Joanne Froggatt returns to ITV1 this week in the highly emotive Covid-19 drama Breathtaking. And, her fans won’t be surprised to hear, she smashes it out of the park. Again.
One of TV’s most bankable actresses, she portrays a doctor working under the extreme conditions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. And you WILL cry. And RAGE – and all the emotions in between.
But how did a Corrie role help propel her to stardom, what else has she starred in, and who is her husband? Here’s everything you need to know about the Liar actress.
Joanne Froggatt portrays Dr Abbey Henderson in Breathtaking
Golden Globe-winning actress Joanne Froggatt leads the cast of Breathtaking on ITV1 (Monday, February 19, 2024). She portrays Dr Abbey Henderson, an Acute Medicine Consultant on the frontline as the first wave of Covid-19 hits the UK.
Although Abbey Henderson is not based on a real person, the story is very much based on fact. The three-part series is based on the accounts of hospital doctor Rachel Clarke, who attempts to shines a light on what really happened as Covid-19 swept the vastly unprepared UK.
The drama pays tribute to sacrifices made by NHS staff during the pandemic, revealing the reality of hospital life in the face of momentous challenges.
Speaking about Breathtaking, Joanne said: “When I first read the incredible scripts they moved me to tears on many occasions. I felt so passionately that I had to be a part of telling this story, the real story, of what was really happening behind the closed doors of the hospitals during the pandemic.”
She added: “Our NHS staff are nothing less than absolute heroes in my eyes. I hope telling this story goes a little way towards us understanding their truth, their lived experience and honouring their unbelievable commitment and sacrifice on behalf of us all.”
Was Joanne Froggatt in Angela Black?
Joanna Froggatt portrayed the titular heroine in the cast of thriller Angela Black. Angela was a suburban London housewife, who appeared to have a perfect life. However, viewers soon learnt her life was a sham.
Beneath the enviable façade of Angela’s life, she was the victim of domestic abuse, trapped in a relationship she couldn’t escape. Speaking about her role in the drama, she said the story was “nothing like” anything she had read before.
She continued: “Angela is a complex and intriguing character and I hope audiences will be immediately drawn into her gripping, and sometimes heart-breaking journey, just as I was.”
The six-part series aired on ITV1 in 2021.
What else has Joanne Froggatt been in?
Actress Joanne has been on our screens for nearly three decades! She first appeared on TV in 1996 when she popped up in the cast of The Bill as Kelly Martin.
She went on to play pregnant teen Zoe Tattersall in Coronation Street between 1997 and 1998. In 1991, she played Rachel Hicks in the cast of Bad Girls, and a few years later portrayed Julia Sawyer in Paradise Heights opposite Neil Morrissey. Joanne has also starred in The Commons, Dark Angel, Robin Hood, Dinnerladies and Life on Mars.
Joanne is perhaps most famous for playing Anna Bates in the Downton Abbey series and films. Anna was maid to Lady Mary Crawley (Michelle Dockery), and love interest of valet Mr Bates (Brendan Coyle). Her storylines revolved around her relationship with Mr Bates and her rape by a visiting valet.
As a result of playing the character from 2010, Joanne received three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television in 2014.
Thriller fans will know Joanne for playing Laura Nielson in the hugely popular Liar on ITV1, and Angela Black in the series of the same name.
More recently, she met a grisly end as newlywed Sarah Vincent in Sherwood. In 2023, she also starred in Australian crime thriller North Shore, and starred as Elena Yeats in Last Light.
Who did Joanne Froggatt play in Sherwood?
Joanne Froggatt portrayed Sarah Vincent in the BBC One drama Sherwood, which was based on real events. Like Breathtaking, the new drama was fictional but based on real-life events.
Sherwood was set in a Nottinghamshire mining village in the present day, but examined the divisions of the miners’ strike three decades before.
It followed the fall-out from two shocking and unexpected murders that shattered an already fractured community. The murders led to one of the largest manhunts in British history. Suspicion was rife and the tragic murders threatened to inflame historic divisions sparked during the miners’ strike that tore families apart.
To solve the murders, former allies – police inspectors Ian St Clair, from the local constabulary, and Kevin Salisbury from the Met – reunited and attempted to bury a rivalry that stretched back to 1984.
Joanne Froggatt played Sarah, who struggled to hide how uncomfortable she was in her soon-to-be father-in-law’s company. Meanwhile, David Morrissey played Kevin Salisbury, alongside Robert Glenister, who appeared as Ian St Clair. Oscar-winner Lesley Manville played Julie Jackson, a local resident.
Alun Armstrong, Stephen Tompkinson, Perry Fitzpatrick, Lorraine Ashbourne, Adeel Akhtar and Kevin Doyle completed the awesome cast. The series aired on BBC One in 2022.
