Amy Nuttall ‘grew suspicious of Andrew Buchan after seeing his cosy snaps with Leila Farzad’

Amy Nuttall reportedly grew suspicious of her husband Andrew Buchan after seeing cozy snaps on social media of him and co-star Leila Farzad.

The Downton Abbey star, 40, is reportedly heartbroken after the Broadchurch actor left her for his co-star, after they met on the BBC series Better.

Now, sources claim that Amy started to worry that Andrew was cheating after social media snapped at her man and Leila seemed a little too close for comfort.

The star then confirmed her fears when she discovered that Andrew was staying at a hotel close to their home – while claiming to be away to work on location – and that he had bought racy lingerie in a size that wasn’t hers.

A source told The sun: ‘The penny started to drop over time. He was away a lot, which was not unusual given the nature of his job, but at some point Amy realized that he was staying in hotels very close to home – and she wondered why.

What is happening? The Downton Abbey star is reportedly heartbroken after the Broadchurch actor left her for his co-star (pictured last month)

As time went on, there were some telltale signs that he had grown close to Leila — just something in his mannerisms and in their social media posts together.

“But the last straw was the lingerie — that’s the deciding factor. Amy just instinctively knew it wasn’t for her.’

On Tuesday, Nuttall was photographed for the first time since it emerged that her husband had left her and their two children.

The Downton Abbey star, who has been left so ‘crushed’ at the end of her marriage that she has cried almost every day, struggled to muster a smile as she ran errands in Buckinghamshire.

Speaking to MailOnline about the breakup, Nuttall fought back tears and confessed, “I can’t talk about it. I’m sorry, I can’t say anything.’

Sources close to Nuttall say she was supported by her close friend Joanne Froggatt, who lived close to her and Buchan.

A friend said: ‘It broke Amy, it was so terribly sad to see.

“She heard something was going on and she knew she had to say something, so she confronted Andrew about it. It must have been the hardest thing Amy has ever had to do.

Rumbled: The star then confirmed her fears when she discovered Andrew was staying at a hotel close to their home and had bought underwear in a size that wasn’t hers

United: Earlier this month, Leila took to social media to share a gushing tribute to Buchan in a montage featuring the cast and crew of Better

Co-stars: Buchan plays well-connected criminal Col alongside Leila’s corrupt cop, Lou, in the crime drama Better, which first screened on BBC One in February

Crestfallen: On Tuesday, Nuttall was photographed for the first time since it emerged that her husband has left her and their two children

New love: Broadchurch star Buchan allegedly left the family home over Christmas and moved in with Leila Farzad, after meeting while working on BBC series Better

“Now she’s getting used to life without him and it’s very difficult. Fortunately, she has some good friends around her who support her every step of the way.

“One is Joanne and she divorced her husband just a few years ago, but she got through it and came out the other side.”

As well as starring in Downton Abbey, the women also appeared together in both series of ITV drama Liar in 2017 and 2020.

Her friends told MailOnline that the breakup left the actress “crushed” as she tried to rebuild her life.

One of them said, “It’s been really hard for Amy. She’s been crying pretty much every day since it happened and she’s struggling to deal with things. She can’t even bring herself to talk about it because she’s still trying to understand it all.’

Another friend added, “Amy and the kids have been hit very hard by this, as you can imagine. They are all crushed. One minute they were living an idyllic family life in a beautiful home and the next, Andrew walks out on them.

“I’ve seen Amy a few times and when I do she just bursts into tears. She has cried a lot and is still mourning the end of the marriage.’

A close friend of the family told MailOnline: ‘Amy and the whole family are devastated by what has happened.

“Her parents are very upset about this, as is everyone else. “People are very angry with Andrew for what he did. “We just didn’t see this coming. “It’s a huge shock.”

Former flame: Leila was previously married to husband James, and the couple tied the knot in 2013, after being friends for six years. They have daughter Allegra, born in 2014

Amy alluded to their breakup with cryptic social media posts over the past few months.

The day after Valentine’s Day, she shared a pointed message that read: “I’m not impressed by money, social status, or job title, I’m impressed by the way someone treats other people.”

Days before she shared photos from a vacation, which showed no sign of Buchan, just one image with a female friend and a cute photo of herself holding hands with two children.

She captioned the images: “Vacation with my favorites.”

In another hint that she was going through a tumultuous time, Nuttall shared a selfie sipping a cocktail at the start of the month and wrote, “If a porn star martini makes life a little better.”

At Christmas, she shared a solo photo posing in front of her tree when a follower asked, “How are you and the kids?” Xxxx’

Leila is now also active on Instagram and recently shared a gushing Instagram post paying tribute to Buchan for “holding her up and wiping her tears,” alongside a photo of them filming their new drama.

Alongside a montage featuring the entire cast and crew of Better, she wrote, “This lot. Couldn’t and wouldn’t happen without them. Raise the Better team that wiped my tears, held me up, fed me crumpets and made me laugh.

“I don’t have pictures of everyone, but this gang got me through it!” We’ve made a show, it’s NOT a Happy Valley replacement, but a morality story that should make you think.”

Buchan is best known for roles in Broadchurch, The Fixer and Garrow’s Law – and more recently he played Matt Hancock in Kenneth Branagh’s political drama Sky This England.

He landed his first major role in Jane Eyre in 2006 and also starred opposite Matt Smith in Party Animals the following year.

Meanwhile, Nuttall rose to prominence after joining ITV soap opera Emmerdale in 2000 aged 18; she played Chloe Atkinson for eight years before leaving the show to pursue a music career.

Former boyfriend: While in Emmerdale, Amy dated co-star Ben Freeman for over four years before the pair split amid claims he cheated on her (pictured on the show)

While on the show, she dated co-star Ben Freeman for over four years before the pair split in 2004 over claims he cheated on her.

It was reported by The News Of The World that Nuttall discovered Freeman had cheated on her, with a source saying: ‘She found out a few weeks ago that Ben was playing behind her back but when she confronted him he denied it .

At first she believed him, but then she found out that he had called this girl repeatedly and texted her.

“She found his phone bill and called the girl. It took a lot of guts, but she wanted to know the truth and the girl admitted what had happened.’

In a 2003 interview, while she and Ben were still dating, Amy said she “would never dream” of chatting up someone else’s partner.

She told The Mirror: ‘The girls don’t make me jealous because I’m very confident in my relationship with Ben, but I do think it’s rude. I would never think of going to someone else’s boyfriend and trying it on.’

More recently, Amy Ethel Parks starred in the BBC period drama Downton Abbey, with her character losing her job on Downton’s sprawling estate after an affair with a serving officer.