Amanda Abbington
{{Short description|English actress}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Amanda Abbington
| image = Amanda Abbington at the 2015 Laurence Olivier Awards.jpg
| caption = Abbington in 2015
| imagesize =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|50|2022|05|23}}{{cite news |last1=Akbar |first1=Arifa |title=‘None of it has felt insurmountable’: Amanda Abbington on Sherlock, separation and her fiancé’s nightmare fall |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/may/23/amanda-abbington-sherlock-the-unfriend |work=The Guardian |date=23 May 2022}}
| birth_place = London, England
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1993–present
| partner = Martin Freeman
(2000–2016)
| children = 2
}}
Amanda Abbington (born {{birth based on age as of date|50|2022|05|23|noage=1}}) 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.{{cite news|last=Rampton|first=James|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/sherlocks-amanda-abbington-admits-partner-martin-freeman-is-one-of-her-favourite-actors-9030613.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131231023902/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/sherlocks-amanda-abbington-admits-partner-martin-freeman-is-one-of-her-favourite-actors-9030613.html |archive-date=2013-12-31 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|title=Sherlock's Amanda Abbington admits partner Martin Freeman is one of her favourite actors|work=The Independent|date=30 December 2013|access-date=23 March 2014}} An only child, she was brought up in Hertfordshire.{{Cite news |last=John |first=Emma |date=23 August 2016 |title=Amanda Abbington: 'I want to be a princess |work=The Observer |url= https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/aug/23/amanda-abbington-cuffs-i-dont-want-to-be-a-princess |access-date=6 July 2020}}
Career
She appeared in the TV series The Bill until 2007, playing various characters. During that time she also appeared in the TV series Wycliffe, Casualty, Dream Team, The Sins, Shades, Doc Martin, Coupling and Teachers. 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.
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.{{cite news|title=Martin Freeman's partner Amanda Abbington joins the cast of Sherlock|first=Paul|last=Jones|date=27 March 2013|work=Radio Times|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-03-27/martin-freemans-partner-amanda-abbington-joins-the-cast-of-sherlock|access-date=15 April 2013|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201112024837/https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-03-27/martin-freemans-partner-amanda-abbington-joins-the-cast-of-sherlock/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url= http://www.christiantoday.com/article/sherlock.season.3.air.date.premiere.bbc.new.trailer.released.video/33813.htm |title=Sherlock season 3 filming finished: 'It's a wrap,' says Sue Vertue – BBC new trailer released |work=Christian Today |type=with video |author=Garcia, Megan|date=2 September 2013|access-date=22 December 2013}} In 2015 she appeared in the BBC TV crime drama series Cuffs.{{Cite news |title= Amanda Abbington |work= westendtheatre.com |url= https://www.westendtheatre.com/152101/star-watch/amanda-abbington/ |access-date=August 7, 2023}}
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;{{Cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/feb/27/the-son-review-florian-zeller-family-kiln |title= The Son review – Florian Zeller's frightening tale of teen depression |last=Billington, Michael |author-link=Michael Billington (critic) |date=27 February 2019 |work=The Guardian |access-date=12 October 2019}} later that year, the play was transferred to The Duke of York's Theatre in London's West End.