Has Joanne Froggatt been in Coronation Street?
Actress Joanna Froggatt portrayed pregnant teen Zoe Tattersall in Coronation Street from 1997 to 1998. She was the centre of a big storyline.
Zoe Tattersall was the biological mother of Shannon Tattersall. She first appeared in May 1997. Zoe was born in September 1981 and lived in care. But, as she became a teenager, she ran away to live on the streets with her boyfriend Liam Shepherd.
While living rough, Zoe discovered she was pregnant. Zoe and Liam would often visit the arcade where Street regular Judy Mallet worked. Liam began giving Judy grief and concocted a story that Judy’s husband Gary had assaulted him and Zoe was a witness. He began blackmailing Judy for money and she ended up taking money from the Rovers’ till to pay him.
But she was caught by Samantha Failsworth and forced to admit the truth. Judy was upset Zoe planned to use the money for an abortion, as she and Gary had been trying for a baby.
Later Zoe turned up on Judy’s doorstep, having been abandoned by Liam. Judy thought about adopting Zoe’s unborn child, but Gary contacted social services. Later Zoe returned to Judy and she agreed to buy Zoe’s daughter for £2000.
What happened to Zoe Tattersall in Corrie?
Zoe subsequently began dating Ashley Peacock, but struggled living opposite her daughter, who was living with Judy and Gary. Eventually, Zoe took her daughter back and renamed her Shannon Jade. However in April 1998, Shannon died from meningitis at just eight months old, leaving Zoe devastated.
In May 1998, Zoe set fire to a pram outside of Judy and Gary’s house and she was taken to a secure unit. In the secure unit she cut her hair. Once she was out, she returned to Corrie to see Fiona Middleton to have her hair sorted. But when Fiona went out, she snatched Fiona’s son Morgan.
Ashley, Leanne Battersby and Gary went looking for her and found her by a bridge carrying Morgan. She put Morgan down before jumping into the canal. Gary went in and pulled her out. After going to hospital she was handed into police. She returned to the cobbles a short while later to see Ashley. But in December 1998, she left for good to be with her friends in America.
Who is her husband and why did they split?
Joanne Froggatt married long-time boyfriend James Cannon in a private church ceremony in October 2012 in Oxfordshire. It was attended by several of her Downton Abbey co-stars.
Despite his professional background, James and Joanne opened a production company together called Run After It in 2018. They even relocated to Los Angeles for her acting career.
However, she confirmed she had separated from her IT manager husband in early 2020 after eight years of marriage.
She told The Telegraph that they had been apart for some time and that she was focused on her future happiness. Joanne told the newspaper: “We’ve actually 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 later, in 2021, Joanne admitted the divorce 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.
“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.”
Before her marriage, Joanne was previously engaged at the age of 19 to DJ Phil Vane.
Who is Joanne Froggatt dating in 2024?
Joanne subsequently found love again, three years after her heart-breaking split from her husband.
In August 2023, the Mail Online published photos of Joanne looking loved up. Pictures showed her walking hand in hand with a new man, reportedly called Mark.
The pair were spotted enjoying a stroll in the Buckinghamshire countryside. Friends of Joanne’s said they were “excited” for her and felt the mystery man may be The One.
Joanne is thought to have been seeing the man for at least six months, and she is said to be “besotted” with him.
Has Breathtaking star Joanne Froggatt got any children?
Actress Joanne does not have any children, and does not like being asked either.
In 2021, she revealed her annoyance at being constantly asked about whether she wants children. She also complained about the fact that many of her male colleagues don’t get asked the same question.
Speaking on the Reign With Josh Smith Podcast, she said: “From the age of about 38, 37, whenever I’ve been doing publicity for my work or anything else, I’ve been constantly asked if I’m going to have children.”
She went on to say that she was yet to meet a man who had been asked if he was having children. She added: “Honestly with men and I’m not just saying this as a sweeping statement, I can guarantee it, I don’t think any man I’ve ever worked with – because I ask them all the time, all my male colleagues think this is ridiculous – they never get asked those questions. ”
How old is Breathtaking star Joanne Froggatt? Where is she from?
Joanne Froggatt was born on August 23, 1980, in Littlebeck, North Yorkshire.
She is currently 43 years of age.
Her parents ran a rare-breed sheep farm on a smallholding near Whitby, and Joanne has likened her childhood setting to the backdrop of Emily Brontë’s classic novel Wuthering Heights.
Read more: ITV announces new Covid drama with Liar star Joanne Froggatt who was ‘moved to tears’ by script
Breathtaking starts on Monday, February 19, 2024 at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX. It airs over consecutive nights that week.
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