Martine McCutcheon has gushed about her friendship with late Hollywood star Patrick Swayze.

The EastEnders icon, 49, revealed the surprising bond with the Dirty Dancing legend during a chat with her pals Rylan Clark and Scott Mills on their BBC Radio 2 podcast Pop Top 10.

Confessing that she had always idolised Patrick, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2009, Martine said she just knew one day they would meet.

‘I was always in love with Patrick Swayze. This is a true story and I felt in my heart, I knew I was going to know him,’ she told a shocked Rylan and Scott.

After the success of her 2003 role in Love Actually, Martine was offered another movie, this time playing opposite her dream co-star.  

‘I did Love Actually and the music career, everything happened and I was asked by my agent if I wanted to go and work and do a film with Patrick Swayze in Austria,’ she revealed.

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Martine McCutcheon has gushed about her friendship with late Hollywood star and her childhood idol Patrick Swayze

After the success of her 2003 role in Love Actually, Martine was offered another movie, this time playing opposite her dream co-star (pictured together in 2007 movie Jump)

Martine spent the summer of 2006 in Vienna with Patrick shooting Jump!, a 1920s drama about the Jewish celebrity pH๏τographer Philippe Halsman, wrongly convicted of murdering his father. 

‘I met him. We sang She’s Like The Wind together. He became a friend and he was just adorable,’ she gushed. 

Martine also told an emotional-looking Rylan and Scott that Patrick ‘was the loveliest soul in the industry I’ve ever met.’

‘He had met his childhood sweetheart Lisa, who he danced with at her mum’s dance school. I said to her “if the man I’m with looks at me the way he looks at you after all these years I will be one lucky lady.”‘

Elsewhere in the interview, Martine was the one left in shock when Rylan revealed their surprising Love Actually connection.

Martine played unlucky-in-love Natalie who ultimately found her Prince Charming in the form of David, the Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) in the film. 

But little did she know when her character is caught kissing David backstage at the Christmas Nativity, Rylan was there to see the whole thing. 

‘I was in Love Actually,’ he revealed, as Martine gasped: ‘Shut the front door!’ 

Martine gushed: ‘I met his childhood sweetheart Lisa. I said to her “if the man I’m with looks at me the way he looks at you after all these years I will be one lucky lady”‘

Rylan Clark left Martine in shock when he revealed their surprising Love Actually connection on the podcast 

Martine played unlucky-in-love Natalie who ultimately found her Prince Charming in the form of David, the Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) in the film (pictured)

Rylan confirmed: ‘I was a school kid. At Hill Top, I think the school was called. I had to take four days off school and get it signed off. 

‘I had to learn Catch A Falling Star to sing it for the scene.’

Martine asked: ‘So you saw when I kissed Hugh?’ with Rylan confirming that he was there for the scene. 

Elsewhere, Rylan is reportedly having another sH๏τ at singing and is flying to Los Angeles to record in a studio with a successful songwriter.

His music career sadly faltered in its early days when his run on The X Factor ended with an early elimination during the 2012 series. 

But he took a break from his successful radio and TV career last month to head to California to work with music icon Diane Warren, according to The Sun.

Diane has been behind a string of huge hits including I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing by Aerosmith, Cher’s If I Could Turn Back Time and Rhythm Of The Night by DeBarge.

Rylan now looks set to join the prestigious list of greats who have worked with Diane, from Beyonce and Taylor Swift to Britney Spears and Whitney Houston.

But little did she know when her character is caught kissing David backstage at the Christmas Nativity, Rylan was there to see the whole thing

An industry insider told The Sun of his new project: ‘His first love has always been music.

‘He has been writing songs for years, so when the chance for him to get into a studio with Diane came up he couldn’t say no.

‘He was out in Los Angeles for four days and they had a great time together.’

Last year, Rylan revealed that he had been secretly writing music under a pseudonym.