Martine McCutcheon says 'worst time' of her career was at Yorkshire nightclub

Speaking to comedian and host Rob Brydon on a podcast, the former Eastenders and Love Actually star was speaking about her career following a stint on The Masked Singer.

She has experienced the highs and lows of showbiz over her career, but said it was a performance in Doncaster’s The Ritzy more than three decades ago that was one of her worst memories.

She had formed the girl group Milan after leaving drama school aged 15, and they were signed by record label Polydor. But her ideas of showbiz came crashing to earth with a bang when she played the Doncaster venue in front of two people and a dog.

She said: “The worst time I had was when we did a gig at The Ritzy in Doncaster. When we came out on stage there were two goths and a dog in the audience. And they didn’t even clap at the end.

“I’ll never forget our manager going out there and saying to us, ‘Imagine it’s Wembley’ and I was like, ‘Are you having a laugh?’

“We’re giving it all and there’s these two goths just stood there stony-faced — even the dog didn’t look happy.”

The club has been known by a string of names over the years, including Top Rank, Rotters, Elektrik Avenue, Ritzy, Visage, Trilogy and Kooky.

Fortunately for the 46-year-old, it was the start of a great career which saw her enjoy a number one in the late 90s with Perfect Moment.

Last year she was Swan in The Masked Singer, played Tiffany Mitchell in EastEnders from 1995 to 1998 and had a key role opposite Hugh Grant in Love Actually.