Richard Armitage is back on our screens as tortured forensic pathologist Dr Ethan Winter in ITV drama Winter, where his character is grieving the loss of his fiancée. Away from the drama, though, the actor’s love life is rather more settled with his long-term partner.
The actor is one of TV’s most bankable stars, having made his name in huge hits including Spooks, Robin Hood, and multiple Harlan Coben thrillers on Netflix.
This autumn, he plays Dr Ethan Winter, who helps crack a string of twisted and compelling murder cases. But behind the charm, he’s still haunted by the violent death of someone close to him 10 years ago.
Here’s everything you need to know about Winter star Richard Armitage, from his new role and his decision to ‘come out’ to the identity of his long-term partner.
Richard Armitage plays Dr Ethan Winter in ITV’s new crime drama
Richard Armitage is back on the box in ITV crime drama Winter. He takes the lead as Dr Ethan Winter, a “brilliant” forensic pathologist who can’t escape the ghosts of his past.
Set against the atmospheric backdrop of Bristol, viewers meet Ethan as he works with DI Lauren Bell and DS Ellis Daldry to solve a series of seriously complex murders. With an unflinching eye for detail and an impressive knowledge of the human body, Winter spots what others don’t, uncovering the secrets left behind by the dead.
But while he’s busy solving the cases around Bristol, there’s one mystery he simply can’t leave behind. Ten years ago, his fiancée was murdered, and a man was put behind bars. Then a suicide arrives in his lab carrying a chilling clue that echoes the earlier death, leaving Winter shaken…
He’s convinced the wrong man is in prison and that the real killer is still out there.
Richard Armitage TV and films
Richard Armitage has been gracing our screens for more than three decades, first appearing as a ‘man in pub’ in the 1992 series Boon. After a string of smaller film and TV roles – including playing a Naboo fighter in Star Wars: Episode I – he landed the high-profile role of Lee Preston in Cold Feet in 2003.
Fans of the show will remember the rather dishy Lee as the swimming instructor who had a relationship with Karen’s nanny Ramona. That same year, Richard also played Capt. Ian Macalwain in the Ross Kemp drama Ultimate Force.
Roles in Between the Sheets, period drama North & South, The Golden Hour, and The Impressionists followed, before he took on another prestigious role as Harry Kennedy in The Vicar of Dibley.
From 2006 to 2009, Richard appeared in ratings hit Robin Hood, alongside Jonas Armstrong, Joe Armstrong, Keith Allen, and Joanne Froggatt. He played the villainous Guy of Gisbourne.
Then, in 2008, Richard landed arguably his biggest role to date as Lucas North in Spooks, staying with the show until 2010. Other notable TV roles include John Porter in Strike Back, Francis Dolarhyde in Hannibal, and Daniel Miller in Berlin Station. He also starred in the erotic drama Obsession, which was certainly a tad steamy!
Richard Armitage was also in series 1 and 2 of Red Eye, playing suspected murderer Dr Matthew Nolan in the ITV thriller. He found himself accused of murder, although viewers later discovered he was innocent.
His film roles have included John Proctor in The Crucible, Thorin in The Hobbit franchise, and Heinz Kruger in Captain America: The First Avenger.
How many Harlen Coben shows has he been in?
More recently, Richard has become a familiar face in Netflix adaptations of Harlan Coben’s novels. He’s taken leading roles in Stay Close, The Stranger, Fool Me Once, and Missing You.
In Netflix’s Stay Close, Richard Armitage played Ray, once a promising war-time photographer who ended up stuck in a dead-end job pandering to celebrity-obsessed rich kids.
He’d never been the same after his fiancée, Cassie, walked out of his life. He suffered with PTSD, which caused blackouts and left his memory unreliable.
When men with connections to him started disappearing, he began to question whether he could have had anything to do with it…
Richard then starred in Harlan Coben’s The Stranger. He played Adam Price, whose life was turned upside down when a mysterious stranger appeared to know an awful lot about him. Then his wife went missing and even more devastating secrets came to light. But who exactly was the stranger?
