John Partridge (born 24 July 1971 in
Radcliffe, England), is an
English actor, who is probably best known for the role of
Christian Clarke in the long-running
BBC television
soap opera EastEnders, having joined the cast in January 2008. He has worked extensively as a singer and dancer in
musical theatre, portraying
Rum Tum Tugger in the official film production of
Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical
CATS. Partridge is openly
gay and lives with his partner Jon Tsouras
.
Professional career
Partridge 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 Theatre 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.
