Great figures like Benedict Cumberbatch worked in Sherlock, who played the eccentric detective Sherlock Holmes. But he was also in this great cast, Martin Freeman as his inseparable companion, Dr. John H. Watson and who played his wife Mary Watson was the actress Amanda Abbington, with whom he fell madly in love and they were together for more than 16 years.
The couple, on and off the set, was always characterized by professing great respect and great affection. The success of the series kept them on the red carpet like the Watson couple, but their romantic relationship off-camera was also successful for almost two decades. Despite the fact that they only got married in front of the cameras as part of the plot of the series.
The scenes between the Watsons within the Sherlock series had no problem and flowed easily since Freeman and Abbington were a couple during the filming of the first 3 seasons. Already at the end of the fourth and last, the relationship in real life, was also in a tailspin.
In an interview with a British media, Abbington stated regarding the break with Freeman: “Everything is fine, Martin and I are still best friends and we love each other, and it has been totally friendly, but we realized that we had reached the end of our time together.”
She also added that she always thought they would be together forever, despite not being legally married unlike their characters on the show; she added: “It’s sad and it’s upsetting because you think you’re going to be with someone forever but if it doesn’t work out you break it off. And we both came to the decision that splitting up was in our best interest. We’ve been very lucky to have such a clean break, especially for the kids.”
Despite the fact that in their real relationship there were never any fights or any kind of major hostility, both have stated that there came a point where they could not continue living together as a couple. From that union between colleagues, 2 children were born (Grace and Joe) who are a sign of that love that they lived for more than 16 years, on and off the set.
In the meantime, Freeman found success with his participation in The Hobbit trilogy, as well as his roles in many other films such as Captain America: Civil War, and the first season of Fargo. For her part, Abbington starred in the ITV series Mr. Selfridge. Both continued with their professional lives without setbacks and remain great friends.
The fate of the series was another. Sherlock left the Netflix platform in March 2022. After having dominated audience levels during its four seasons on both the BBC and the leading streaming video platform. This due to a refreshing of the repertoire of series to offer, where some arrive and others leave.
