John Partridge (born 24 July 1971 in Bury, 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. Partridge is openly gay.

Professional Career:

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. 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's TV appearances include, The Hot Shoe Show, a documentary called Aspects of Dancing, and BBC2 comedy Game On where he portrayed a predatory gay gym member attempting to chat up the sexually confused lead character Matthew. He has appeared in television commercials for Fox's Biscuits, Colgate Toothpaste, Maltesers and Cadbury's Twirl. He has also been a guest on daytime chat shows such as This Morning and Pebble Mill.

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.

Partridge is now playing the role of Christian (Jane's younger brother) in Eastenders.

Theatre Credits:

Aladdin

Hunting of the Snark - "Butcher", Prince Edward Theatre

Starlight Express - "Electra", Apollo Victoria Theatre

Tommy - "The Hawker" & "Captain Walker", Shaftesbury Theatre

Grease - "Roger", Dominion Theatre

The Fix - Donmar Warehouse

Rent - "Roger Davis", Berlin (Germany) (European Tour)

Notre Dame de Paris (musical) - "Gringoire", Dominion Theatre

Black Goes with Everything - Churchill Theatre, Bromley

Taboo - "Marilyn", The Venue

Miss Saigon - UK Tour 2005

The Drowsy Chaperone - Novello Theatre

Discography:

The New Starlight Express (1992) as Electra the Electric Train(CD)

Cats (1998) as Rum Tum Tugger(DVD)

Rent (1999) original German cast recording as Roger Davis (CD)

The Fix original London cast recording(CD)

Taboo (2003) as Marilyn (DVD)

Cats Germany (2004) as Rum Tum Tugger

Background/Training: John now lives in between Berlin and London and trained at the Royal Ballet School, Bush Davies and Doreen Bird’s.

Theatre: West End credits include The Fix (Donmar Warehouse), Hawker/Captain Walker in Tommy (Shaftesbury), Rum Tum Tugger in Cats (New London), Grease (Dominion), Electra in Starlight Express (Apollo Victoria) and The Butcher in The Hunting of the Snark (Prince Edward Theatre). He played Roger Davies in the European tour of Rent. John has most recently appeared in Black Goes With Everything (Churchill Theatre, Bromley) and has just finished starring in Notre Dame de Paris (Dominion)

Television/Film: Numerous videos and commercials, including playing Rum Tum Tugger in the video of Cats. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.