In 2023, Abbington starred in the four-part Channel 5 television series Desperate Measures,{{cite news|newspaper=Daily Telegraph|title=Desperate Measures, review: Amanda Abbington is too good for this fag-packet thriller|first=Michael|last=Hogan|date=21 February 2023|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2023/02/21/desperate-measures-channel-5-review-amanda-abbington-good-fag/}} and appeared as Dana Beckman in an episode of Inside No. 9.{{cite web|url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2023/05/04/inside-no-9-bbc-two-review-dermot-o-leary/|title=Inside No 9, BBC Two, review: Friday 13th is unlucky for some as the twists start to unravel|website=The Telegraph|last=Singh|first=Anita|date=4 May 2023|access-date=5 May 2023}}
In August 2023, Abbington was announced as a participant in the twenty-first series of Strictly Come Dancing.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/strictlycomedancing/entries/bd64df6d-66b8-43fc-a704-f79c68765e15|title=Amanda Abbington is our first celebrity contestant confirmed for Strictly Come Dancing 2023!|date=4 August 2023 }} She was partnered with Giovanni Pernice but withdrew from the competition on 23 October 2023, after being absent with illness from the show broadcast three days before.{{cite news |last1=Badshah |first1=Nadeem |title=Amanda Abbington quits Strictly Come Dancing after medical absence |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/oct/23/amanda-abbington-quits-strictly-come-dancing-medical-absence |access-date=19 May 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=23 October 2023}}{{Cite web |date=2023-10-25 |title=Anton Du Beke makes bold claim about Amanda Abbington after Strictly exit |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/strictly-amanda-abbington-anton-du-beke-b2435878.html |access-date=2023-10-28 |website=The Independent |language=en}} 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;{{cite news |last1=Vassell |first1=Nicole |title=Amanda Abbington 'requests Strictly Come Dancing rehearsal footage with Giovanni Pernice; amid legal advice |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/amanda-abbington-strictly-dancing-giovanni-pernice-b2474536.html |work=The Independent |date=7 January 2024}} Pernice denied all accusations of wrongdoing.{{cite news |title=Strictly Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice rejects claims over teaching methods |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-69034518 |access-date=19 May 2024 |work=BBC News |date=19 May 2024}} In July 2024, in an interview broadcast on Channel 4 News, Abbington said that she received rape and death threats on social media following her withdrawal from the show.{{cite web | title=Amanda Abbington says she 'received online rape threats' after Strictly | website=BBC News | date=24 July 2024 | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c87r8k15mk6o | access-date=25 July 2024}}
In 2024, Abbington joined other former cast members of Inside No. 9 who returned to play fictionalised versions of themselves in its final episode.{{cite news|newspaper=The Independent|title=Inside No 9: Social media reacts to star-studded final episode|first=Kevin E.G.|last=Perry|date=12 June 2024|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/inside-no-9-final-episode-bbc-b2561611.html}}
Personal life
Abbington was the partner of Martin Freeman, whom she met on the set of the film Men Only in 2000. 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.{{cite news |last1=Edmonds |first1=Lizzie |title=Amanda Abbington says she is sure split with Martin Freeman caused her children 'irreparable damage' |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/amanda-abbington-martin-freeman-split-children-irreparable-damage-b929745.html |access-date=17 April 2021 |work=Evening Standard |date=15 April 2021}}
