Call the VICAR... Stars of rival period dramas to marry after Mr Selfridge actor's divorce means he can wed Midwife beauty
When actress Jessica Raine embarked on a relationship with a married actor, it was a far cry from the gentle, saintly character she played in Call The Midwife.
But the romance has endured – and now she has become engaged to Mr Selfridge star Tom Goodman-Hill, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Miss Raine, who played the prim Jenny Lee in the hit BBC1 drama, has been seen proudly sporting the impressive ring Goodman-Hill bought her about three months ago.
Sparkle: Jessica Raine pictured with Tom Goodman-Hill (left), and a close up of her engagement ring (right)
The pair first met in 2010 when they co-starred in a play in which Goodman-Hill played a troubled husband going through a mid-life crisis as his marriage falls apart, and she was the young seductress trying to lure him away from his wife.
Just months later, Goodman-Hill shocked friends and family by walking out on his wife and two teenage children so he could start a relationship with Miss Raine, 14 years his junior.
News of their engagement comes despite Rada graduate Miss Raine, 33, previously saying she had no interest in getting married.
Last year, she said she felt ‘very safe and secure’ in her relationship with Goodman-Hill, though she admitted there were also tensions.
She said cryptically: ‘There are other people involved who aren’t in this industry, so I can’t talk about them. Lovely, lovely people, but I can’t talk about it.’
And before that she said: ‘I am not interested in getting married. We live together and that’s fine.’
On screen role: Jessica Raine (centre) played the prim Jenny Lee in the hit BBC1 drama Call the Midwife
P.S. CAN THAT ICY BLONDE REALLY BE YOU, NURSE?
Icy blonde: Jessica Raine in Partners In Crime
Jessica Raine dons a blonde wig as she goes under cover in BBC2’s new Partners In Crime, in which she plays a detective called Tuppence.
As well as starring in the rival period dramas, Miss Raine and Goodman-Hill are going head-to-head in a TV ratings battle tonight.
Her new show, an adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Partners In Crime launches on BBC2 at 9pm – the same time Goodman-Hill stars as Joe Hawkins in Channel 4’s Humans.
In ITV’s Mr Selfridge, Goodman-Hill played middle-aged adulterer Roger Grove.
Off-screen, the actor walked out on his wife, set designer Kerry Bradley, in 2010, just days before a surprise party he was organising to celebrate her 40th birthday.
They had been in a relationship for 20 years, married for five and had two sons. He had to tell all the guests the party was off, and admitted his marriage was over, saying ‘it’s all my fault’.
A friend said later that Kerry was furious at the situation and added: ‘We were appalled to hear that Tom was leaving.’
Asked last night about the engagement, Ms Bradley said: ‘I’m aware of it. That’s all I want to say.’
The play where Goodman-Hill met his new fiancee was Earthquakes at the National Theatre.
In the show, Miss Raine’s character danced provocatively for him in ripped tights and hotpants.
Socialite Henry Conway, a friend of Miss Raine’s, was delighted with news of the engagement last night.
He said: ‘We are so happy for them. Of course we’ve all joked that when they have children she can deliver her own.’
Representatives of both Miss Raine and Goodman-Hill declined to comment.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3174681/Call-VICAR-Stars-rival-period-dramas-marry-Mr-Selfridge-actor-s-divorce-means-wed-Midwife-beauty.html#ixzz3gwtm407m
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