The Downton Abbey star split from her husband in 2020
Joanne Froggatt is back on our screens in ITV's chilling new Covid-19 drama, Breathtaking, in which she stars as an NHS doctor working on the frontlines during the early days of the pandemic.
Based on Rachel Clarke's memoir of the same name, the three-part series follows Dr Abbey Henderson, an acute medicine consultant who faces impossible working conditions during the first wave.
Joanne is a household name across the nation thanks to her roles in Downton Abbey,and . While many will be familiar with her professional life, the 43-year-old is often tight-lipped about her private life. Keep reading for everything we know about her relationship history, including her split from her husband of eight years.
Joanne's engagement to DJ Phil Vane
When she was 19 years old, Joanne became engaged to DJ Phil Vane. The pair were together for eight years before going their separate ways.
Opening up about the relationship in 2010, she told MailOnline: "My 20s were quite turbulent. I was in a relationship for eight years and that ended when I was 26. I'd never been single as an adult."
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Joanne Froggatt's marriage
Joanne married her long-term partner James Cannon, who works as an IT consultant, in a romantic Oxford ceremony in 2012. Together, the pair lived in Buckinghamshire and even set up their own production company called Run It.
In 2015, the actress opened up about her "perfect" dynamic with her husband. "He's passionate about film and theatre, so we have a common interest – and he's not in the business, so it's perfect," she said.
Then in February 2020, in an interview given to the , Joanne announced that she and James had separated. Although Joanne didn't reveal the reasons behind the separation, the actress did admit that they had been apart for while.
"We've actually been separated for a little while," she explained. "I'm looking to the future… I'm just going to embrace this year and see what happens."
The actress later opened up about the breakdown of her relationship during a 2021 interview with Red Magazine: "I didn't think I'd be divorced, I didn't think we'd be going through a pandemic, I didn't think my life would be in flux in the way it was. But I'm OK with that."
Joanne went on to reveal that she had taken over Run It following the split. "I'm excited to move forward with it and get my head around the direction in which I want to take things. We've already had a script commissioned by Sky. It feels like an exciting new chapter."
While the former couple didn't welcome any children during their time together, Joanne previously said she wouldn't rule out having kids in the future. "If it happens, it happens. And if it doesn't, I hope I'll still feel I can live a happy and fulfilled life," she said.
Joanne's new boyfriend
In August last year, Joanne was pictured enjoying a romantic stroll with a man named Mark. In photographs obtained by the Daily Mail, the couple walked hand in hand with the mystery man in Buckinghamshire.
Joanne tends to keep her love life out of the limelight, so very little is known about Mark or their relationship. However, when they were snapped together last August, it was rumoured that the pair had been seeing each other for several months.
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