Amanda Abbington

Amanda Abbington
Abbington in 2015
Born	1971 or 1972 (age 52–53)[1] London, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1993–present
Partner(s)	Martin Freeman (2000–2016)
Children	2

Amanda Abbington (born 1971 or 1972) is an English actress. In a career spanning over thirty years on stage and screen, her most prominent roles include Josie Mardle in Mr Selfridge (2013–2016) and Mary Morstan in Sherlock (2014–2017).

Her other credits include Marilyn Harwood in Dream Team (1999–2000) and Siobhan in the BBC sitcom After You've Gone (2007–2008), as well as appearing in the drama series Cuffs (2015) and Safe (2018). Her stage roles have included God of Carnage (2018), The Son (2019) and The Unfriend (2022–2023).

Early life

Abbington was born in North London, England.^[2] An only child, she was brought up in Hertfordshire.^[3]

Career

She appeared in the TV series The Bill until 2007, playing various characters.^[4] During that time she also appeared in the TV series Wycliffe, Casualty,^[4] Dream Team, The Sins,^[4] Shades,^[4] Doc Martin,^[4] Coupling and Teachers.^[4] She appeared in the 2005 comedy sketch show Man Stroke Woman, and the 2007–2008 comedy After You've Gone with Nicholas Lyndhurst. She has also appeared in recurring series such as Bernard's Watch and Case Histories.^[4]

In 2013, she began appearing in the television series Mr Selfridge as Miss Mardle, alongside Jeremy Piven and Frances O'Connor. In 2014, Abbington appeared as Mary Morstan, the wife of John Watson, played by her then real-life partner Martin Freeman, in the third series of Sherlock the BBC adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories.^[5][6] In 2015 she appeared in the BBC TV crime drama series Cuffs.^[4]

On stage, Abbington appeared in August 2018 in the role of Annette in God of Carnage at the Theatre Royal, Bath, and in 2019 as the character Anne in Florian Zeller's play The Son, at the Kiln Theatre in Kilburn, London;^[7] later that year, the play was transferred to The Duke of York's Theatre in London's West End.^[4]

In 2023, Abbington starred in the four-part Channel 5 television series Desperate Measures,^[8] and appeared as Dana Beckman in an episode of Inside No. 9.^[9]

In August 2023, Abbington was announced as a participant in the twenty-first series of Strictly Come Dancing.^[10] She was partnered with Giovanni Pernice but suddenly withdrew from the competition on 23 October 2023, after being absent with illness from the show broadcast three days before.^[11][12] It was later reported that her departure was due to a disagreement over Pernice's training methods and that she requested footage of her time training with Pernice and was seeking legal advice against Pernice;^[13] Pernice denied all accusations of wrongdoing.^[14] In July 2024, in an interview with Channel 4 news, Abbington said that, following her withdrawal from Strictly Come Dancing, she had received on social media rape and death threats and messages telling her to kill herself.^[15]

In 2024, Abbington joined other former cast members of Inside No. 9 who returned to play fictionalised versions of themselves in its final episode.^[16]

Personal life

Abbington was the partner of Martin Freeman, whom she met on the set of the film Men Only in 2000.^[5] The couple appeared together on screen in productions such as The Debt, The Robinsons, The Good Night and Sherlock. They have a son and daughter and lived in Hertfordshire before their separation in 2016.^{[17][18][19][20]}

In May 2022, it was reported that Abbington was engaged to former escapologist and stunt performer Jonathan Goodwin.^[21] She and Goodwin had met on Twitter in 2012. The two began dating in late 2021, and Goodwin proposed marriage within 30 minutes of their first date, in Vienna. A year after meeting, he suffered a serious spinal injury in a stunt accident, confining him permanently to a wheelchair.^[21][22]

Bankruptcy

In 2013, Abbington was declared bankrupt over an unpaid £120,000 tax bill. She later commented, "It's being paid off now. I would never want to go through this again. But I'm paying it off [...] It was just me not managing my finances properly. I was putting some money away (to pay tax), but not all of it. I was working one year and not working another year. So I was using the money I'd saved".^[23][24]

