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: “’’”
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