{{cite web|last=McLean|first=Craig|title=Amanda Abbington: Sherlock's Martin and Benedict have a fantastic chemistry|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-05-26/amanda-abbington-sherlocks-martin-and-benedict-have-a-fantastic-chemistry|work=Radio Times|access-date=6 February 2014|date=26 May 2013|archive-date=25 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325142325/https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-05-26/amanda-abbington-sherlocks-martin-and-benedict-have-a-fantastic-chemistry/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last=Mance|first=Henry|title=Martin Freeman on Sherlock, politics and why he's not on Twitter|url=https://www.ft.com/content/2f0d56bc-c657-11e6-8f29-9445cac8966f|work = Financial Times | access-date = 22 December 2016 | date= 22 December 2016}}{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/dont-turn-on-the-people-that-i-love-a-stern-martin-freeman-reveals-he-is-more-bilbo-baggins-than-tim-from-the-office-8687472.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130706141738/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/dont-turn-on-the-people-that-i-love-a-stern-martin-freeman-reveals-he-is-more-bilbo-baggins-than-tim-from-the-office-8687472.html |archive-date=2013-07-06 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|title='Don't turn on the people that I love': A stern Martin Freeman reveals he is more Bilbo Baggins than Tim from The Office|work=The Independent|date=5 July 2013|access-date=15 March 2015|author=Jones, Emma}}
In May 2022, it was reported that Abbington was engaged to former escapologist and stunt performer Jonathan Goodwin.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-61314239 |title=Britain's Got Talent star Jonathan Goodwin paralysed |publisher=BBC News |date=3 May 2022 }} 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.{{cite news|title=How Amanda Abbington met Jonathan Goodwin: 'I was on him like a rat up a drainpipe'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/dec/28/how-amanda-abbington-met-jonathan-goodwin-i-was-on-him-like-a-rat-up-a-drainpipe|work=The Guardian|date=28 December 2022|author=Cernik, Lizzie}}
=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".{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/mr-selfridge-actress-amanda-abbington-brands-bankruptcy-publicity-mean-and-upsetting-8624858.html#|title=Mr Selfridge actress Amanda Abbington brands bankruptcy publicity 'mean' and upsetting|website=Independent|date=21 May 2013|access-date=24 May 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/aug/23/amanda-abbington-cuffs-i-dont-want-to-be-a-princess|title=Amanda Abbington: ‘I don’t want to be a princess’|website=The Guardian|last=John|first=Emma|date=23 August 2015|access-date=24 May 2024}}
=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."{{cite news |last1=Simpson |first1=Craig |title=Actress called transphobic for condemning 'abhorrent' drag queen cabaret for parents and their babies |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/03/02/amanda-abbington-branded-transphobic-condemning-drag-queen-babies/ |access-date=5 August 2023 |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=2 March 2023}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/celebs-tv/bbc-strictly-come-dancings-amanda-8660066|title=Strictly Come Dancing star responds as fans threaten to boycott|first1=Seamus|last1=Duff|first2=Joshua|last2=Hartley|date=7 August 2023|work=Nottingham Post}} 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.{{cite web |title=Strictly fans set to boycott show amid Amanda Abbington backlash |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/reality-tv/a44748463/strictly-fans-boycott-amanda-abbington-backlash/ |website=Digital Spy |access-date=8 August 2023 |date=7 August 2023}} 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."{{cite web |title=Amanda Abbington responds to Strictly boycott calls: "I'm not transphobic" |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/amanda-abbington-strictly-come-dancing-boycott-newsupdate/ |website=Radio Times |date=7 August 2023 |access-date=8 August 2023}}{{cite news |title=Amanda Abbington denies being transphobic after Strictly backlash |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/07/amanda-abbington-denies-transphobic-strictly-come-dancing/ |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=7 August 2023 |access-date=8 August 2023}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1996
| Lady Car Driver | Direct-to-video, feature-length |
| rowspan="2"|2001
| Men Only | Trina | TV film |
| Saving Grace
| Isobel Green | TV film |
| 2003
| The Debt | Stacey Ross | TV film |
| rowspan="2"|2005
| Derailed | Kerry Hodder | TV film |
| The Booze Cruise II: The Treasure Hunt