Views

In March 2023, Abbington tweeted that a drag queen show for parents and babies that included topless performers was "Not for babies. And if you think it is, there is something fundamentally wrong with you."^[25][26] Following the announcement of her participation in Strictly Come Dancing, some social media users condemned Abbington for her comments, accusing her of transphobia and threatening to boycott the show.^[27] Abbington denied she was transphobic and said she had been upset about "a 12-year-old doing something very over-sexualised and I didn't think it was right."^[26][28][29]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	The Bill: Target	Lady Car Driver	Direct-to-video, feature-length
2001	Men Only	Trina	TV film
	Saving Grace	Isobel Green	TV film
2003	The Debt	Stacey Ross	TV film
2005	Derailed	Kerry Hodder	TV film
	The Booze Cruise II: The Treasure Hunt	Leone	TV film
2006	The Booze Cruise III: The Scattering'	Leone	TV film
2007	The Good Night	Vivian Jesson
	The All Together	Sarah
2011	Swinging with the Finkels	Lesbian #2
	Ghosted	Tracy
2013	Joe Mistry	Katherine	TV film
2016	Bring Back the Cat	Mrs. Patricia Ellison	Short film
2017	Another Mother's Son	Ivy Forster
	Crooked House	Clemency Leonides
2018	We the Kings	Rosa
	The Queen and I	Anne, Princess Royal	TV film
2019	Six Days of Sistine	Angelina
2020	Make Me Famous	Amanda	TV film
2021	Three Pints and a Rabbi	Lisa
	Decrypted	Connie
2022	The Lost King	Chair of funding committee, Sheila Lock
2024	The Spaceman	Sue	Short film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	The Bill	Kirstey Tate	Episode: "Picking a Winner"
1997	Plotlands	Maude	Series regular, 6 episodes
	The Bill	Sarah Hall	Episode: "Copier"
	Wycliffe	Local W.P.C.	Episode: "Strangers Home"
1998	No Sweat	Chantelle	Episode: "Moon Boy"
	Magic with Everything	Cat	Series regular, 6 episodes
	Picking Up the Pieces	Staff Nurse Hunter	Series regular, 6 episodes
1999	Casualty	Jen Reynolds	Episode: "Human Traffic"
	Snap	Zoe	Episode: "Missed Her Sister"
	The Bill	Laura Denny	Episode: "On Air"
1999–2000	Dream Team	Marilyn Harwood	Series regular, 41 episodes
2000	The Thing About Vince	Lisa	Mini-series, 2 episodes
	The Sins	Belinda Edgeley	Mini-series, 2 episodes
2001	Hearts and Bones	Mia	Episode: "Series 2, episode 6"
	Shades	Rebecca Jacobs	Mini-series, 1 episode
2002	Always and Everyone	Tessa	Episodes: "Out of Time", "Warrior's Heart" & "Do Not Pass Go"
2003	20 Things to Do Before You're 30	Shona	Series regular, 8 episodes
2004	Bernard's Watch	Sonia	Recurring role, 9 episodes
	Coupling	Nicola	Episodes: "9½ Minutes" & "Nightlines"
	Teachers	Sarah	Episode: "Series 4, episode 3"
2005	The Robinsons	Polly	Series regular, 5 episodes
2005–2007	Man Stroke Woman	Various roles	Series regular, 12 episodes
2007	The Bill	Rachel Inns	Episodes: "A Model Murder", "Model Murder Uncovered" & "Caught by the Killer"
	Doc Martin	Isobel	Episode: "Happily Ever After"
	Sold	Zoe	Episode: "Series 1, episode 6"
2007–2008	After You've Gone	Siobhan	Series regular, 21 episodes
2008	Harley Street	Susie Linn	Episode: "Series 1, episode 2"
	Coming Up	Daughter	Episode: "Lickle Bill Um"
	Agatha Christie's Poirot	Miss Blake	Episode: "Cat Among the Pigeons"
2009	Psychoville	Caroline	Episode: "Blackmail"
2010	Married Single Other	Babs	Series regular, 6 episodes
	Money	Doris Artthur	Mini-series, 2 episodes
2011	Postcode	Anna	Recurring role, 3 episodes
2011–2013	Case Histories	D.I. Louise Munroe	Series regular, 9 episodes
2012	Being Human	Golda	Episode: "Puppy Love"
2013–2016	Mr Selfridge	Josie Mardle	Series regular, 36 episodes
2014	Dinopaws	Gwen (voice)	Recurring role, 10 episodes
	Would I Lie to You?	Herself	Contestant
2014–2017	Sherlock	Mary Morstan	Series regular, 7 episodes
2015	Cuffs	D.S. Jo Moffat	Series regular, 8 episodes
2016	Stag	Fran	Mini-series, 2 episodes
2017	Uncle	Siobhan	Episode: "...Is This Just Fantasy?"
2018	Safe	D.S. Sophie Mason	Series regular, 8 episodes
2019	Flack	Alexa	Episodes: "Brooke" & "Alexa"
2020	Unsaid Stories	Lyndsey	Mini-series, 1 episode
	I Hate Suzie	Charon Bander	Episode: "Anger"
2021	Wolfe	Dot	Series regular, 6 episodes
2022	We Are Not Alone	Caroline Grieves	TV film
	The Net	Erika Green	Mini Series
2023	Lockwood & Co.	Marissa Fittes	Episode: "Sweet Dreams"
	The Family Pile	Nicole	Series regular
	Jon & Lucy's Odd Couples	Herself	1 Episode
	Desperate Measures	Rowan Taylor	Mini series, 4 episodes
	The Weakest Link	Herself	Contestant
	Inside No. 9	Dana Beckman	Episode: "Paraskevidekatriaphobia"
	Strictly Come Dancing	Herself	Contestant; series 21
2024	Inside No. 9	Herself	Episode: 'Plodding On'.

