Abigail Lucy Cruttenden (born 23 March 1968) is an English actress. After beginning her career as a child actress, she went on to play opposite Sean Bean, her first husband, as his character Richard Sharpe's wife Jane in several episodes of the TV series Sharpe. She has since become known for her roles in sitcoms, which include Kate Weedon in the ITV comedy series Benidorm (2007–2009) and Anna in the BBC sitcom Not Going Out (2014–2026).
Early life Cruttenden was born on 23 March 1968 in Richmond, London to a family with history in the acting industry. Her grandmother, Cynthia Coatts (1915–2013) founded the Rosslyn School of Dance and Drama in London, while her mother, Julia (née Coats; 1938–2013), ran the stage make-up school Greasepaint in London. Her father, Neville Cruttenden (1940–1990), was an advertising executive who also indulged in amateur theatrics before deciding to become a professional actor at 49. Her brother is Hal Cruttenden, a stand-up comedian, and she has an older sister Hannah, who works in journalism.
Career Cruttenden started her acting career when she was 12, appearing in the BBC2 Playhouse episode "Elizabeth Alone" in 1981. She gained significant notice in only her second screen role in the critically acclaimed TV film P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang, playing the object of affection to a lovesick schoolboy in the coming of age drama, which was written by Jack Rosenthal. As she recalled in a newspaper interview in 1996, she did not realise she would have to kiss co-star John Albasiny towards the film's climax. "I was 14 and painfully shy, like my character. I vividly remember them saying we had to kiss at the end. I was completely thrown because it wasn't in the script. Tears welled in my eyes and I mumbled 'All right, then.' But I had never kissed anyone before, ever. It was all rather traumatic."
She continued to have regular acting work throughout her teenage years, including a regular role in the TV sitcom Mog (1985–86), the TV Aids drama Intimate Contact (1987) and The StoryTeller episode "Hans My Hedgehog" in 1987. Despite coming from a family involved in the acting industry, her parents were keen for her to concentrate more on her schooling. By this point, Cruttenden was thoroughly committed to acting, and when she was offered the stage role in Romeo and Juliet halfway through sitting for the last two of her four A levels, she took the role.
Cruttenden immersed herself in her acting work, taking roles in TV shows TECX, Coasting and Centrepoint (all 1990), and appearing in the detective series Van der Valk and The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes in 1991.
After a break from TV to do more theatre work, she appeared on screen for the first time in three years in the TV period comedy drama Love on a Branch Line in 1994, a role which required her to appear nude. Then in 1996 she was cast as Jane Gibbons in the TV series Sharpe as the love interest and eventual wife of Richard Sharpe, played by Sean Bean.
She continued regular work in the theatre and on television, with roles in Doctors and Nurses (2004) and The Robinsons (2005), but it was not until she was cast in the TV sitcom Benidorm in 2007 that she gained another hit show. She appeared in the first three series until she left the show in 2009.
There was a dearth of screen roles for the next 5 years, with only an appearance in an episode of the sitcom The Royal Bodyguard in 2012 during this time. From 2014 to 2023, she was a regular on the sitcom Not Going Out, playing the role of Anna, Hugh Dennis' wife and snobby neighbour to Lee and Lucy.
Personal life In 1990, Cruttenden's father, Neville, died suddenly of a stomach haemorrhage, aged 50. He had left his job as an advertising executive the year before to become a professional actor, and had had two TV roles in the pipeline before his death.
During the filming of Sharpe, Cruttenden met actor Sean Bean. They married on 22 November 1997. Their daughter was born in November 1998. They divorced in July 2000. In 2003, she married Jonathan R. Fraser. They have a daughter.
Cruttenden lives in East Sheen, south-west London.
Filmography Television Year Title Role Notes1981 BBC2 Playhouse Young Elizabeth Episode: "Elizabeth Alone"1983 Storyboard Emma Episode: "Lytton's Diary" 1985–1986 Mog Miranda 1987 The Storyteller The Princess Episode: "Hans My Hedgehog" Intimate Contact Nell Gregory 1988 The Bell-Run Gudrun Glover TV movie1989 Agatha Christie's Poirot Geraldine Oglander 1990 Coasting Emma Conway Episode: "Illuminations" Centrepoint Saskia TV mini-series TECX Marijke Van Der Broeke Episode: "Rock a Buy Baby"1991 Van der Valk Else Episode: "A Sudden Silence" The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes Miss Violet Merville Episode: "The Illustrious Client"1994 Performance Clara Browning Episode: "A Message for Posterity" Love on a Branch Line Belinda Flamborough 1996 Sharpe's Regiment Jane Gibbons Sharpe's Siege Jane Sharpe née Gibbons Sharpe's Mission Jane Sharpe 1997 Jane Eyre Blanche Ingram TV film adaptationSharpe's Revenge Jane Sharpe Sharpe's Justice Sharpe's Waterloo The Ruth Rendell Mysteries Annabel Lynes Episode: "Bribery & Corruption" Into the Blue Heather Mallender 1998 The Canterbury Tales Emily Voice2000 Anna Karenina Betsy "Part 1", "Part 3"Monarch of the Glen Lizzie MacDonald Episodes "1.5", "1.8"2002 Helen West Emily Eliot Episode: "A Clear Conscience"2003 Rosemary & Thyme Patsy Connolly Episode: "Arabica and the Early Spider"2004 Doctors and Nurses Lucy Potter 6 episodes2005 The Robinsons Vicky Robinson Episode: "1.6"2007–2009 Benidorm Kate Weedon Regular role, 17 episodes (series 1–3) 2007 Foyle's War Evelyn Richards Episode: "Casualties of War" The Commander Judy Thornton Episode: "The Devil You Know" Sex, the City and Me Ali TV movie2008 Teenage Kicks Kate Episode: "Sex"2009 The Green Green Grass Doctor Episode: "I Done It My Way"2012 The Royal Bodyguard Mary Town-Jones Episode: "The Perils of Attraction"2014–2026 Not Going Out Anna Regular role2015 The Outcast Anne Rawlins TV mini-seriesCitizen Khan Virginia Episode: "Farley Manor"2016 Fresh Meat Oregon's Mother Episode: "4.6"2017 Midsomer Murders Nell Fryer Episode: "Death by Persuasion"Casualty Sadie Holm Episode: "32.11"2020Housebound Abigail Episode: "1.10"2021Face It Abbey TV Mini Series2024Showtrial Dr Nesbitt Episode 2.5: "The Smaller Picture"; TV mini-series
Film Year Title Role 1982 P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang Ann Lawton1998 Hideous Kinky Charlotte 2001 Charlotte Gray Daisy Sword of Honour TV movie Kerstie Kilbannock 2014 The Theory of Everything Isobel Hawking 2015 The Batsman and the Ballerina Jane2016 Denial Janine Stone2018Await Further Instructions Beth2020That Girl, PeugeotSandra2021Munich – The Edge of WarAnne Chamberlain
Radio Years Title Role 2017–2022Alone Ellie
Theatre The Seagull by Anton Chekhov (2013) – Arkadina Her Naked Skin by Rebecca Lenkiewicz (2018) – Celia Cain A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt (2025) – Alice More
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