Broadchurch actor Andrew Buchan 'walks out' on Emmerdale actress after 'falling for' Leila Farzad - reaction

The Sun reported yesterday (28 February) that Buchan has left wife Amy Nuttall for Leila Farzad, 40, after meeting her while working on Better – a BBC series that was filmed in Leeds. Many have taken to social media to express their outrage at the Broadchurch star, stating that the new relationship with Farzad “won’t last”.

One reader wrote: “I hope she meets someone who treats her right and who loves her for who she is…. Hope his new relationship goes down the pan. Can’t stand a person who walks away from their kids and takes on someone else’s kids.”

Another wrote: “It probably won’t last, look at Angelina and Brad, famous actors. If it does it does the only ones that matter are the ones that are hurt by their actions.”

However, some readers took to his defence, writing: “Two sides to every story, no one knows the reason.”

"Nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors. There must have been problems in marriage before this happened. Look at how quick all you people are to comment and judge. And the comments he was punching or about her were too good for him. I don’t know him or her but if they had been together that long surely their marriage was based on more than looks."

Buchan, 44, married Emmerdale actress Amy Nuttall in 2012, and the couple have two children together. Farzad married her husband James Maizels in 2013, but they were rumoured to have split in recent years. They have a daughter together.

The pair were cast in leading roles for BBC crime drama Better, which had its red carpet debut at the Everyman Cinema in Trinity Leeds last month. The series follows DI Lou Slack, played by Farzad, as she attempts to break free of the dangerous friendship formed with criminal Col McHugh, played by Buchan, and assess her own morality after a life of crime.

The full series is now available to watch on streaming service BBC iPlayer.