds of people, and sometimes I have to pinch myself to remind me where I am!" Martine said.

I know how she feels. I'm suddenly chatting away with Beyonce Knowles, who emerged as the big star of Oscar night after singing three of the nominated songs. Andrew Lloyd Webber is dying to work with her again.

I go to the loo and there's Warren Beatty. As Meryl Streep once remarked to me: "We're all human. We all go to the bathroom."

Indeed, some even flush. Martine will spend the next few months in preproduction on the two projects.

Hollywood producers have been looking for a way to harness her talent after they saw her in Love Actually, and particularly when they caught her performance in Trevor Nunn's National Theatre production of My Fair Lady.

When the confidentiality clauses in Martine's contracts are lifted I'll be able to tell you exactly what she's going to be up to. But one thing's for sure - she's stepped out of the Hollywood shadows.

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