Freeman

MARTIN Freeman looked happier than ever as he made a rare red carpet appearance alongside his girlfriend Rachel Benaissa.

The Sherlock actor, 55, was joined by the French actress, 31, at the premiere of his new film A Long Winter during the BFI London Film Festival on Wednesday evening.

The couple, who have been dating since 2020, shared a giggle as they posed together for photographers at the glamorous event.

Martin looked dapper in a dark suit with a patterned shirt and white T-shirt underneath, while Rachel opted for a blue striped shirt tucked into high-waisted black trousers and chunky heels.

The pair stood close together on the red carpet, with Rachel showing off her voluminous curly hair as they smiled for the cameras.

Martin stars alongside Outlander actress Caitríona Balfe and Fred Hechinger in A Long Winter, which follows a family preparing for the harsh winter months in the American mountains.

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The actor previously spent 16 years with his former partner Amanda Abbington, with whom he shares two children, Grace, 21, and Joe, 18, before their split in 2016.

Rachel, who has appeared in Normal People, This Way Up and Netflix film Irish Wish, has since become a familiar presence in Martin’s family life.

The actress previously appeared in a TikTok video shared by his daughter Grace, dancing alongside the family to a song from Martin’s festive film Nativity.

Martin has also offered a rare insight into their relationship, revealing on Jessie and Lennie Ware’s Table Manners podcast that the couple enjoy cooking together.

Speaking about Rachel’s love of food, he said: “She’s not a Cordon Bleu… she’s a massive cheese and wine w****,” before adding: “That’s what she would say about herself.”

He continued: “She says that about herself, ‘I’m a cheese and wine w****’. It’s not all she is, but no, she loves all that stuff. We like cooking.”

Oct. 8, 2026 11:31 AM PT

PHOENIX — An Arizona congressional candidate says she was knocked unconscious and sexually assaulted this summer when repairing campaign signs overnight.

Bernadette Greene-Placentia told investigators that two men raped her, and she kicked her feet up at one point to try to fight back. She said she felt the weight of one of her attackers on her body, and had bruises on her arms from being held down, a bump on her head and other injuries, according to police reports.

“I knew that I had been knocked out,” Greene-Placentia told the Associated Press on Wednesday.

Greene-Placentia, 52, is a Democrat who is challenging incumbent Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh for the 8th Congressional District seat representing parts of metro Phoenix that are reliably red. She said she told her husband and campaign staff about the mid-August attack in Sun City days after it happened. The Phoenix New Times first reported on it Wednesday.

Greene-Placentia told the AP she was disgusted that two men took control of her body and she had no say in it. She said she decided to speak out publicly when she realized she was telling voters she would advocate for them when she was not advocating for herself.

“My takeaway is that I have a lot more empathy and understanding of why so many women don’t come forward,” she said. “And, and I’m hoping that I can encourage them.”

Greene-Placentia said she couldn’t recall many details of the Aug. 14 assault, including the exact location or a description of the men, though she said one wore black boots and had small feet. She told investigators one of the men used an expletive to describe her, and she believes he referenced her political party.

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on its investigation of the attack.

Greene-Placentia is a former long-haul trucker and later ran a small transportation company, according to her campaign.

In a social media post supporting Democrat Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 run for the presidency, Greene-Placentia called herself a former Republican and a “never Trumper,” and said she voted Libertarian in 2016. Greene-Placentia later became more engaged in Arizona Democratic politics.

She said she often put up and repaired campaign signs overnight because it was cooler than the blistering summer days and there was less traffic.

Arizona Democratic Party treasurer Greg Freeman said he got a call from Greene-Placentia, a friend who ran his 2024 campaign for a county assessor, the morning of Aug. 17. She told him she had been sexually assaulted by two men, Freeman said, and he could tell she wasn’t ready to go to the police or share it publicly.

“Obviously she was processing it on the phone,” Freeman said. “She was just in shock. She was just horrified by what happened.”

Greene-Placentia said she wishes she had called police immediately and gone to the hospital. After the attack, she took multiple showers and washed the clothes she was wearing, police reports state.

The embarrassment and anger made it hard for her to come forward, she said. She reported the attack to police in late August.

Billeaud and Yu write for the Associated Press.