Downton Abbey star Joanne Froggatt finds new love three years after heartbreaking divorce from husband of eight years

Downtown Abbey actress Joanne Froggatt was heartbroken when her eight-year marriage ended — but she seems to have found love again when she walks hand-in-hand with a new man.

After the pair were spotted out for a walk in the Buckinghamshire countryside, friends of Ms Froggatt said they were “thrilled” for her and thought the mystery man could be The One following her devastating split from James Cannon shortly before the pandemic in 2020.

Dressed for the unusual rain in a black macbook and jeans, she is said to have been seeing the man, whose name is Mark, for several months and is said to be ‘in love’ with him.

Ms Froggatt, 42, who also starred in the ITV drama Liar, introduced Mark – who was dressed in sportswear for their walk – to her friends, and she recently took him to a party with her group of friends at Italian restaurant The Greyhound in Marylebone, central London.

She was spotted smiling at the friend’s birthday party last month, and a source close to her revealed, “Joanne is having a great time with Mark.”

It is the first time she has been publicly linked to a love interest since parting ways with IT consultant Cannon in February 2020.

Ms Froggatt, who played maid Anna Bates for the full six series of Downton Abbey, announced the split just weeks before the lockdown.

She said, “We broke up for a while. I look to the future. I’m just going to embrace this year and see what happens.”

A year later, in 2021, Ms Froggatt admitted that the divorce from her long-term partner had turned her life upside down.

She said, “I didn’t think I’d get a divorce, I didn’t think we’d go through a pandemic, I didn’t think my life would be in flux like it was. But I’m ok with that.

“I am so thankful for my friends and family, for my health and for working so hard over the past year. You realize, when it comes down to it, how many positive things you have in your life.”

Ms Froggatt, who was engaged to DJ Phil Vane aged 19, married Cannon in 2012 in a private church ceremony in Oxfordshire, attended by her fellow Downton Abbey cast members.

In a 2015 interview, 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, but the actress now runs the company alone, saying being in charge “feels like an exciting new chapter.”