Martine McCutcheon Exclusive: On ‘sexy’ Hugh Grant, not being able to watch Love Actually…and serving tea to the PM for real.

MARTINE McCutcheon has revealed how she can’t bear to watch herself on Love Actually at Christmas.

But the former Eastenders actress says her family still watch it every year, and she is incredibly proud of the film’s success.

Speaking exclusively to GB News as the iconic movie celebrates its 20th anniversary Martine said: “My family like to watch it. But I can’t bear to see myself on camera. I can do it when I’m on set, and I’m looking at the monitor and being constructive – but then once it’s done it is done.

“So yeah, my mum’s like: ‘Oh, she’s on, she’s on! Come on Martine!’…But no I can’t watch myself.”

She added: “It’s just so lovely that here we are 20 years later since it was made, and it’s just snowballed.

“It’s just become this Christmas phenomenon, you know, it’s so lovely to be a part of.

“I think we all felt like we were part of something special, but I don’t think we realised it would just be this huge still 20 years later, for sure.

“I still pinch myself that I was even in the film. So yeah, it is amazing. Absolutely amazing.”

Martine famously starred as Downing Street worker Natalie in Love Actually – and ended up wooing the Prime Minister, played by Hugh Grant.

Asked if she found Hugh Grant sexy, she told Isabel Webster and Andrew Pierce: “Oh, yeah, of course who doesn’t?

“He’s one of the biggest movie stars for a reason and he’s very humble about that.

“I think he’s lovely and I think that he definitely deserves his status as the rom-com king, and he’s gone on to do some amazing dramas as well. It’s a great time for him.”

Recalling how she later visited Downing Street for real, Martine revealed: “We were invited to go to Number 10 when Tony Blair was our Prime Minister and I couldn’t resist it.

“I had to sit in Winston Churchill’s chair and it was amazing. I surprised Tony Blair to come in with tea and biscuits. He didn’t know anything about it.

“It was definitely a moment I won’t forget, that’s for sure. And it was amazing to be inside there looking at the real history of Number 10 Downing Street thinking of all those things, those walls and saying, ‘my goodness me’.

On her plans for this year, Martine said she intends to spend it with her family, saying: “Yeah, I’m normally the one that hosts, it seems to be like a running thing now that I’ve become like the Christmas Queen, and everybody comes to us and expects us to house it.

“My husband cooks. I make sure that everything looks really lovely and play loads of music. We’ve got a big Irish background, so music’s always playing, and we sing and dance.

“It’s a real time for us to embrace each other. And I mean of course we have our moments with each other and drive each other nuts like any other family, but normally it’s one day where you put all of that to one side and you just cherish each other.

“Christmas can be a tricky time anyway. The world’s been through a lot. I think people are kind of making sure that they want to buy the right presents and apparently one of the biggest fallouts that you have over Christmas is that people buy each other the wrong presents or an unthoughtful present.

“But basically, I’ve joined up with the One For All campaign and they have like 55,000 stores, outlets everywhere from furniture, toys, fashion, jewellery, clothing, so you can give a card that is an amazing gift, and someone can actually get something they want, and you haven’t wasted your money.

“What’s lovely is that even though there are all these dramas and people sometimes dread that time of being with family at Christmas, apparently most people say that they are really pleased that they did get together and they did see them, and it is ultimately all about love.”