Amanda Abbington

Amanda Abbington
File:Amanda Abbington at the 2015 Laurence Olivier Awards.jpg Abbington in 2015
Born	Template:Birth year and age North London, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1993–present
Partner(s)	Martin Freeman (2000–2016)
Children	2

Amanda Abbington (née Smith; born 1972) is a British actress whose professional journey spans more than three decades, primarily recognized for her performances in television dramas and stage productions. Notable portrayals include Josie Mardle in Mr Selfridge (2013–2016) and Mary Morstan in the BBC series Sherlock (2014–2017).

Her portfolio also encompasses roles such as Marilyn Harwood in Dream Team (1999–2000), Siobhan in the BBC comedy After You've Gone (2007–2008), along with appearances in Cuffs (2015) and Safe (2018). On stage, she has performed in productions like God of Carnage (2018), Florian Zeller's The Son (2019), and The Unfriend (2022–2023).

Early life

Abbington was born in North London, England, and grew up as an only child in Hertfordshire.

Career

Throughout her career, Abbington played various characters on The Bill until 2007, while also guest-starring on shows such as Wycliffe, Casualty, Dream Team, Doc Martin, Coupling, and Teachers. She took part in the comedy sketch series Man Stroke Woman (2005) and the sitcom After You've Gone from 2007 to 2008. Her recurring television appearances include roles on Bernard's Watch and Case Histories.

In 2013, she became part of the cast of Mr Selfridge, portraying Miss Mardle alongside Jeremy Piven and Frances O'Connor. The following year, Abbington played Mary Morstan opposite her then-partner Martin Freeman in the BBC adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, titled Sherlock. In 2015, she featured in the BBC crime drama Cuffs.

Her theatrical credits include the role of Annette in God of Carnage at Theatre Royal, Bath in 2018, and Anne in Florian Zeller’s play The Son, first staged at Kiln Theatre, London, before transferring to the West End’s Duke of York's Theatre in 2019.

In 2023, Abbington starred as the lead in Channel 5’s drama series Desperate Measures and appeared as Dana Beckman in an episode of Inside No. 9. That August, she was announced as a competitor on the twenty-first season of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with Giovanni Pernice. She withdrew from the show in October 2023 due to illness-related absences. Subsequent reports indicated that her departure involved disagreements over training approaches with Pernice; Abbington requested rehearsal recordings and sought legal counsel, while Pernice denied any misconduct. In July 2024, she revealed that she had been subjected to online rape and death threats following her exit.

In 2024, she returned to portray a fictionalized version of herself alongside former cast members in the concluding episode of Inside No. 9.

Personal life

Abbington was in a relationship with Martin Freeman, whom she encountered during the filming of Men Only in 2000. The pair collaborated on several projects, including The Debt, The Robinsons, The Good Night, and the series Sherlock. They share a son and a daughter and previously resided in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire before their separation in 2016.

In May 2022, Abbington announced her engagement to former escapologist and stunt artist Jonathan Goodwin. Their initial interaction took place on Twitter in 2012, they started dating toward the end of 2021, and Goodwin proposed within half an hour of their first date in Vienna.

Bankruptcy

Abbington was declared bankrupt in 2013 due to an outstanding tax debt amounting to £120,000. She later commented, "I'm currently repaying it. I would never want to experience this again. But I'm settling it [...] It was simply a matter of poor financial management on my part. I was setting aside some money (for taxes), but not the full amount. I had periods of work and periods without, so I was using my savings."

Views

In March 2023, Abbington expressed disapproval of a drag queen event aimed at parents and babies that included topless performers, stating it was "Not suitable for babies. And if you believe it is, there is something deeply wrong with you." Following the announcement of her participation in Strictly Come Dancing, she faced accusations of transphobia from some social media users who threatened to boycott the program. Abbington refuted these allegations, clarifying that her concern was about "a 12-year-old engaging in something overly sexualised" and that she did not find it appropriate.

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	The Bill: Target	Lady Car Driver	Direct-to-video feature
2001	Men Only	Trina	Television 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		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	Sheila Lock, chair of funding committee
2024	The Spaceman	Sue	Short film

Theatre

Year	Production	Character	Location
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
	A Little Princess	Miss Minchin	Royal Festival Hall, London
2019	The Son	Anne	Kiln Theatre, London
2022	The Unfriend	Debbie	Minerva Theatre, Chichester
2023			Criterion Theatre
2024	When It Happens to You	Tara	Park Theatre

Awards and nominations

Year	Award Title	Category	Project	Outcome
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		Winner