Downton Abbey star Joanne Froggatt has revealed she is pregnant with her first child.
The Downton Abbey star, 43, shared the happy news by debuting her baby bump on the red carpet at the Into Film Awards on Tuesday at the Odeon Luxe in London’s Leicester Square.
The star looked gorgeous in a red mini dress as she posed at the event, cradling her bump.
Joanne hasn’t confirmed the identity of the father but she was spotted walking hand in hand with a mystery man in August 2023, with friends of the star saying at the time that they were ‘excited’ for her and felt he may be The One.
The actress was left heartbroken when her eight-year marriage to James Cannon ended shortly before the pandemic in 2020.
Downton Abbey star Joanne Froggatt has revealed she is pregnant with her first child
The actress hasn’t confirmed the identity of the father but she was spotted walking hand in hand with a mystery man in August 2023, with friends saying that they felt he may be The One
In August 2023 it was revealed that Joanne had been seeing the man she was pictured with, whose name is Mark, for several months and she was said to be ‘besotted’ with him.
Joanne introduced Mark to her friends last year, and she took him to a party with her group of pals at The Greyhound Italian restaurant in Marylebone, Central London.
One source close to her revealed: ‘Joanne is having a great time with Mark.’
It is the first time that she has been publicly linked to a love interest since she split from IT consultant Cannon in February 2020.
Joanne, who played maid Anna Bates for the full six series of Downton Abbey, announced the split just weeks before lockdown.
She said: ‘We’ve been separated for a little while. I’m looking to the future. I’m just going to embrace this year and see what happens.’
A year on, in 2021, she admitted the divorce from her long-term partner had thrown her life into a state of flux.
She said: ‘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.
The Downton Abbey star, 43, shared the happy news by debuting her baby bump on the red carpet at the Into Film Awards on Tuesday at the Odeon Luxe in London’s Leicester Square
The star looked gorgeous in a red mini dress as she posed at the event, cradling her bump
Joanne looked happy and relaxed as she mingled with guests inside the event after announcing her baby news on the red carpet
‘I’m so grateful for my friends and family, for my health and to have been working so much during this past year. You realise, when it comes down to it, how many positives you have in your life.’
Joanne, who was engaged to DJ Phil Vane at 19, married Cannon in 2012 in a private church ceremony in Oxfordshire attended by her fellow Downton Abbey cast members.
In an interview in 2015 she described her marriage to Cannon as ‘perfect’.
She added: ‘He’s passionate about film and theatre, so we have a common interest – and he’s not in the business, so it’s perfect.’
While they were together she and Cannon owned a production company called Run After It, however the actress now manages the business on her own, and said that being in charge ‘feels like an exciting new chapter’.
The baby news comes after it was revealed Joanne is set to return to Downton Abbey as production gets underway for the period drama’s third film.
The news comes after it was revealed Joanna is set to return to Downton Abbey as production gets underway for the period drama’s third film (pictured with Brendan Coyle as Mr Bates in series two)
The actress was left heartbroken when her eight-year marriage to James Cannon ended shortly before the pandemic in 2020 (the former couple are pictured together in 2018)
The actress starred as Anna Bates, the maid of Lady Crawley, in the series from 2010 until the finale in 2015 and the first two films.
The third instalment was first let slip early by actress Imelda Staunton, who unashamedly announced that there would definitely be a ‘third and final’ film.
It was later confirmed by the show runners, who announced that there would be a ‘third film in the beloved Downton Abbey franchise’.
However, while producers have ‘tried to reunite the cast’ some stars will be unable to return.
A TV insider told The Sun: ‘This will be welcome news for fans of the drama, because Anna was a particular favourite but none of the cast members were guaranteed to return.
‘Although the producers have tried to reunite most of the Downton stars, not all of them have been able to commit, even if they did appear in the first two films.’
In February, The Mail revealed the period drama would be making a surprise comeback for a seventh series.