| rowspan="2"| Leone | TV film |
| 2006
| The Booze Cruise III: The Scattering | TV film |
| rowspan="2"|2007
| Vivian Jesson | |
| The All Together
| Sarah | |
| rowspan="2"|2011
| Lesbian #2 | |
| Ghosted
| Tracy | |
| 2013
| Joe Mistry | Katherine | TV film |
| 2016
| Bring Back the Cat | Mrs. Patricia Ellison | Short film |
| rowspan="2"|2017
| Ivy Forster | |
| Crooked House
| Clemency Leonides | |
| rowspan="2"|2018
| We the Kings | Rosa | |
| The Queen and I
| TV film |
| 2019
| Six Days of Sistine | Angelina | |
| 2020
| Amanda | TV film |
| rowspan="2"|2021
| Three Pints and a Rabbi | Lisa | |
| Decrypted
| Connie | |
| 2022
| Chair of funding committee, Sheila Lock | |
| 2024
| The Spaceman | Sue | Short film |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1993
| The Bill | Kirstey Tate | Episode: "Picking a Winner" |
| rowspan="3"|1997
| Maude | Series regular, 6 episodes |
| The Bill
| Sarah Hall | Episode: "Copier" |
| Wycliffe
| Local W.P.C. | Episode: "Strangers Home" |
| rowspan="3"|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 |
| rowspan="3"|1999
| Casualty | Jen Reynolds | Episode: "Human Traffic" |
| Snap
| Zoe | Episode: "Missed Her Sister" |
| The Bill
| Laura Denny | Episode: "On Air" |
| 1999–2000
| Marilyn Harwood | Series regular, 41 episodes |
| rowspan="2"|2000
| Lisa | Mini-series, 2 episodes |
| The Sins
| Belinda Edgeley | Mini-series, 2 episodes |
| rowspan="2"|2001
| Mia | Episode: "Series 2, episode 6" |
| Shades
| Rebecca Jacobs | Mini-series, 1 episode |
| 2002
| 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 |
| rowspan="3"|2004
| Sonia | Recurring role, 9 episodes |
| Coupling
| Nicola | Episodes: "9½ Minutes" & "Nightlines" |
| Teachers
| Sarah | Episode: "Series 4, episode 3" |
| 2005
| Polly | Series regular, 5 episodes |
| 2005–2007
| Various roles | Series regular, 12 episodes |
| rowspan="3"|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
| Siobhan | Series regular, 21 episodes |
| rowspan="3"|2008
| 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
| Caroline | Episode: "Blackmail" |
| rowspan="2"|2010
| Babs | Series regular, 6 episodes |
| Money
| Doris Artthur | Mini-series, 2 episodes |
| 2011
| Postcode | Anna | Recurring role, 3 episodes |
| 2011–2013
| D.I. Louise Munroe | Series regular, 9 episodes |
| 2012
| Golda | Episode: "Puppy Love" |
| 2013–2016
| Josie Mardle | Series regular, 36 episodes |
| 2014
| Dinopaws | Gwen (voice) | Recurring role, 10 episodes |
| 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" |
| rowspan="2"|2020
| Unsaid Stories | Lyndsey | Mini-series, 1 episode |
| I Hate Suzie
| Charon Bander | Episode: "Anger" |
| 2021
| Wolfe | Dot | Series regular, 6 episodes |
| rowspan="2"|2022
| Caroline Grieves | TV film |
| The Net
| Erika Green | Mini Series |
| rowspan="4"|2023
| Marissa Fittes | Episode: "Sweet Dreams" |
| The Family Pile
| Nicole | Series regular |
| Desperate Measures
| Rowan Taylor | Mini series, 4 episodes |
| rowspan="2"| Inside No. 9
| Dana Beckman | Episode: "Paraskevidekatriaphobia" |
| 2024
| Herself | Episode: "Plodding On" |
=Theatre=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Venue |
|---|
| rowspan="2"|2002
| Bridget | Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough & Hampstead Theatre, London |
| Something Blue
| Pam |
| 2004
| Sian |
| 2014
| Sally Rayner |
| 2017
| Beverly Moss | rowspan="2"| Theatre Royal, Bath |
| rowspan="2"|2018
| Annette Reille |
| A Little Princess
| Miss Minchin |
| 2019
| The Son | Anne |
| 2022
| rowspan="2"| The Unfriend | rowspan="2"| Debbie |
| 2023 |
| 2024
| When It Happens to You | Tara |
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Award ! Category ! Work ! Result |
|---|
| 2011
| Best Supporting Actress | {{nom}} |
| rowspan="2"|2014
| Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries | rowspan="2"| Sherlock | {{nom}} |
| Crime Thriller Awards
| Best Supporting Actress | {{win}} |
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- {{IMDb name}}
- {{Twitter}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbington, Amanda}}
Category:20th-century English actresses
Category:21st-century English actresses
Category:Actresses from Hertfordshire
Category:Actresses from London
Category:English stage actresses
Category:English television actresses