Sherlock star Martin Freeman has said he and his ex Amanda Abbington are “very friendly” and their split is extremely civilised.
The actors, who shared the screen in the BBC sleuth show as married couple John and Mary Watson, broke up early in 2015 after 16 years together, although news of the break-up did not emerge until last month.
Martin told the Radio Times their separation has been amicable.
Speaking before the split had been announced, he said: “I mean, we’re very friendly and it’s all lovely and cool.
“Yes, we’ve not been together for a while. I mean, we did the series not together.”
Asked how he was doing, the 45-year-old said he was “all right”.
“I mean, we’re honest to God doing it (separating) in about as civilised a manner as I’ve ever heard of, you know.
“I love Amanda’s work. I think she’s brilliant as an actor and she’s brilliant as a woman and, yes, I love her.
“I will always love Amanda, but, yes, we’re… you know, that’s what’s happened.”
Amanda, who has two children with Martin, has said that long periods spent apart because of filming commitments were partly responsible for the relationship ending.
The 42-year-old actress told the Daily Telegraph’s Stella magazine: “We’ve been apart a lot, and I think that’s one of the reasons it happened.”
She added: “It’s all totally fine. Martin and I remain best friends and love each other, and it was entirely amicable, but we realised we’d come to the end of our time together.
“There was no hostility, really. We just said that we couldn’t live together any more.”
The Radio Times is on sale on Tuesday.
