Tamzin Outhwaite insists she isn't having a "mid-life crisis" just because she's taking a career break.
Tamzin Outhwaite
The 'New Tricks' star - who divorced 'Miranda' actor Tom Ellis, 36, in 2013 - began a 12-month sabbatical from work in June to spend more time with her children, Florence Elsie, seven, and three-year-old Marnie Mae and although people are telling her that she's mad to stop working, she doesn't regret the decision because she's getting to have the "gap year" she previously missed out on.
Tamzin, 44, said: "I'm three months into the gap year that I never had ... We've been horse riding, and learning Italian! And we're all learning the piano. So it's a bit ridiculous and people keep saying, 'Is it a mid-life crisis?' But I'm like, 'No not at all'. It's just about trying to do things with my kids that I just haven't been able to do."
The cancellation of 'New Tricks' after 12 series was the catalyst that prompted Tamzin to make the decision to have a break.
In an appearance on 'Loose Women', the former 'EastEnders' actress said: "I never had a gap year after college, I left in 1990, and since then I've not stopped working which I'm thankful for. I know I'm really lucky, but even through pregnancies and everything I worked non-stop.
"I think everything - money, popularity and career - nothing is more important than the children. I'm three months in and I have no itchy feet yet. They are adoring it. It's a year for me to saying yes to everything that you can't say yes to when you're working."
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