Anna Friel reveals her four-year relationship ended just two weeks into first lockdown
ANNA Friel has revealed her four-year relationship broke down just two weeks into the first lockdown.
The actress, 44, kept the romance, and it's subsequent end, under wraps for its duration, but now feels the time is right to make it public.
Speaking to the , she said: "A relationship I was in for four years broke down after about the first two weeks…
"When we went into lockdown, I remember thinking: 'God, there’s going to be so many people breaking up during this.'
"While I like to keep my private life incredibly private, I think there’s going to be such a fallout at the end of all this that it’s important to say, 'I’m human, it happens to all of us and it is difficult.'"
The Marcella actress didn't name her ex-lover, although she has been linked to Regimental Corporal Major Mark Jaworski, 42, in recent years.
Her previous partners include Harry Potter star David Thewlis, with whom she had daughter Gracie in 2005, and Notting Hill actor Rhys Ifans, who she dated from 2011 to 2014.
Meanwhile just days ago the first trailer for series three of Anna's ITV drama Marcella was released.
It sees her character go undercover as she investigates an infamous crime family.
Following on from the dramatic conclusion of the previous series, the new eight-parter sees Marcella in Belfast as an undercover detective.
She has taken on a new identity, Keira - complete with blonde hair - and has infiltrated the infamous Maguire crime family.
But as she investigates their activities, questions come to the fore about how much she’s embraced the Keira personality and left Marcella behind.
In true Marcella style, the series has interweaving storylines with strands focusing upon the Maguires’ criminal operations, and the trailer gives a hint of what fans can expect.
As she inhabits the character of Keira, Marcella’s quest for the truth puts her in danger and others in harm’s way.
Her undercover role makes her take risks, but will her old life eventually catch up with her?
An array of new cast members are welcomed to the series including Amanda Burton who takes on the role of Katherine, the matriarch of the Maguire family and Aaron McCusker plays her son, Finn Maguire.
Meanwhile Hugo Speer, who made a brief appearance in the final scenes of series two, reprises his role as Frank Young, Marcella’s undercover handler.
Marcella is certainly an intense role to play if the trailer is anything to go by, and Anna previously revealed she almost backed out of playing her.
Most read in Celebrity
She told : "I nearly pulled out of it after I’d accepted it because I just thought, ‘Oh God, how can I do this? There are so many amazing female detectives that have done it so well, I don’t know what I can offer differently.’
READ MORE SUN STORIES
“I had to really work hard on that, so when it was received as well as it was, I thought maybe I had done something that is different and I’ve put my own ownership and my own stamp on it.”