Cause of death of Anna Maxwell Martin’s husband Roger Michell and why they split a year before tragedy
'When Roger died, I lost one of my best friends'
Anna Maxwell Martin appears on The Assembly tonight (April 21) and, with no subject off limits, it isn’t long before the Line Of Duty star is asked about the death of her husband.
Assembly star Mikey, who recently lost his dad, is seen asking Anna, 48, how her children are dealing with the loss of their dad.
Anna’s husband – film director Roger Michell, who directed films including Notting Hill – died suddenly in September 2021. He was 65. The couple shared two children – daughters Maggie, 16, and 14-year-old Nancy.
How did Anna Maxwell Martin’s husband die? Cause of death explained
Roger Mitchell died in September 2021 after suffering an acute myocardial infarction – or heart attack – due to a left coronary atheroma – a fatty deposit inside the artery. He had previously suffered a heart attack in 1999.
He died suddenly on the same day that he wrapped the sound mix on his final project: Elizabeth: A Portrait in Parts.
Anna was 22 years his junior, and the pair had split in 2020 after being married for 16 years. They remained close friends, though, and had been planning to spend Christmas together before his death.
Three years after his death, speaking during an interview on Women’s Hour, she explained: “Things were really difficult in every aspect of our lives. There’s lots of stuff that comes with grief, and one of those was financial terror. Then there are real practicalities around your children, and their mental health and supporting them, which is your priority.”
She added: “Looking back I was probably in a heightened state of shock and fear for a long time until very recently.
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“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,” said the actress, who lost her own dad when she was aged 24.
“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.”
Why Anna Maxwell Martin split from husband Roger Michell
The couple met back in 2004 when Roger directed the actress in an adaptation of the Ian McEwan novel, Enduring Love. At the time, Anna was 26 and Roger was 48. They married in 2010, before welcoming their girls.
Anna opened up to The Telegraph in September 2024 about the reason for their split. She said: “I didn’t fall out of love with Roger. But sometimes a marriage can’t continue for certain reasons and for me it couldn’t continue. I still love Roger very much and I miss him desperately.
“He was my friend and my sounding board. He was also a lot older than me – he was my boss when I met him. It all sounds inappropriate now but it was a different time [then]. He was the person I would go to, to ask: ‘Is this all right?'”
She added: “It was mutual, and he knew I was there for him. There are a lot of complicated things around losing a loved one when you are separated. What your place is and who you are. But your grief is the same, you know, as if [you are still together.] A lot of my focus was on our children.”
In an interview with The Guardian, Anna also described her split from Roger as “devastating”. She added: “It’s very sad if you separate, it’s devastating, and you hope you’ll come back around, after a period of time. When Roger died, I lost one of my best friends. I see it as that.”
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