Siobhan Finneran is one of ED!‘s favourite actresses, and not just because of her heartbreaking performance as Clare Cartwright in Happy Valley – but did you know her partner is another famous actor?
Her latest TV project is playing Edith in the last ever series of black comedy Inside No. 9. And the guest appearance comes less than a week after the BBC confirmed her real life beau would be taking over a very popular TV role…
In fact, the pair have already appeared together on screen. So could there be another collaboration on the cards? Here’s everything you need to know about Siobhan Finneran, her latest TV role, her painful split from her soap star ex, and her new partner…
Who plays Edith in Inside No. 9?
Actress Siobhan Finneran portrays Edith in Inside No. 9 episode Boo to a Goose. It’s the first episode of series 9, which creators Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton have said is the last ever.
In episode 1 of the final anthology, late-night passengers get stuck in a tunnel when their train breaks down. They wait for the replacement service until a nurse gets her purse stolen and tempers start to fray.
As well as Siobhan Finneran, there’s a ridiculously talented cast of supporting actors. These include Shetland‘s Mark Bonnar, former primetime staple Matthew Kelly, and Motherland‘s Philippa Dunne. This Country’s Charlie Cooper also appears as a homeless man on the train.
Of course, Benidorm fans will be thrilled to see Siobhan Finneran in an episode of Inside No. 9 at last, which stars her on-screen hubbie Steve Pemberton. However, in this episode Siobhan is paired up with Reece Shearsmith, while Steve Pemberton plays caustic drag queen Wilma.
What is Siobhan famous for?
Siobhan Finneran is one of the most bankable British TV stars on our screens, known for appearing in heavyweight dramas including BBC One’s Time, The Reckoning, and Happy Valley.
But she’s also wonderful at comedy, and played Janice Garvey in Benidorm over the course of eight years. In fact, Siobhan is – in our opinion – a national treasure with a career spanning nearly 40 years.
Her very first TV appearance was in 1987, when she was just 21 years of age. She played schoolgirl Rita, who had a passionate affair with an older man in the saucy flick Rita, Sue and Bob Too. Coincidentally, both Siobhan and her co-star George Costigan – who played Bob – later went on to star in Happy valley together.
Siobhan’s next big role was playing Josie Phillips in Coronation Street. She appeared in the ITV soap from 1989 to 1990. Josie was a packer at Baldwin’s Casuals.
Between 1991 and 1992, Siobhan played Milly Bates in the comedy Motormouth, before going on to win another high profile soap role. She portrayed Heather Hutchinson in Emmerdale in 1998. Her then-husband Mark Jordon was also an actor in the ITV soap. He played Daz Spencer.
Other notable roles include playing Julie O’Neill in Clocking Off, Sister Ruth in Apparitions, Mandy in The Syndicate, and Izzie Ingram in Unforgiven opposite Suranne Jones.
In 2010, Siobhan played Sarah O’Brien in period drama Downton Abbey. It’s one of the rare occasions she’s played someone hard to like. Miss O’Brien was the very bitter lady’s maid to Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham. The character eventually sneaked away in the night to travel to India to be a lady’s maid to Susan MacClare, Marchioness of Flintshire.
What else has Siobhan Finneran been in?
Between 2007 and 2015, Siobhan portrayed Janice in Benidorm. After leaving the comedy, she appeared as DC Christine Freeman in the 2017 Shannon Matthews drama The Moorside, opposite Sheridan Smith. Sticking to coppers, she portrayed DCI Lauren Quigley in The Loch that same year. (See below for more on THAT).
Later roles include Nikki Kirkbright in Cold Feet, Elaine Pickford in A Confession, Johanna Griffin in The Stranger, Lin in Alma’s Not Normal, and Marilyn in The Other One.
More recently, she played Marie-Louise, a prison chaplain, in series 1 and series 2 of hard-hitting prison drama Time. She played Beryl in the horrifying Jimmy Savile drama The Reckoning. And, of course, arguably her most famous role, Clare in Happy Valley.
Siobhan Finneran played Catherine Cawood’s sister Clare in Happy Valley
Actress Siobhan is perhaps best known for playing the brilliant Clare Cartwright in BBC’s smash hit Happy Valley. Clare was Catherine Cawood’s stabilising sister.
A recovering heroin addict, she lived with her older sister and helped raise Catherine’s grandson Ryan. Her life spiralled out of control due to alcohol and heroin addictions, but she was determined to turn her life around.
In series 2, we saw Clare attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings which is where she met her former boyfriend Neil and the pair rekindled their relationship.
Siobhan’s character Clare was involved in one of the show’s most jaw-dropping scenes, when Catherine (Sarah Lancashire) discovered her sister had betrayed her in epic fashion. Clare had been taking Catherine’s grandson Ryan to visit his convict dad in jail.
The series ran from 2014 to 2023, and remains one of the best series on TV ever.
Why did Siobhan Finneran leave Benidorm?
Siobhan Finneran quit Benidorm in 2015, a few episodes into series 7. The series continued until 2018.
At the time, she and her on-screen husband Steve Pemberton announced their intention to leave Benidorm during filming of the sixth series in 2014.
