Jenny Tomlin

QUEEN of the misery memoir Jenny Tomlin, mother of actress Martine McCutcheon, is not as tragic as you might imagine.

Upbeat and truly happy in her life now, it's difficult to believe that she was sexually abused by her father, unprotected by her slovenly mother and then married a violent man who battered her senseless even when she was pregnant with Martine.

Her disturbing story was told in her memoirs Behind Closed Doors and Silent Sisters, which became bestsellers, enabling her to buy a 12-acre French farmhouse in the Dordogne with her second husband, Alan Tomlin, a bodyguard she married in Barbados nine years ago.

Then, of course, there's her famous daughter.

You can hear Martine laughing in the background as her mother describes their relationship now.

"She's my best friend. No matter what life throws at her, she has such a positive outlook. She's strong mentally, she's funny, witty, clever. "Because I had her so young [at 19], it's almost like we're mates. I'm so proud of that fact because I never had that with my mother."

At the farm, Jenny, 52, runs an English grocery shop and tea garden, serving up full English breakfasts and afternoon teas to hungry customers. She moved to France to escape the many bad memories, and experience a more tranquil setting.