Miss Austen's Keeley Hawes' decades-long romance with huge TV star who's 'the nicest man in the world'
A new drama is beginning on BBC One this weekend called Miss Austen. It follows the lives of Jane Austen's sister and niece after her death.
Keeley Hawes is one of the main stars of the show. She is playing the role of Jane's sister Cassandra Austen.
The actor shot to fame when she played Zoe Reynolds in the BBC series Spooks, and has gone on to star in Line of Duty and Bodyguard. She is married to fellow actor Matthew Macfadyen.
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Macfadyen is known for his roles as Tom Wambsgans in Succession and Mr Paradox in Deadpool & Wolverine. The pair met while on set for a TV series.
They starred together in Spooks in 2002, when Keeley was married to Spencer McCallum. Keeley and Spencer divorced in 2004 and later that year, Keely and Matthew married.
Keeley has one child, Myles, from her first marriage and she and Matthew have two children, Maggie and Ralph. Talking about the family dynamic, Keeley said: "Spencer and I were best friends before we married, and we’ve managed to stay that way. Happily, both my husband and my ex-husband get along brilliantly. They are both generous people, to each other and to the children."
Talking about marriage to Matthew, Keeley said: "You have to work at it. We still fill up the dishwasher and put a wash on—that’s life—but you also have to make the effort to be romantic. When life takes over, going out to dinner together isn’t top of your list, but before you know it, the children are older and around less and you’re sort of back together again.
"I couldn’t love him more. It helps that he’s the nicest man in the world," she added.
Miss Austen begins on BBC One on Sunday, February 2 at 9.05pm. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter
