Oscar-tipped actress Jessie Buckley’s ‘secret’ husband is no stranger to the spotlight – and boasts a surprising showbiz past.
The Hamnet star, 36, has kept the identity of her husband firmly under wraps since the pair met on a blind date seven years ago, quietly shielding him from the glare of fame as her own career has soared.
While Jessie prepares for Hollywood’s biggest night amid Oscar nomination buzz for her role as Shakespeare’s wife Agnes, her spouse will remain firmly off the red carpet.
Speaking this week, the Irish actress revealed that her husband’s work as a ‘mental health worker’ means he has no plans to join her at the A-list ceremony.
However, the Daily Mail can reveal that Jessie’s low-profile partner has a hidden past in showbiz.
Islington-born Freddie Sorensen, 47, has a surprisingly starry CV – including a stint working alongside Simon Cowell on the X Factor.
Before stepping away from the industry, Freddie carved out a varied behind-the-scenes career in TV, producing shows such as ITV’s Game of Talents UK with Vernon Kay and later helping revive BBC’s Gladiators, producing two episodes of the 2022 reboot, according to iMDB.
Meanwhile, in 2016, he also co-launched the ‘hipster’ startup Rebel Bingo – a boozy, high-energy reinvention of the traditional game aimed squarely at younger crowds.
Oscar-nominated actress Jessie Buckley’s husband is a former X Factor producer who worked alongside Simon Cowell, The Daily Mail can reveal (pictured 2022)
The Irish star has kept her partner of seven years, Islington-born Freddie Sorensen, largely out of the spotlight throughout her TV and film career (Freddie pictured left)
Jessie won Best Actress at this week’s Critics’ Choice Awards for her portrayal of Shakespeare’s wife Agnes in Hamnet (pictured 2026)
The venture grew out of years Freddie spent staging raucous variety nights at Farringdon town hall, long before he met his future wife.
Jessie and Freddie – whom she has described as ‘extraordinary’ – tied the knot in 2023 in romantic surroundings at their idyllic 15th-century home in Norfolk, after five years together.
They were introduced by mutual friend Marc Robinson, a senior Universal Records executive whose stars include Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande. Their first date featured a stroll along Regent’s Canal in Hackney, east London.
Last year, the couple welcomed their first child, a daughter who is now four months old.
Jessie, who shot to prominence in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s BBC talent series I’d Do Anything in 2008, this week told Vogue her husband would not be making a ‘red-carpet debut in their immediate future.’
She joked instead that while he’s been ‘having a ball eating canapés’ at promotional events for Hamnet, which explores Shakespeare’s grief following the death of his young son, he won’t be attending the big ceremony.
Despite her comments, Freddie has attended the Oscars before.
In 2022, he was seen laughing at a star-studded table with Olivia Colman and Maggie Gyllenhaal, while Jake Gyllenhaal sat nearby and Jessie was by his side.
While Jessie says Freddie will skip the Oscars, arguably the biggest night of her career, he has, in fact, accompanied her to the ceremony in the past (pictured 2022)
Jessie met husband Freddie on a blind date in Hackney, which included a stroll along the Regent’s Canal, and the rest is history, with the couple marrying in 2023 (pictured 2025)
After retraining at university, Freddie went onto present podcast, Depression For Beginners, which he launched to help others suffering with the disease in the same way he had (pictured 2017)
A beaming Jessie was also pictured leaning into her then-boyfriend at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre.
Freddie’s support for the actress, as her profile continues to rise, is also evident on social media, where he regularly shares his admiration for her film work and projects.
Alongside his TV career, Freddie ran London party nights with childhood friend James Gordon under the name Red Class – a nod to the classroom they once shared.
The events evolved into Rebel Bingo Club and later the era-themed party night The End of the World.
Rebel Bingo’s Instagram page, which boasts more than 3,500 followers, remains active and now promotes ‘immersive experiences for brave souls’, including haunted bingo events.
After leaving television and events behind, Freddie retrained at university and shifted his focus to mental health awareness.
He later launched the podcast Depression For Beginners, created to help others experiencing the illness he himself had experienced.
Jessie has been nominated for an Oscar at next month’s ceremony for her portrayal of Agnes Shakespeare in Hamnet, an origin story for Hamlet, in which she stars alongside Paul Mescal
This week, Jessie reflected on her time competing on I’d Do Anything, presented by Graham Norton, where she finished in second place
At the time, he wrote: ‘A podcast that’s basically me trying to make something that might have helped me when I was in the depths of psychological hell.’
Freddie also developed Rebel Lectures, a spin-off from Rebel Bingo, which he described in 2017 as an attempt to make learning ‘more emotional. More showbiz. More anything.’
This week, Jessie also reflected on her early brush with fame on I’d Do Anything, presented by Graham Norton, where she finished runner-up after auditioning for the role of Nancy in Oliver!
She said some judges’ comments were sexist and overly focused on her appearance, describing the experience as ‘brutalising.’
Jessie said: ‘Back then, I was just trying to move into a space of myself. I really hope that a 15, 17, whatever-age woman never has to be brutalised quite like what happened on that show.
‘But I didn’t recognise it fully at the time. I just felt it, which was difficult.’
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