Anna Maxwell Martin on ‘shock’ after ex-husband Roger Michell’s sudden death

Anna Maxwell Martin has opened up about the "shock and fear" she experienced following the sudden death of her former husband Roger Michell in 2021.

The Motherland star, 47, was married to Michell from 2002 to 2020, and shares two children with him. Mitchell, who directed Notting Hill, died at the age of 65, a year after separating from Martin.

Speaking to Nuala McGovern on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Martin recalled how difficult Michell’s death was to deal with "in every aspect" of her and their children’s lives.

"There’s lots of stuff that comes with grief, and one of those was financial terror," she said. "Then there are real practicalities around your children, and their mental health and supporting them, which is your priority.

"Looking back, I was probably in a heightened state of shock and fear for a long time until very recently."

Martin added that the sudden nature of Michell’s death was particularly hard on their daughters, Nancy and Rosanna, whereas she has had previous experience with an unexpected death.

"I’ve travelled this road of grief and sudden traumatic death before. I’ve done it before, so in a way I could pick myself up and do it again," the Line of Duty star said.

"It was horrible to have to see my children walk that road. But I’m pretty gritty and pretty strong, and I think I’m quite deft. I thought, I’ve just got to keep the motor chugging on."

She went on to reflect on her previous experience of grief, which occurred when she was 24 and left her feeling "very lonely".

"I was very isolated because no one knew I had been through it," Martin recalled. "Then when it happened with Rog, I saw it more as, we’ve got to keep it together for the kids."

Martin also spoke about the importance of having a support network to hold you up during times of grief, particularly having the support of good friends.

"It’s something about being a woman in your 40s and by then, if you’re lucky enough, you would have succeeded in having best friends and best people around you," she said.

"You’ll have stopped making mistakes in that area of your life and I really did. I had exceptional friends, and an exceptional support network."

Martin previously opened up about Michell’s death in 2022 in an interview with the Guardian. At the time, she said she had only taken on a couple of work projects since the loss in order to spend time with her children.

She told the Guardian that her and Michell’s split had been amicable and they "didn’t have grudges".

"I don’t operate like that, Roger didn’t really operate like that," she said, adding that it was "very sad" and "devastating" to separate from a partner.

"When Roger died, I lost one of my best friends. I see it as that," Martin said.

Watch: Anna Maxwell Martin reflects on late ex-husband

Read more about coping with grief:

• What are the grief stages? Hairy Bikers' Si King talks struggle since Dave Myers' death (Yahoo Life UK, 6-min read)

• I'm a Grieving Mom. This is The One Thing I Most Want To Hear On Mother's Day. (HuffPost, 5-min read)

• What's the point of grief? (The Conversation, 4-min read)