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Abigail Evelyn Titmuss, best known
as Abi Titmuss, (born 8 February 1976 in Ruskington, Lincolnshire) is a
former English nurse turned glamour model, television personality and
actress.
She grew up in Heckington, Lincolnshire where her parents were teachers,
and she took her A levels at Kesteven and Sleaford High School. She played
the clarinet at school. She briefly dated cartoonist BP Perry before
moving to Ruskington. Her parents divorced when she was 17, and her father
moved to Argyll, in Scotland, where he re-married. Her mother is secretary
of Sleaford Museum Trust. She graduated from City University in St
Bartholomew's Hospital in 1998, and became a staff nurse at London's
University College Hospital. She also worked at the Royal Brompton
Hospital, and while there she was harassed by a senior house officer in
2004 who was eventually found guilty of misconduct by a General Medical
Council tribunal.
Titmuss met TV presenter John Leslie at a party in a pub on Fulham Road in
London in 1998. The pair quickly formed a relationship, and Titmuss lived
between her student nurse accommodation at the hospital and Leslie's home
in Barnes, south-west London.
Leslie was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Service, and faced a court
trial, throughout which Titmuss was present at his side. When Leslie was
found not guilty, the assumption was that the couple would continue their
relationship. However, Leslie's career had stalled, whereas Titmuss had
raised her image to the point where she was offered various television
presenting jobs. Her tabloid-friendly looks and ease in front of the
camera gained her a part-time post as a reporter for Leslie's friends
Richard and Judy, undertaking occasional projects while continuing her job
as a nurse.
Titmuss undertook a series of interviews promoting her image as a real sex
star and Britain's #1 pinup, after a sex tape of her was released which
allegedly involves John Leslie. In her own words to The Sunday Mirror she
stated: "I'm not like those glamour girls who say: 'I'm really dirty, I'm
really bad', then just pose around. I really am dirty and bad - I love
sex."
She took up presenting on pornographic channel Television X, released a
fitness video, authored an erotic novel published by Black Lace, and made
personal appearances in nightclubs all over the UK and Ireland. After a
photo shoot opportunity offered by FHM of a two page spread, she
eventually was featured in a three page spread and made the cover. In the
following year, she made 38 front page appearances in 2004 and 2005 for
many UK men's magazines, such as FHM , Nuts, Zoo Weekly, Loaded, GQ and
Maxim magazines, others such as The Sunday Times Style and topless on page
3 of several tabloid newspapers including The Sun, The News Of The World,
The Daily Mirror, The People and Daily Star - each photoshot made her a
minimum of £20,000 per session. Titmuss was voted by readers as #7 in FHM
100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005, and wrote a regular sex advice column
for the magazine. In December 2004, Titmuss appeared on the front cover of
FHM magazine with Victoria Silvstedt. At the height of her fame in 2004/5,
she could command up to £30,000 a day for appearing on the front page of
Nuts or Zoo.
She appeared on ITV1's Celebrity Love Island. Her other television work
includes training as a chef on the 2004 series of Hell's Kitchen, and in
2005, she appeared on Channel 4's The Friday Night Project as a regular
guest feature, and in "Abi Titmuss: A Modern Day Morality Tale", a
fly-on-the-wall documentary for Channel 4. She has also starred on Channel
4's Come Dine With Me.
In 2005, Titmuss appeared in a high fashion shoot in Pop magazine, which
commented on her status as the Face of 21st century celebrity.
After taking a break from modelling work, Titmuss relaunched her glamour
career as a brunette with an appearance on the cover of Zoo magazine and
the sale of the official Abi Titmuss Calendar 2007.
On 25 April 2007, it was announced that Titmuss had made an appearance for
a third year running in FHM's annual 100 Sexiest Women in the World
readers' poll, at #80 (#7 in 2005, #95 in 2004), however Titmuss has
recently announced her intention to take a break from the world of glamour
modelling.
Titmuss returned to glamour modelling with a new Nuts shoot in April 2009.
After taking a short course at the Central School of Speech and Drama,
Titmuss made her West End acting debut in March 2006 playing a prostitute
with a multiple personality disorder in Two Way Mirror by Arthur Miller,
at the Courtyard Theatre in Kings Cross.
In 2006, Titmuss filmed a small role in the major motion picture Goal! 2.
She was also offered a role in a remake of Galaxy of Terror, a 1980 horror
movie set on an alien planet. She turned it down upon learning that her
character would be molested and eaten by a giant moth.
Titmuss was due to have been the subject of a theatre production in a
musical satire entitled Being Abi, performed by students in her home
county of Lincolnshire. Devised by pupils at Boston College in May 2006,
it was scheduled for a three-day run before being cancelled by two of the
performers' concerned parents, who objected to some of the production's
content.
In February 2007, Titmuss won a Fringe Report Award for Best West End
Debut for her role in Two Way Mirror.
She appeared as a celebrity on reality series Deadline with Janet Street
Porter as an editor on ITV2. The show followed a number of celebrities as
they attempted to produce a celebrity-based magazine each week, published
as a supplement to Closer magazine. Titmuss was the fourth celebrity to be
sacked from the show. She has previously guest-presented shows on Virgin
Radio, MTV and LBC radio.
Titmuss appeared in the second series premiere of Rob Brydon's Annually
Retentive, which aired 30 April 2007 on BBC Three and as a character
called "Gezebelle" in an episode of Katy Brand's Big Ass show, a new
sketch comedy series for ITV2.
From 26 February to 23 March 2008, Titmuss appeared in the black comedy
Fat Christ at the King's Head Theatre in Islington, London and is due to
appear in the touring play Seven Deadly Sins Four Deadly Sinners.
She has been cast in small roles in British independent films Do Elephants
Pray? and Mixed Up. In 2008 she played the role of the 'Mysterious Girl'
in Beat 24 Films UK independent feature film 'Frontman' Frontman IMDB Page
and Official Site of the film showing photos of Abi on set.
In 2009 Abi was cast in John Godber's play 'Up N Under' to celebrate it's
25th Anniversary at the newly refurbished Hull Truck Theatre, Hull. Abi
played the role of Hazel the fitness instructor, starring alongside Jamie
Crossley (formerly Gladiator "Hunter") and soap actor Lewis Linford (Lee
Naylor in Emmerdale)
From November 2009 Abi appeared in Shakespeare's Macbeth, playing the
character of Lady Macbeth. This production opened the Seagull Theatre,
Pakefield, Lowestoft before transferring to other East Anglian venues
including; The Cut and Halesworth, Bungay's Fisher Theatre and Norwich
until December 4th.
Titmuss has dated John Leslie and Lee Sharpe, former Manchester United
footballer. |
