Tamzin Outhwaite found comfort with Calla

Eastenders' actress Tamzin Outhwaite recently opened up to Calla’s founder  Jennifer about how 30 years in showbiz has damaged her feet and left her unable to wear normal shoes.

The actress, who joined a stage school at 17, said: “I used to do a lot of dancing in heels. The balls of my feet and my toes have taken a bit of a battering over the years.

Tamzin found comfort in Calla's Emily II heel

“I can’t wear actual shoes now. When I wear a flat it feels like my foot doesn't fit the shoe. The edges of my feet and my toes get sore quite quickly.”

Tamzin’s job and a passion for fitness may have led to the onset of bunions but her foot problems were compounded when she broke her metatarsal five years ago.

“I was doing stepping out and tap dancing. I got a stress fracture,” she told Jenni.

“After I had broken my foot it wasn’t just about bunions, my feet were incredibly temperamental. I could put a shoe on and within half an hour of going out my foot would be in agony.”

The pain means Tamzin, 49, struggles to find suitable footwear for a life in the public eye.

“I like a really high heel,” she said, “but to find a really high heel that is comfortable now, I haven't managed it.

“When I’m on the red carpet I always look for the first opportunity to take a pair of heels off. It doesn’t always look particularly attractive to see a woman holding her shoes. It doesn't mean she is drunk. It just means she doesn't want to potter around in uncomfortable shoes anymore.

“I have never really been one to suffer for my style.

“Most people associate a high heel with sex appeal, which is all great in a photo shoot when you can sit down in between sessions.

“But when you are doing a job, trying to live a life, doing the school run it's not going to work.”

“And since lockdown, trying to get my feet back into heels, I’ve found myself saying, ‘Is this really necessary? How much do I really need to wear this heel?’”

“It is how you get bunions in the first place.”

Tamzin’s trials have taught her the importance of foot care. “You have to look after them,” she told Calla. “And feel comfortable on them.”

Calla makes designer footwear for women with bunions and other foot conditions and Tamzin has become a big fan of the brand.

“It is very difficult now to wear a shoe that isn't Calla. You get the comfort and the style all at once,” she said.

Calla’s shoes come with wider toe boxes, enhanced arch support, hidden stretch panels and kid leather linings.

We are so pleased that Tamzin has found comfort in Calla shoes.