Totally British Magazine Totally Test Issue 2014 | Page 4

Under

Sherlock and K

When the new series returns the
great mystery of how Sherlock survived his ‘fatal’ fall in the last episode
will finally be solved. Keeley Bolger
grills the show’s stars, Martin Freeman
and Benedict Cumberbatch, for clues
- but, as ever, they’re giving nothing
away...

The phrase ‘life imitating art’ seems
very apt for Martin Freeman at the
moment. While making the long-awaited
third series of Sherlock, the actor found
his character, Dr John Watson, in a
romantic storyline with Mary Morstan,
played by his real life partner of 13 years,
Amanda Abbington. Life for Freeman and
Abbington might be less chaotic and puzzling than for Watson and Mary, but the
42-year-old, who made his name as Tim

4

in The Office, is “delighted” to have his
partner on board.
“It wasn’t a John and Yoko thing,
where I said, ‘I want my missus in’,”
says the actor, who has two children with
Abbington. “I think they [the casting
directors] had thought about it, and I
think Amanda is a really good Mary. If
she was nothing to do with me, she’d still be
someone who’d definitely come up for it.”
Delighted though Freeman is about
her casting, he’s not so thrilled about
some people’s reaction to the news Abbington received abusive messages
and even death threats on Twitter.
“It’s ridiculous. To me, they’re not
fans of the show - they’re fans of a show
going on in their heads,” he states.
But despite the hate mail, working
together’s been a positive experience for

the couple, who met on the set of Men
Only in 2000 and have a “lovely shorthand” when they work together.
“If you’re lucky enough to work
with your missus or mister, and you
actually want to and get on with them,
it does help if you’re filming away from
home,” says Freeman, referring to the
many car journeys they shared to and
from set. And there are other benefits
to having joint jobs, as Freeman adds:
“You can see them more than you
would normally.”