His EastEnders character Christian Clarke hasn’t had a civil partnership yet, but in real life, actor John Partridge was very happy to celebrate his union with Canadian actor Jon Tsouras. The couple were surrounded by many of John’s EastEnders co-stars. "It should have been me!" Marc Elliott, who plays Christian’s lover Syed Masood, joked to HELLO!. Nina Wadia, who plays Syed’s disapproving mother Zainab Masood joked: "I’m here to stop the wedding." She then added how fond she is of John. "It’s hard to say those horrible things to him on screen."
Other Walford residents at the ceremony included Zoe Lucker [Vanessa Gold] Jo Joyner [Tanya Branning] Lindsey Coulson [Carol Jackson] and Tony Discipline [Tyler Moon], who was making his first public appearance with his girlfriend, co-star Jacqueline Jossa [Lauren Branning]. Tamzin Outhwaite, a close friend of the couple, gave a reading and told HELLO! that she first met John when they both appeared in a U2 music video. She added that the couple were "brave to make this public declaration of love".Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps star Natalie Casey was “honorary best man".
The celebration was suitably theatrical, with the couple shunning a slow first dance. "I didn’t want to be slow-dancing to Chris de Burgh," quipped Jon. Instead, they opted for a flash-mob style routine, which had been secretly choreographed.About a week before their big day, they sent out a video of the routine to a select group of about 35 guests. "We’ve had to bypass people with two left feet," joked John. EastEnders stars Nina Wadia and Meryl Fernandes, were among the select group, as was Miranda star Tom Ellis. John told HELLO! how proud he was of his EastEnders storyline with Marc. "What was clever about our story was that it was initially about what you didn’t see," he says. "We were careful not to shock and alienate the audience. I think it’s fantastic to be gay at any time of day, but on television it’s mainly OK to be gay after 9pm.EastEnders have given us a Romeo and Romeo story and I’m very, very proud of that. "He is also very proud to be hitched. Of his civil service with Jon, he said: "This has truly been the best thing I’ve ever done in my life, without question".For the full interview, pick up HELLO! Magazine, issue 1197, on sale now.
