‘His family are like The Waltons of Chelsea!’ Martine McCutcheon pokes fun at Hugh Grant

Martine McCutcheon has playfully poked fun at her former Love Actually co-star Hugh Grant, dubbing his family The Waltons of Chelsea.

Putting a Sloaney twist on the fictional working class family who battled The Great Depression and World War II in the hit 1970s TV series, the talented actress, 45, couldn’t contain her laughter when she spoke exclusively to MailOnline. 

‘It’s so lovely to see him happy, content and settled as a dad,’ she said of the father-of-five, 61.

‘His family are like The Waltons of Chelsea… there are so many kids!’ Martine McCutcheon has playfully poked fun at her Love Actually co-star Hugh Grant (pictured in-character for Red Nose Day Actually)

The original Waltons: The actress put a Sloaney twist on the fictional working class family who battled The Great Depression and World War II in the hit 1970s TV series (pictured in the 1970s)

It wasn’t long before she added, ‘His family are like The Waltons of Chelsea… there are so many kids!’ before bursting into a fit of giggles.

Hugh shares Tabitha, ten, and John, nine, with his ex-girlfriend Tinglan Hong, 50, and Felix, eight, from his current marriage to Anna Eberstein, 42.

He has since gone on to reportedly welcome two more children with the businesswoman – however their names remain unknown.

He worked with Martine, alongside a very star-studded line-up, in the rom-com back in 2003 – and the pair have remained firm friends ever since.  

Loved up: Hugh shares Tabitha, ten, and John, nine, with his ex-girlfriend Tinglan Hong, 50, and, from his current marriage to Anna Eberstein, 42, Felix, eight, along with two other children whose names are unknown (pictured in 2019 with Anna)

Love Actually: Martine played a No. 10 tea lady, Natalie, who caught the eye of the Prime Minister, David, portrayed by Hugh in the iconic Christmas-themed film 

‘I would love any excuse – any actress would want to work with Hugh again, to work with Richard [Curtis] again and Bill [Nighy], and Colin Firth is just amazing,’ she said.

Martine played a No. 10 tea lady, Natalie, who caught the eye of the Prime Minister, David, portrayed by Hugh in the iconic Christmas-themed film. 

The former EastEnders star, who took on her career-defining role at the age of 27, told how Emma Thompson acted as her biggest mentor on-set, adding that the pair would eat lunch in Martine’s trailer.

‘Emma was like a mentor to me when I was there. She came in and had lunch in my trailer. She made me feel like I belonged there and had every right to be there.

Beaming: The talented actress, 45, couldn’t contain her laughter as she spoke exclusively to MailOnline (pictured in 2021)

‘I could tell her any of my insecurities, any of my fears, anything I was worried about from a human perspective and a technical perspective, she was just brilliant. 

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‘I was just like a sponge just taking it all in, I think I asked her every question under the sun,’ she joked. 

The NTA winner added that she initially had fears of being ‘kicked off set for not being good enough’, however her well-versed cast members soon made her feel ‘at home’.

‘There were such big stars so there was no ego. Everyone had earned their stripes, they were all very gracious,’ she said.

Martine said: ‘I would love any excuse – any actress would want to work with Hugh again, to work with Richard [Curtis] again and Bill [Nighy], and Colin Firth is just amazing,’ she said (pictured Colin, left, and Bill, right, in-character in 2003)

Kind: The former EastEnders star told how Emma Thompson acted as her biggest mentor on-set, adding that the pair would eat lunch in Martine’s trailer (pictured in-character in 2003)

‘I genuinely thought, “Maybe I’m good on the small screen but the big screen is a whole other thing,” and, “Be careful what you wish for because here you are and now you’ve got to come up with the goods.”

‘I was petrified, absolutely petrified. I’ve always had imposter syndrome, this feeling that I was gonna get kicked out or I didn’t belong or that I wasn’t posh enough or from the right background or whatever,’ the Hackney-born star admitted.

Martine is working alongside Flora ProActiv during National Cholesterol Month.

After her grandmother passed away following a battle with the condition, Martine’s mum Jenny decided to test herself after experiencing fatigue, along with her aunt – despite not having any symptoms.

When their tests both came back positive, they managed to turn things around with a healthy diet and regular exercise.

Speaking about how easy it is to test yourself, Martine said: ‘I think people are put off because they think they’ve got to go to the GP but you can literally get a finger prick test in the pharmacy yourself.

‘It’s so beneficial for your health to find out early because then you learn how to manage it and you can nip it in the bud. If there’s something you can control and turn around, why wouldn’t you? 

‘Because of what happened, we’ve always had Flora ProActiv in the fridge since I was a little girl, for as long as I can remember.

‘Flora ProActiv with the plant sterols are proven to reduce cholesterol so it’s a no brainer for me. I want to help people make a change with this,’ she concluded.

Please visit www.pro-activ.com to download your free cholesterol lowering guide. 

Safety first: After her grandmother passed away following a battle with the condition, Martine’s mum Jenny (pictured in 2021, left) decided to test herself after experiencing fatigue, along with her aunt – despite not having any symptoms

Source: Daily Mail