Martine McCutcheon posts topless throwback as split from Jack McManus unfolds amid bankruptcy filings

Martine McCutcheon, the 49-year-old former EastEnders star, posted a racy throwback topless snap to her Instagram Story on Thursday. The image shows her wearing only high-waisted black bottoms, leaning against a wall and covering her modesty with her phone as she faces the camera. The caption read, Take me back to the sun and sea... This lady needs her Vitamin D! The post comes as McCutcheon navigates a highly public personal upheaval, including a split from singer-husband Jack McManus announced in October 2024.

McCutcheon and McManus, who married in 2012 at a lavish Lake Como ceremony, share a ten-year-old son. The couple described their August 2024 split as a mutual decision after 18 years together, with McCutcheon saying she would always wish Jack the best for the future. In the months that followed, the couple put their Surrey five-bedroom family home on the market, with initial asking prices around £1.5 million before ultimately selling later in the year.

Public records show a sharp turn in McCutcheon’s finances around the same period. She was declared bankrupt in March in Guildford after a petition by a finance company, LDF Finance, with the bankruptcy order filed under her married name, Martine McManus, even though she had already separated and was legally single. The filing followed inspections of official records that also detailed a broader financial setback: her company, Raven Music Ltd, was wound up by HMRC over unpaid tax bills. The latest accounts for the company show a debt to HMRC exceeding £175,000, due in the 12 months after February 2022.

The bankruptcy marks at least the second time McCutcheon has faced insolvency. She previously went through bankruptcy in 2013, amid debts that reportedly included around £150,000 owed to HMRC, and she was discharged from that arrangement in 2014. Despite those past pressures, she and McManus remained solvent enough to invest in a Surrey home two years before their split, paying about £1.3 million for the five-bedroom property in June 2022. They placed the property on the market in May 2024 with an asking price around £1.5 million, later trimming to about £1.25 million before selling in January this year for £1,355,000, according to Land Registry records.

The split announcement, and the accompanying financial disclosures, have drawn interest from fans and media as McCutcheon has remained in the public eye for decades, first rising to fame on EastEnders and later becoming a recognizable figure in British film and television, including her role in Love Actually. The strain of public scrutiny has coincided with changes in her personal finances, a reminder that even well-known entertainment figures can face complex financial and relationship challenges.

As of now, it is not publicly disclosed whether the Official Receiver will pursue a public examination of McCutcheon’s bankruptcy, which would reveal additional details of her financial affairs. No formal statements have been issued by her team in response to these filings. The situation underscores the volatility that can accompany high-profile careers, especially when personal and financial pressures intersect.

This string of developments—an eye-catching social media post amid a high-profile split, the sale of a long-held family home, and formal insolvency actions—paints a portrait of a familiar public figure navigating a difficult, highly scrutinized moment while continuing to maintain a presence in culture and entertainment.