Matilda Freeman

Matilda Freeman (born 2004) is a British actress. She has appeared in various short films. In 2017, after a guest appearance on Doctors, Freeman began playing the regular role of Summer Spellman on the soap opera Coronation Street. For her work on the soap, Freeman was nominated for an Inside Soap Award and a British Soap Award. She also played a leading role in the 2019 feature film The Last Boy. Freeman left the soap in 2020 to explore other acting opportunities and the role was subsequently recast. She has since appeared in Alma's Not Normal, Passenger and How to Get to Heaven from Belfast.

Life and career Matilda Freeman was born in 2004. She is from Mickle Trafford in Cheshire West and Chester. She ended up getting down to the final five out of 1600 auditionees and was pencilled in for the role, but ultimately did not receive it due to her lack of experience. and that same year she also filmed scenes for the feature film The Last Boy, which was released in 2019. She appeared in 147 episodes and her first appearance aired in June 2017. Freeman called joining the soap "exciting" and believed that working in a soap was different from her previous projects; she had not watched Coronation Street but "was very aware of the importance it had in a lot of people’s lives". When she joined the soap, she felt nervous but found working there "fun" and praised her colleagues for being very nice. For her role as Summer, Freeman was longlisted and later shortlisted for "Best Young Actor" at the 2017 Inside Soap Awards. This was praised by the headmistress of Freeman's school, who called the actress "talented, dedicated and hard-working".

During the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom, Freeman and three of her Coronation Street co-stars recreated the four-way phone conversation scene from the 2004 film Mean Girls, which received praise online. Later that year, it was announced that Freeman had departed Coronation Street to explore other acting opportunities, with the role being recast to Harriet Bibby. Freeman said of the news, "I'd like to say thank you to my second family, the cast, crew and viewers who have supported me during my time on the cobbles. After three and a half lovely years I felt it was time for a change and I'm excited to be starting that next chapter with a new role." Bibby said that she found it "lovely" that Freeman wished her good luck in regards to joining the soap. Freeman also revealed on social media that she was set to film something abroad later in 2020. Freeman later commented in 2021 that she found being on the soap "quite limiting" as she was unable to work other projects due to being on a contract. In 2023, Freeman played Leila in the thriller series The Power. In 2026, Freeman portrayed Maria in the comedy thriller series How to Get to Heaven from Belfast. Freeman later thanked her fans for the "love and support" that she had received after revealing her sexuality online, saying, "I really wasn't expecting it and it means the absolute world, you guys are amazing". As of 2021, Freeman lives on a farm. 2018 British Soap Awards Best Young Actor Coronation Street