BROADCHURCH star Andrew Buchan has walked out on his Downton Abbey actress wife Amy Nuttall after falling for his co-star on Beeb thriller Better.
Buchan, 44, is believed to now be living with Leila Farzad, 39.
A source said: “It was a huge shock.
“Amy is heartbroken.”
Buchan, who played tragic Mark Latimer in Broadchurch, is said to have fallen for glamorous Leila Farzad while they were filming new BBC crime thriller Better.
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It is understood the pair are now living together.
Buchan who has a son with Amy, is believed to have told his wife their 11-year marriage was over shortly before Christmas – to the astonishment of their friends.
A source close to the pair said: “For Andrew to walk away from his family was a huge shock to us all – and Amy is heartbroken.
“Everyone who knows them thought they were going to be together forever.
“But he’s packed his bags and left with his new co-star.
“Whatever has gone on, it seems to have been enough for him to re-evaluate his whole life and rip up their marriage.
“Nobody is quite sure of the exact details, but Andrew has clearly had his head turned pretty dramatically.”
Oxford University-educated Leila got her first big role in Billie Piper’s Sky Atlantic comedy drama I Hate Suzie.
In Better, which launched last month on BBC One, she plays a corrupt police detective working secretly for a powerful criminal portrayed by Buchan.
‘It just rubs salt in wounds even more'
A friend added: “It’s hard for Amy to take anyway, but the fact that they are in a drama together on BBC One every week at the moment just rubs salt in the wounds even more.
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“She’s doing her best to keep going and power through with a brave face, but it’s not been easy at all.”
Blackburn-born Amy, 40, shot to fame in Emmerdale, playing Chloe Atkinson.
She joined the ITV soap aged just 18 in 2000 before quitting five years later in order to pursue a music career.
During her time on the Yorkshire-based show she embarked on a four-year relationship with co-star Ben Freeman, who played Scott Windsor.
The couple were dubbed the Posh and Becks of the small screen – with Amy regularly nominated for Sexiest Female at the Soap Awards and handsome Ben a favourite with female fans.
But their relationship broke down amid reports that Ben had been unfaithful with a model.
Amy’s acting roles since include playing Ethel Parks in BBC costume drama Downton Abbey.
The housemaid was fired from the aristocratic estate for having an affair with an officer.
Amy also played nurse Winnie Peterson in ITV drama Liar.
Meanwhile, her estranged Stockport-born husband’s first big acting role was playing political lobbyist Scott Foster in BBC2’s Party Animals.
He later played Andrew Parker Bowles in Netflix’s controversial royal saga The Crown and also portrayed Matt Hancock in Kenneth Branagh’s political drama This England on Sky Atlantic.
In 2013 millions saw him playing the father of murdered Danny Latimer in ITV’s crime drama Broadchurch.
Representatives of all three were approached for comment.
AMY NUTTALL
AMY, 40, was the youngest understudy to ever play the lead of Christine in The Phantom of the Opera at the age of 17, before landing her big TV break in Emmerdale a year later as Chloe Atkinson.
She is also a fine singer, having performed at the Royal Albert Hall and Royal Festival Hall.
She also won a celeb edition of Stars In Their Eyes in 2004.
ANDREW BUCHAN
ACTOR Andrew is best known for TV roles in Broadchurch, Party Animals, The Fixer and Garrow’s Law — as well as playing Matt Hancock in recent Kenneth Branagh political drama This England.
His TV career began in 2006 with an appearance in Jane Eyre, before joining Doctor Who star Matt Smith in Party Animals the following year.
LEILA FARZAD
LEILA graduated from Oxford University with a degree in French and Italian Literature.
She then appeared in a string of minor TV roles — including voicing Mrs Cat and Mrs Pony in kids’ cartoon Peppa Pig.
Her big break came playing manager Naomi Jones in Sky’s I Hate Suzie.
In the Beeb’s Better she plays corrupt cop Lou Slack.
