'Before people judge, you don’t know the journey... Tamzin Outhwaite urges transphobes to learn empathy
Former EastEnders actress Tamzin Outhwaite was a guest at the British Diversity Awards 2026 at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House hotel in London on Wednesday night (25.03.26) and she stopped on the carpet to speak about the empathy needed for the trans community.
EastEnders legend Tamzin Outhwaite has a message for transphobes - don't judge "because nothing is easy".
The 55-year-old actress has supported her eldest child Flo - who was born a girl, who her parents named Florence, but now identifies as a boy - in their gender journey.
Tamzin does not speak about Flo's transition out of respect for their son's wishes, but she does have a message for those who show hate towards trans people.
Speaking to BANG Showbiz at the British Diversity Awards 2026 at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House hotel in London on Wednesday night (25.03.26), she said: "Before people judge, you don’t know the journey that the person has been on to get where they are.
"I don’t have to explain that but it wasn’t short, it’s a long process before someone actually speaks about it for the first time.
"Every journey is completely different, so I think it’s really easy to judge, but if it’s not actually affecting you, I believe you should not judge, because nothing is easy."
Tamzin - who has Flo, 17, and younger daughter Marnie, with her ex-husband, Miranda actor Tom Ellis, who she split from in 2014 - first revealed her experience as a parent of a transgender child during an appearance on comedians Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe's Parenting Hell podcast in July 2025.
She said: "I did have two daughters, and now I have a son and a daughter. And that's quite easy for me to say now, but it wasn't maybe six or seven years ago.
Tamzin revealed that Flo came out as transgender when he was "about 10 or 11".
She added: "The maddest thing is, I suppose, is that it's not the most interesting thing about him. He's an incredibly funny, intelligent boy. And I'm watching him grow into a wonderful human who's very talented. And to see him thriving is just nothing but relief and joy for me, really. Because there were some dark times."
Tamzin admitted that the period of Flo coming out initially "very distressing time" but with the help of family therapy sessions and lots of talking she was able to understand what Flo was experiencing and the family is now in a great place.
She explained: "Now we're in a really wonderful place as a family.
"Flo is in a wonderful place as a brilliant actor, singer, writer, and director in his sixth form at school. And Marnie is thriving.
"So instead of just trying to get through difficult times, we are now all thriving.
"And the relief and the joy is very tangible. It's lovely.
"Flo is an incredible actor and he's desperate to be a writer, a comedy writer."
At the British Diversity Awards 2026, Sir Lenny Henry was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his decades of diversity advocacy across the creative industries.
Other winners at the British Diversity Awards 2026 included former Strictly Come Dancing winner Chris McCausland and Ria Hebden, who were the joint recipients of the Media Champion of the Year prize.
McCausland received Media Champion of the Year for using his platform to challenge perceptions and improve representation for disabled people across the media industry. He shared the accolade with Ria, recognised for her work championing diversity and inclusion both on and off screen, including through her broadcasting career and initiatives such as Wonder Women, which supports and elevates underrepresented women in TV and the creative industries.
