Tom Ellis (born 17 November 1978) is a Welsh actor best known for playing Dr. Oliver Cousins in the BBC soap opera EastEnders and Detective Sergeant Sam Speed in a Life on Mars parody on The Catherine Tate Show. He was also Sam in the BBC comedy Pulling and played Gary in the BBC2/BBC1 comedy Miranda.

Biography

Ellis was born in Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales. His father, sister and uncle are all church ministers, with his uncle Robert Ellis being Principal of Regent's Park College, Oxford, which his father Chris also attended. Ellis attended High Storrs School in Sheffield during his education and was a French Horn player in the City of Sheffield Youth Orchestra.

Ellis was married to actress Tamzin Outhwaite from 2006 to 2014. On 25 June 2008, she gave birth to their first daughter, Florence Elsie Ellis. He has another daughter, Nora Ellis, from a previous relationship. On 20 December 2008, the pair appeared on ITV gameshow All Star Mr & Mrs Christmas Special . On 19 March 2012, Ellis announced via his Twitter account that Outhwaite was pregnant with their second child together; their daughter Marnie Mae Ellis was born 2 August 2012.

On 29 August 2013, Ellis and Outhwaite announced their separation. Their spokesperson stated that the couple had separated and the following month, Outhwaite filed for divorce, citing Ellis' infidelity as the grounds for dissolution of the marriage.

Ellis is formerly a Sheffield Wednesday fan, but now supports Arsenal.