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Venue
2002	The Safari Party	Bridget	Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough & Hampstead Theatre, London
	Something Blue	Pam	Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough
2004	Love Me Tonight	Sian	Hampstead Theatre, London
2014	God Bless the Child	Sally Rayner	Royal Court Theatre, London
2017	Abigail's Party	Beverly Moss	Theatre Royal, Bath
2018	God of Carnage	Annette Reille	Theatre Royal, Bath
	A Little Princess	Miss Minchin	Royal Festival Hall, London
2019	The Son	Anne	Kiln Theatre, London
2022	The Unfriend	Debbie	Minerva Theatre, Chichester
2023	The Unfriend	Debbie	Criterion Theatre
2024	When It Happens to You	Tara	Park Theatre

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2011	Crime Thriller Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Case Histories	Nominated
2014	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries	Sherlock	Nominated
	Crime Thriller Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Sherlock	Won

References

1. Akbar, Arifa (23 May 2022). "'None of it has felt insurmountable': Amanda Abbington on Sherlock, separation and her fiancé's nightmare fall". The Guardian.
2. Rampton, James (30 December 2013). "Sherlock's Amanda Abbington admits partner Martin Freeman is one of her favourite actors". The Independent. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
3. John, Emma (23 August 2016). "Amanda Abbington: 'I want to be a princess". The Observer. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
4. "Amanda Abbington". westendtheatre.com. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
5. Jones, Paul (27 March 2013). "Martin Freeman's partner Amanda Abbington joins the cast of Sherlock". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
6. Garcia, Megan (2 September 2013). "Sherlock season 3 filming finished: 'It's a wrap,' says Sue Vertue – BBC new trailer released". Christian Today (with video). Retrieved 22 December 2013.
7. Billington, Michael (27 February 2019). "The Son review – Florian Zeller's frightening tale of teen depression". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
8. Hogan, Michael (21 February 2023). "Desperate Measures, review: Amanda Abbington is too good for this fag-packet thriller". Daily Telegraph.
9. Singh, Anita (4 May 2023). "Inside No 9, BBC Two, review: Friday 13th is unlucky for some as the twists start to unravel". The Telegraph. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
10. "Amanda Abbington is our first celebrity contestant confirmed for Strictly Come Dancing 2023!". 4 August 2023.
11. Badshah, Nadeem (23 October 2023). "Amanda Abbington quits Strictly Come Dancing after medical absence". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
12. "Anton Du Beke makes bold claim about Amanda Abbington after Strictly exit". The Independent. 25 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
13. Vassell, Nicole (7 January 2024). "Amanda Abbington 'requests Strictly Come Dancing rehearsal footage with Giovanni Pernice; amid legal advice". The Independent.
14. "Strictly Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice rejects claims over teaching methods". BBC News. 19 May 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
15. "Amanda Abbington says she 'received online rape threats' after Strictly". BBC News. 24 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
16. Perry, Kevin E.G. (12 June 2024). "Inside No 9: Social media reacts to star-studded final episode". The Independent.
17. Edmonds, Lizzie (15 April 2021). "Amanda Abbington says she is sure split with Martin Freeman caused her children 'irreparable damage'". Evening Standard. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
18. McLean, Craig (26 May 2013). "Amanda Abbington: Sherlock's Martin and Benedict have a fantastic chemistry". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
19. Mance, Henry (22 December 2016). "Martin Freeman on Sherlock, politics and why he's not on Twitter". Financial Times. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
20. Jones, Emma (5 July 2013). "'Don't turn on the people that I love': A stern Martin Freeman reveals he is more Bilbo Baggins than Tim from The Office". The Independent. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
21. "Britain's Got Talent star Jonathan Goodwin paralysed". BBC News. 3 May 2022.
22. Cernik, Lizzie (28 December 2022). "How Amanda Abbington met Jonathan Goodwin: 'I was on him like a rat up a drainpipe'". The Guardian.
23. "Mr Selfridge actress Amanda Abbington brands bankruptcy publicity 'mean' and upsetting". Independent. 21 May 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
24. John, Emma (23 August 2015). "Amanda Abbington: 'I don't want to be a princess'". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
25. Simpson, Craig (2 March 2023). "Actress called transphobic for condemning 'abhorrent' drag queen cabaret for parents and their babies". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
26. Duff, Seamus; Hartley, Joshua (7 August 2023). "Strictly Come Dancing star responds as fans threaten to boycott". Nottingham Post.
27. "Strictly fans set to boycott show amid Amanda Abbington backlash". Digital Spy. 7 August 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
28. "Amanda Abbington responds to Strictly boycott calls: "I'm not transphobic"". Radio Times. 7 August 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
29. "Amanda Abbington denies being transphobic after Strictly backlash". The Daily Telegraph. 7 August 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.

External links

• Amanda Abbington at IMDb 
• Amanda Abbington on Twitter