Joanne Froggatt is pregnant! Downton Abbey star, 43, reveals she is expecting her first child as she debuts her baby bump at Into Film Awards

Downton Abbey star Joanna Froggatt has revealed she is pregnant with her first child.

The Downton Abbey star, 43, shared the happy news by showing off her baby bump on the red carpet at Tuesday’s Into Film Awards.

The star looked stunning in a red mini dress as she posed at the event, cradling her bump.

Joanne has not confirmed the father’s identity, but she was spotted holding hands with a mystery man in August 2023, with friends of the star saying at the time they were ‘excited’ for her and thought he might be the One. .

The actress was left heartbroken after eight years of marriage James Cannon ended 2020 shortly before the pandemic.

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 was said to be ‘in love’ with him.

Joanne introduced Mark to her friends last year, and she took him to a party with her group of friends at Italian restaurant The Greyhound in Marylebone, central London.

A source close to her revealed: ‘Joanne is having a great time with Mark.’

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

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

She said: ‘We’ve been separated 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, she admitted that her divorce from her long-term partner had put her life in a state of flux.

She said: ‘I didn’t think I would be divorced, I didn’t think we would experience a pandemic, I didn’t think my life would be in flux the way it was. But I’m okay with that.

The news comes after it was revealed that Joanna will return to Downton Abbey as production begins on the period drama’s third film (pictured with Brendan Coyle as Mr Bates in series two).

‘I’m so grateful for my friends and family, for my health and for working so much this past year. You realize, when it comes down to it, how many positives you have in your life.”

Joanne, who was engaged to DJ Phil Vane at the age of 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 industry, so it’s perfect.’

While together, she and Cannon had a production company called Run After It, but the actress now manages the company alone and said being in charge “feels like an exciting new chapter.”

The baby news comes after it was revealed that Joanna will return to Downton Abbey as production begins on the period drama’s third film.

The actress played Anna Bates, Lady Crawley’s maid, in the series from 2010 to the finale in 2015 and the first two films.

The third part was first abandoned prematurely by actress Imelda Staunton, who unapologetically announced that there would definitely be a ‘third and final’ film.

It was later confirmed by the showrunners, who announced that there would be a “third film in the beloved Downton Abbey franchise.”

However, although producers have ‘attempted to reunite the cast’, some stars will not be able to return.

A TV insider said this The sun: ‘This will be welcome news for fans of the drama, as Anna was a particular favorite, 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 though they appeared in the first two films.’

In February, The Mail revealed that the period drama would be making a surprise comeback for a seventh series.