Martine McCutcheon was left devastated over her health diagnosis

Love Actually star 'sobbed all day' after receiving devastating health diagnosis

Love Actually star Martine McCutcheon has opened up about the moment she received her ADHD diagnosis, admitting she "sobbed" and said "they've got it wrong"

by · DevonLive

Martine McCutcheon, famed for her role as Tiffany Mitchell in EastEnders and her appearance in Love Actually, has opened up about being left devastated by a shock health diagnosis. Martine was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), alongside chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), fibromyalgia, and Lyme disease in 2023.

Speaking on the ADHD Chatter Podcast on October this week, she shared her emotional reaction to the diagnosis, saying: "At first, I was like, 'They've got it wrong', and I forgot about it. And my mum was like, 'Oh, you know; I know you said that you've been diagnosed with ADHD, and there's this book about women and how it's very different'.

"And I was like, 'But I don't have it; I think they got it wrong'. She was like, 'What do you mean they got it wrong? Like, you did a full-on private like indulgent pretty fabulous test, Martine, and you were...your score was high."

Martine explained her hesitance to accept the label, stating that it felt "complicated" and that there were "other factors" at play, leading her to believe it was a "lazy label".

Martine McCutcheon recounted when she first received her diagnosis(Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images for SHEIN)

She continued: "I started reading more and more and then I sobbed. One day, I just sobbed and I felt so sad for all the things that could have been so different if only I'd known all the choices that I would have made from a different place, from a different angle that would have been so much more kind and compassionate to who I was."

ADHD is a condition that affects people's behaviour, causing difficulties with concentration, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness, as stated by the NHS. In response to a 2023 Instagram post by Jay Shetty, the soap star revealed that for individuals struggling to focus or "have ADD like me, or ADHD or depression, peri meno or anxiety etc", she suggested trying "these little but potent 10-minute meditations".

In addition to ADD, Martine's CFS led to severe symptoms, which at one point left her needing to use a wheelchair and lacking the energy to take showers.