The pair revealed they both wanted to spend less time filming abroad, and neither wanted to leave on their own. Steve said: “Working on Benidorm has been the most fun I’ve ever had. I’d have kept going for the rest of my life, but there are other considerations. It was a very difficult decision, but the amount of time we were away from home was key.”
He added: “We all sat down and discussed it during series 6. It’s great that we had the same instinct to go at the same time. No one wanted to go on their own. So all things considered, it was absolutely the right time to leave.”
How old is Siobhan? Where is she from?
Siobhán Margaret Finneran was born on April 27, 1966, in Oldham, Lancashire.
She is currently 58 years of age.
Although she was born in Lancashire, Siobhan is of Irish descent. Both her parents were Irish.
Who is the partner of Siobhan Finneran?
Siobhan was once married to former Emmerdale star Mark Jordon. However, after 17 years, the pair suffered a painful split.
The pair married in August 1997 after appearing together on the set of ITV drama Heartbeat.
They went on to have two children, a daughter named Poppy and a son named Jordan. Talking about their romance back in 2001, Mark told The Mirror: “She’s just so lovely. We met when I was 20 and she was a bezzie, bezzie mate for years. We didn’t realise that half of our fun was flirtatious.”
Mark eventually proposed to Siobhan in 1997. He explained: “I took her down to London for a romantic weekend, to a show at the Albert Hall. I said we’d go in a cab but I’d organised a limo. She thought I was being a flash git! When we got in, there was our favourite music, I’d given the driver the tape.
“And then he pulled over outside Harrods. I’d said to him: ‘I don’t want to knock on the window and have you pull over just anywhere. I want to remember where we are.’ Harrods looked beautiful at night, all lit up.”
Mark popped the question in the limo, Siobhan accepted and they were married in August of that year. However, after 17 years of marriage, the pair divorced in 2014.
Who is Mark Jordon married to now?
Mark has gone on to enjoy a very public romance with his now-fiancée Laura Norton.
The 59-year-old is now engaged to fellow soap actor Laura Norton, who is 18 years his junior. Mark portrayed Daz Spencer from 2014 to 2019 in the ITV soap.
It was on the set of the ITV soap that he met Laura, who plays Kerry Wyatt. The pair have two children together. Laura has been away from the fictional village on and off due to maternity leave. In October 2022, she welcomed her second child, a baby girl called Ronnie.
Their first child, a son called Jesse, was born in 2021. In February, Laura and Mark revealed both of their children have a rare genetic condition called Usher Syndrome.
Siobhan attended the @MVisas Awards tonight with Don Gilet. #TheLoch pic.twitter.com/8sidDhPZbH
— Siobhan Finneran (@TeamSFinneran) October 28, 2017
Are Mark Jordon and Siobhan Finneran still friends?
Although Mark now has two children with his fiancée, Laura Norton, he still has a close relationship with his older children, Poppy and Jordan.
In fact, Mark often posts about the pair on Instagram.
Mark and Siobhan have also stayed friends, despite their painful split. Siobhan recently attended a fundraiser thrown by Mark and Laura. She arrived at The Cure Usher Ball at Hilton, Manchester, holding hands with former EastEnders actor Don Gilet.
Does Siobhan Finneran have a new partner?
Sinead has also found love with another actor. Although she has not spoken publicly about having a new relationship, the TV star was recently seen holding hands with Don Gilet at The Cure Usher Ball at Hilton, Manchester.
The pair both appeared in the Scottish thriller The Loch in 2017. She played DCI Lauren Quigley, while Don – best known as serial killer Lucas Johnson in EastEnders – starred as Blake Albrighton.
Since then, the pair appear to be inseparable. In 2017, Siobhan and Don attended the MVISA Awards together. In 2022, they attended the TV Choice Awards together. They were then photographed leaving in a black taxi together.
The pair have never discussed or confirmed being in a relationship, however – and their reps have remained tight-lipped.
Of course, BBC One recently confirmed that Don Gilet will be replacing Ralf Little on Death in Paradise. He’ll play
Where and when did Siobhan Finneran and partner Don Gilet meet?
Siobhan Finneran and Don Gilet worked together on the 2017 Acorn TV detective series The Loch. She played DCI Lauren Quigley, opposite Don’s character Blake Albrighton.
The six-part series, which also aired on ITV, followed the search for a serial killer in a quiet Scottish town after the body of local man Niall Swift was found at the foot of Carn Mohr Mountain.
Shortly afterwards, a human heart was found on the beach, too… Siobhan portrayed Glasgow detective and career officer Lauren Quigley who was brought in to lead the investigation. Meanwhile, Don played flirtatious forensic psychologist Blake Albrighton who was brought onto the case by DCI Quigley. But not everyone was a fan.
While we know Happy Valley actress Siobhan and Don starred together in the six-part series, we don’t know if this is when they first met. But it certainly seems to mark when the pair became close.
Meanwhile, Don Gilet has one child from a previous relationship with partner Tracy Whitwell, an author.
Read more: Happy Valley star Siobhan Finneran on Sarah Lancashire helping to launch her acting career
Inside No. 9 series 9 starts on Wednesday, May 08, 2024 at 10pm on BBC Two.
Did you know the partner of Siobhan Finneran was Don Gilet? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.