Sherlock star Martin Freeman has secretly split from his long-term partner Amanda Abbington.

The couple, who have been together since 2001 and have two children together, split earlier this year.

Martin revealed the break-up during an interview with Financial Times.

"I’m not with Amanda any more. It’s very, very amicable — I’ll always love Amanda."

When asked if his success was a factor in the break-up, he said: "To a certain extent, yes. Not as much as it might have done, and not as much as maybe I would have hoped it had."

The shocking news comes just as they finished filming the next instalment of Sherlock together which airs New Year's.