ACTOR Ioan Gruffudd has spoken out on his marriage split from wife Alice Evans.
The star was accused by Alice, 49, of gaslighting her after their marriage collapsed, and he gushed about blonde Ella Newton, 30.
Daily Mail reports he was spotted still wearing his wedding ring despite his marriage coming to an end.
Ioan, 47, said: “Look, as I said before, it’s an extremely difficult time for the family.
“Our thoughts are with our children obviously right now and I’d really respect a little bit of privacy right now, thank you.”
Ioan spoke of the close bond he developed with a co-star while filming a TV show in Australia.
We revealed The Welsh actor told an Australian newspaper: “I’m so lucky. We bonded almost immediately, so there’s a lot of respect there.”
She plays his daughter in Australian TV drama Harrow, while another blonde, Anna Lise Phillips, 46, plays his ex-wife.
Ella, who has a boyfriend, used to play Delaney Renshaw — a Lolita character who tried to seduce an older man — in long-running Aussie soap Neighbours.
Ioan, who last year reprised his role as evil surgeon Andrew Earlham in ITV thriller Liar, said: “Ella — well, look, everyone gets branded ‘someone to watch’, but from working with her, she certainly is.
“You can’t take your eyes off her when she’s on screen.
“She’s so raw because she’s so young and inexperienced. But she’s eager to learn, eager to listen.”
Sources have revealed that Ioan spent lonely nights in the bar of the hotel where he stayed while filming in Brisbane.
And The Sun on Sunday can reveal that Ioan, spotted in LA on Friday still wearing his wedding ring, found her equally mesmerising while filming Harrow.
One said: “Ioan would often sit for hours with a whisky looking pensive. Those close to him believe that was where he decided it was over between him and Alice.”
There is no evidence to suggest Ioan was ever unfaithful.
He and Alice met while filming 2000 movie 102 Dalmatians. They have two daughters aged 11 and seven.
