Inside ITV's Siobhan Finneran's life off-screen with soap star ex and fellow TV detective she's 'romantically linked' to
Happy Valley star Siobhan Finneran is set to grace our screens once again tonight in ITV's new police drama series, Protection.
The 60-year-old actress from Oldham has taken on the role of of DI Liz Nyles, a police officer working in the witness protection department. Her role involves safeguarding those who have testified against criminals and are subsequently placed in safe houses.
However, when a murder occurs at one of these safe houses, the detective suspects a leak within her team.
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As SCI Hannah Wheatley (played by Katherine Kelly) arrives to probe potential corruption within the unit, Liz embarks on her own investigation, reports Plymouth Live.
She zeroes in on her younger, married colleague DS Paul Brandice (portrayed by Barry Ward), with whom she has been having a clandestine affair.
Speaking about her character, Siobhan says: "She's a woman in her fifties with a 16-year-old daughter, and she's just become a full-time carer to her dad.
Siobhan Finneran, known for her role as the scheming Sarah O'Brien in the hit series Downton Abbey, once shared her childhood aspirations in an interview by confessing: "as a little girl I wanted to be Eric Morecambe. Not to be like him but to actually be him."
Her passion for acting saw her embark on a theatre studies course prior to landing her breakthrough role as Rita in the film 'Rita, Sue and Bob Too' (1987), featuring stars such as Lesley Sharp from The Full Monty, George Costigan of Line of Duty fame, and Hollyoaks actress Michelle Holmes.
Finneran's career progressed with numerous stage credits including appearances in 'Clocking Off', 'Unforgiven', and 'The Moorside'. Her television roles span a variety of genres and shows, such as Emmerdale, the Netflix original The Stranger, cult classic Doctor Who, The Lock, and of course, Downton Abbey where her exceptional performance earned her the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
More recently, she graced the screen in the opening episode of Inside No. 9's final season, and portrayed Beryl in The Reckoning, a poignant mini-series delving into the life of Jimmy Savile.
In the late 90s, Siobhan tied the knot with Emmerdale star Mark Jordon, and the pair were blessed with two children, Poppy and Jordan. They took a step back from their acting careers to focus on raising their beautiful family.
Sadly, their marriage came to an end in 2014, leading Mark to find love again with fellow Emmerdale actress Laura Norton, with whom he has two more children.
Siobhan, on the other hand, has been rumoured to be romantically involved with Don Gilet, known for his recent role as the lead detective in BBC's popular series Death In Paradise. The two built a connection while working together on the 2017 series The Loch.
While they have not confirmed their relationship status publicly, they were seen hand-in-hand at last year's TV Choice Awards.
Further fuelling the speculation, Siobhan fondly mentioned Don as "my fella" during an interview with The Guardian. She recounted how, after rediscovering a humorous card featuring Rudi Hurzlmeier's artwork that had made her laugh years before, Don presented her with a book of the artist's work for Christmas.
This was particularly meaningful because it mirrored the artwork she had shared with Don: "It's a picture of a nun looking in a shoe shop, and a bloke next to her has got his hand on her bum. I showed it to Don [Gilet], my fella, and now one of my Christmas presents is a book of Hurzlmeier's work," Siobhan previously disclosed.
Protection is on ITV1 on Sunday, March 16 at 9pm.
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