Tracy-Ann Oberman’s life off-screen from music producer husband to children

Tracy-Ann Oberman is joining the BBC’s Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel as one of the celebrity experts this evening – here’s what you need to know about the EastEnders star

EastEnders star Tracy-Ann Oberman is set to appear on BBC’s Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel as a celebrity expert tonight. The renowned 58-year-old returned as her character Chrissie Watts in EastEnders for a brief period this year.

Besides her iconic role, she has also featured in popular shows such as Friday Night Dinner, Toast of London, and Bob Martin. Born and raised in Greater London, Tracy-Ann originally delved into classics before her dramatic shift to the acting world.

Hailing from a family with legal professions, there was initial disappointment when she opted for an acting career. Nevertheless, her membership with the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company helped win her parents’ approval.

She reminisced in 2004 about her late father, who passed away seven years prior, not witnessing her rise to fame. In a heartfelt interview with The People, Tracy-Ann expressed: “I’ve come a long way in my career since he died and I wish he was here to see it. He was a big EastEnders fan so I know he’d be very, very proud of me.”

**Tracy-Ann Oberman attends the press night performance of “A View From The Bridge”** (Image: Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images)

December 2004 marked a blissful chapter as she wed music producer Rob Cowan in the Millennium Hotel on Grosvenor Square after a romantic proposal the day following her EastEnders scenes where Chrissie discovers Dirty Den’s affair. Their love blossomed into marriage after a year of courtship, reports the Manchester Evening News.

In 2006, the couple welcomed their darling daughter Anoushka India into the world, her middle name inspired by the country where she was conceived during a love-filled holiday.

People Magazine remarked: “The trip hopefully helped Tracy-Ann and Rob to put some bad memories behind them after they were caught up in the tragic 2004 South Asian tsunami whilst on their honeymoon.”

The couple experienced the horrific Boxing Day tragedy firsthand in Phuket. Recounting to The Mirror, she said: “I had ten days between murdering [on-screen husband] Den [Watts] and burying him.

“EastEnders sent me on honeymoon with the script. We had four lovely days. Then the Tsunami hit. One minute all is fine, the next you’re wading over bodies. It was very distressing. You saw bodies and bodies and bodies.”

She also described the sombre aftermath: “The posters of the missing at Phuket airport and having thousands of relatives and friends searching for faces… that was terrible… On the plane, all you could hear was sobbing.”

**Tracy-Ann Oberman campaigns against antisemitism** (Image: Getty Images)

In her personal life, Tracy-Ann, who is Jewish, has been an active voice against antisemitism.

Earlier this year, she shared her unsettling experiences with Sky News: “My identity has never felt a huge part of my creative life, but in recent years, particularly in the arts world, which likes to see itself as progressive and inclusive, I think I’ve ended up becoming a spokesperson for many Jewish people and allies in the arts who have often felt like a lone voice, who have felt intimidated and often felt frightened to talk about their identity. And I don’t think that is right.”

Following her role in a West End revival of Shakespeare’s The Merchant Of Venice, heightened security measures had to be implemented at the Criterion Theatre.

She expressed her astonishment by saying, “You know, we’re living in very febrile times… I don’t understand how we’re living in a time where a Jewish actress who is putting on a production of The Merchant Of Venice is needing to have all this security, it just feels extraordinary.”