Martin Freeman, 55, and his new wife Rachel Benaissa, 32, look loved-up as they make first public appearance after secretly tying the knot

Martin Freeman and his new wife Rachel Benaissa looked loved-up as they made their first public appearance together on Thursday night after secretly tying the knot.

The Sherlock star, 55, and the actress, 32, attended the Derren Brown: Only Human gala performance at the Apollo Theatre in London.

Rachel wore a colourful knitted jumper as she cosied up to Martin who looked smart in a grey jacket. 

Just last week it was revealed that he had quietly married the French star earlier this year, with the couple debuting their wedding bands during a joint red carpet appearance.

Martin sported a gold wedding band while Rachel showed off her sparkling engagement ring as they attended the premiere of his new film The Long Winter.

A representative for the star confirmed that they had tied the knot, after they began dating in 2020.

Martin Freeman and his new wife Rachel Benaissa looked loved-up as they made their first public appearance together on Thursday night after secretly tying the knot

The Sherlock star, 55, and the actress, 32, attended the Derren Brown: Only Human gala performance at the Apollo Theatre in London

Prior to dating Rachel, Martin was in a relationship with actress Amanda Abbington for 16 years before they split in 2016. They share daughter Grace, 21, and son Joe, 18.

Rachel has appeared in BBC's Normal People and This Way Up, and has formed a close bond with his children.

The Sherlock star previously offered insight into his relationship with Rachel during an appearance on Jessie and Lennie Ware's Table Manners podcast, sharing that they love cooking together in their spare time.

Lennie asked: 'She's French. Is she [Rachel] Cordon Bleu?'

Martin replied: 'She's not a Cordon Bleu… she's a massive cheese and wine w****.

'That's what she would say about herself.

'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.'

Martin also made rare comments about his family life during an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show.

He touched on going to a Sherlock-themed escape room, based on the series in which he plays John Watson.

Martin revealed that he and his family did not escape in good time: 'It did take us a while.

'I went with my other half and my two kids… it wasn't even a Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes, it was [the BBC one]. I'm aware it did feel a little bit maybe t***ish to go to my own thing… but my kids said it was going to be fun. It is a really good one…'

Just last week it was revealed that he had quietly married the French star earlier this year, with the couple debuting their wedding bands during a joint red carpet appearance 

Prior to dating Rachel, Martin was in a relationship with actress Amanda Abbington for 16 years before they split in 2016. They share daughter Grace, 21, and son Joe, 18 (pictured in 2013)

After Romesh Ranganathan questioned why he went to this, Martin laughingly added: 'My voice is in it… I hadn't seen or heard myself enough in that week, so I thought… and I wasn't stuck, I just wanted to stay in there longer.'

The pair have been in a relationship for around six years, following his split from Amanda, who previously said she was a 'mess' following their breakup in 2016, which came about after they 'just couldn't live with each other anymore'.

A video shared to TikTok by Martin's daughter Grace shows that Rachel is firmly part of the family, dancing along to She's The Brightest Star from Martin's festive hit film Nativity with Joe and the family dachshunds.

'Merry Christmas from Mr Maddens,' she captioned the clip, referring to her father's character in the hit film.

Rachel had a small role as an unnamed teaching assistant in BBC hit Normal People, alongside stars Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones.

The actress has also starred in Lindsay Lohan's Netflix film Irish Wish, and Aisling Bea's sitcom This Way Up, as well as roles in commercials for Heineken, Santander and Dublin Airport.

Her connection to Ireland has most likely arisen from her days training at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, where Colin Farrell, Aidan Turner and Olivia Wilde all honed their craft.

In addition to acting, Rachel also writes screenplays and once came runner-up in Outstanding Screenplay's TV pilot competition.

Her writing is said to 'blend drama with dark humour' and she's currently working on the script for a dark comedy-horror TV series called SELF CARE GIRLIE.

They made their first appearance as a couple when they graced the red carpet at the Raindance Film Festival Opening Night gala screening of Best Sellers at The Dorchester.

As for Martin's ex-partner Amanda, she has insisted that they are on good terms and remain friends.