More recently, he appeared in the Netflix drama Fool Me Once, playing the late husband of Michelle Keegan’s character Maya Stern. He subsequently popped up in Missing You, too!
How old is Richard Armitage? Where is he from?
Richard Crispin Armitage was born on August 22, 1971, in Huncote, Leicestershire. He is currently 55 years of age. And, damn, he still looks fine.
The actor attended Huncote Community Primary School in Huncote before going on to his local comprehensive school, Brockington College, in Enderby.
At 14, he transferred to Pattison College in Coventry, an independent boarding school specialising in the performing arts, allowing him to focus on drama and dance. And the rest, as they say, is history!
Is Richard Armitage gay?
Away from the spotlight, Richard is famously private about his personal life. However, in 2023, he revealed he was not straight. He also explained that he had ‘come out’ to friends and family as a teenager.
In April 2023, Richard spoke openly about his sexuality and revealed how he came out as a teen. Speaking to Radio Times, he explained that he had chosen not to discuss his sexuality publicly because he didn’t want it to overshadow his acting career.
He said: “It happened when I was 19 – to anybody who mattered – and I was always waiting for that question to punch me in the face, and it never did. I thought, are people being polite, or is it that they don’t want to know?”
He added: “I don’t know that I ever wanted to put myself in front of the work I was doing, anything about my family or personal life. I just thought, let the work speak for itself.”
Richard continued: “I love the conversation with the younger generation; I love the idea that whatever gender, sexuality, the fluidity of who you love, how you identify, is not fixed.
“That was always a thing: if I declare who I am and my sexuality, then I’m saying it’s fixed. I don’t know that, or if I might feel something for somebody further down the line. I doubt it, but I don’t know.”
Having reached a point where he felt comfortable discussing his sexuality publicly, Richard also added Pride and trans Pride flag emojis to his Twitter bio.
Who is the partner of Richard Armitage?
In another interview with the Evening Standard, Richard Armitage confirmed that his partner is male. He has not identified him, however, choosing to keep his name out of the public domain.
In 2023, he also spoke about filming full-frontal nude scenes for Netflix drama Obsession and the impact they had on his relationship.
He said: “We did talk about it. I reassured him that it was all going to be fine, and we were being well looked after.”
He also revealed that he and his on-screen lover Anna Barton, played by Charlie Murphy, had “met each other’s partners and gone for dinner”.
The actor joked that after turning 50, he thought he’d never have to take his shirt off again. Then the script for obsession landed… Richard said: “Oh, you want all of it off now. Okay.”
Richard Armitage’s ex-girlfriend
Despite coming out as gay, Richard was reportedly linked to actress Samantha Colley, who he met in 2014.
The pair starred together in a London production of Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible at the Old Vic Theatre, playing John Proctor and Abigail Williams in the stage adaptation.
Reports say they dated between 2014 and 2016, with some publications even speculating that they were engaged. However, by 2017, they were said to have split up.
Richard’s naked scenes in erotic thriller Obsession
After filming full frontal scenes in Obsession, Richard addressed the fuss surrounding the nudity. He said: “I’ve thrown punches, shot guns and swung swords and people don’t approach you and say, ‘Oh there’s a lot of violence in this, I don’t know if you’re going to like it’. So why do we feel that way about intimacy?
“I had a conversation with myself, and Charlie, early on, and said, ‘We’ve just got to be European about this. It’s the body. This is life. Just be cool with it.'”
Richard Armitage and Charlie Murphy worked with an intimacy coordinator on the series. Obsession was a Netflix adaptation of the erotic novel Damage, which was made into a hit 1992 film starring Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche.
Critics called it the “sexist thing on TV this year”, although Richard refused to watch it! He explained: “I don’t really like to watch most things I’ve done and this one was pretty intense… Intense in a brilliant way. I’m left with a happy memory of what we did.”
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