She’s recently been on our screens plunging into ice baths on the BBC’s Freeze The Fear With Wim Hof alongside Gabby Logan and Professor Green, but former EastEnders star Tamzin Outhwaite reveals she was inspired to take part in the show after suffering with perimenopausal symptoms during lockdown.
"I lost my confidence a little. I got short with people and my patience wasn’t as good as it could have been," Tamzin, 51, tells Closer.
"I’ve always been happy in myself, but suddenly you don’t feel that you are in your own skin any more. I knew it was perimenopause as I was still having monthly periods.
"The main feeling, that I still have now, is that I really like to be alone. Women of my age tend to be looking after others and you sometimes think, ‘All of you can just do one! I need to look after myself now.’ What if I were to say, no one can live in my house except me?"
She adds, "Taking part in the show did me good. Being away from home and having an experience with all these new people was a breath of fresh air. It was a crazy and exhilarating time."
Tamzin, who lives with partner Tom Child, 31, and daughters Marnie, nine, and Florence 13, who she shares with ex Tom Ellis, also decided to cut out booze as it was sapping her energy. “When I first became menopausal, I realised I couldn’t really drink alcohol any more because I’d have one or two glasses and be like, ‘Oh my god, I need to lie down.’
"And I used to be quite good at drinking! I’d feel dizzy after two drinks and I knew that alcohol was something that I just couldn’t deal with. I do feel better without it and I don’t feel I need to drink when I go out any more."
And the star reveals her changing hormones affected her sleep too. "The menopause gave me insomnia so I now take a daily sachet of Meno Active by Revive, plus vitamins C and D. Since I’ve got back from Italy, my insomnia seems to have gone. I don’t know if that’s due to the breathing exercises we learned, but I feel so much better."
Tamzin is currently on HRT and says taking medication, along with practising yoga and listening to meditation guides, has helped get her mojo back. She adds, “I went to see a GP who specialises in women’s health and now I’m dabbling with HRT, just very low amounts, and I’m feeling OK. There are moments when I don’t feel like myself but they don’t last very long any more. I’m much more positive than I used to be!”