Martin John Kemp (born 10 October 1961) is an English musician and actor, best known as the bassist in the new wave band Spandau Ballet and for his role as Steve Owen in EastEnders.

From the age of 7 he attended the Anna Scher Theatre drama club[2] with his brother Gary, and appeared in many TV shows, including Jackanory, The Tomorrow People and Dixon of Dock Green.

[3] In his last year with Anna Scher, he won a role in The Glittering Prizes, appearing alongside Tom Conti and Nigel Havers.

In 1995, Kemp moved back to the United Kingdom and took a break from acting for a short while, recovering from removal of two benign brain tumours.

He went on to become popular for his role as villain Steve Owen in the BBC's top soap opera, EastEnders, from December 1998.

[21][22] Kemp signed a contract with ITV in 2002 and starred in several television dramas, including The Brides in the Bath, in which he played real-life murderer George Smith, and Can't Buy Me Love opposite fellow EastEnders star Michelle Collins, which was based on a true story about a man who conned his wife and friends into believing he had won the lottery.

He founded his own production company and in March 2008 directed a low-budget 20-minute short film entitled Karma Magnet,[24] which starred his brother Gary and featured Martin's wife and son, Shirlie and Roman.

He hosted TV's 50 Hardest Men for Sky One in July 2008 and guest-starred as Mr. Burley in BBC drama series Waterloo Road.

The show provided detailed accounts of crimes and a step-by-step forensic analysis as to how the evil killers were eventually identified.

[28] In November 2019, Kemp and his wife released their first album together as Martin & Shirlie, titled In the Swing of It via Sony Music.

The album contains duet covers of classic jazz standards plus two original songs written by their daughter Harley Moon Kemp.

[30] In February 2021, Kemp appeared in McDonald & Dodds, starring alongside Jason Watkins and Rob Brydon.

On 20 January 2006, Kemp opened a new CT scanning suite at Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley, West Midlands.

[43] In 2021 Kemp and his wife moved to Hertfordshire and embarked on the renovation of a Victorian property, including an extensive garden.