John Partridge (performer)

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John Partridge
John Partridge performing the role of Rum Tum Tugger in the 1998 film of the musical CATS
Born	24 July 1971 (1971-07-24) (age 36) Manchester England
Occupation	Singer, Dancer, Actor
Years active	1988 - Present

for others with the same name, see John Partridge

John Partridge (born July 24, 1971 in Manchester, England), is an English actor, who works predominantly as a singer and dancer in musical theatre, and best known for his portrayal of the character Rum Tum Tugger in the official film production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical CATS. Since January 2008, Partridge has been a cast member of the long running BBC television soap opera EastEnders playing Jane Beale's gay brother Christian Clarke.^[1] Partridge is openly gay.^[2]

1 Professional career
2 Theatre Credits
3 Discography
4 References

[edit] Professional career

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Patridge initially trained in ballet at the Royal Ballet Lower School, appearing in the television adaptation of Stan Barstow's novel A Kind of Loving in 1982. He went on to train in musical theatre at the Bush Davies School of Performing Arts and Doreen Bird College of Performing Arts. He left college early at the age of 17, to join the cast of the original UK tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical CATS.

Partridge joined the touring cast of Cats in 1988 and was dance captain from 1989 to 1990. He played the roles of Alonzo and Rumpus Cat and understudied the roles of Mr. Mistoffelees and Rum Tum Tugger. He later joined the West End production of the show at the New London Theatre, playing the roles of Rum Tum Tugger and Munkustrap and in 1998, he appeared as Rum Tum Tugger in the official film production of the show, produced by Lloyd Webber and filmed at the Adelphi Theatre. He later returned to the West End cast of the show prior to its closure in 2002 and has also appeared as Rum Tum Tugger in the German production at Düsseldorf.

Partridge has made a number of appearances on film and televisions, including the documentary Aspects of Dancing. He has been a guest on the former BBC television talk show Pebble Mill, The Hot Shoe Show also for the BBC, and the long running ITV show This Morning. He has appeared in television commercials for Fox's Biscuits, Colgate Toothpaste, Maltesers and Cadbury's Twirl.

He has worked with several rock and pop acts, including U2, Pet Shop Boys, Kim Wilde, Neneh Cherry, Pete Townshend, Mica Paris and Ultra Nate. He also has his own band, which has played the club circuit and records his own material. None of his own material has been released.

John Partridge is now playing the role of Christian (Jane's younger brother) in Eastenders.^[1]