Latest news with #SiobhanFinneran
Irish Independent
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
What to watch on TV and streaming today: Millionaire Hoarders, Witness and The Eternaut
Millionaire Hoarders Channel 4, 8pm The team of antique and collectibles experts return for a new run of the show in which they search for valuable hidden treasures in various properties, including mansions and castles. The Zoo RTÉ One, 8.30pm A young gorilla with a broken tooth needs surgery. The vets are also called in to help a Humboldt penguin chick with breathing issues. Plus, veteran keeper Eddie watches a Waldrapp ibis's return to the wild. Protection Virgin Media One, 9pm Six-part crime drama starring Siobhan Finneran as DI Liz Nyles, a witness protection officer who, while having an affair with a colleague, sets out to uncover which member of her team is corrupt. High Noon TG4, 9.10pm Superb, classic Western starring an Oscar-winning Gary Cooper as Will Kane, a marshal whose wedding day is disrupted by the imminent arrival of a gang determined to take him down. Grace Kelly also appears as Kane's intended. Witness RTÉ One, 11.15pm Director Peter Weir's outstanding crime thriller stars Harrison Ford as a detective determined to protect the only witness to a murder — a young boy from an Amish community. Lukas Haas plays the lad, with Kelly McGillis as his mother. Turning Point: The Vietnam War Netflix, streaming now 'The story of the United States in Vietnam was one of ignorance, hubris, and arrogance.' This comes from one of the many contributors with direct knowledge of this turning-point war. They also highlight the gap between what US presidents said publicly versus what they believed privately. In short, they were 'sincere in what they were doing – the problem was, they didn't know what they were doing.' Directed by Brian Knappenberger, the docuseries digs into one of history's most divisive conflicts, exploring its lasting impact on America's identity and global role. Using CBS News archives, rare footage, declassified records, and recordings, it outlines the political and cultural repercussions over two decades, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon. To say it offers a timely exploration of how the war's unresolved wounds, unlearned lessons, and enduring consequences continue to shape the world today would be a gross understatement. Cheat: Unfinished Business Netflix, streaming now In case you've ever wondered what Amanda Holden's been doing with herself, she's hosting this volatile reunion retreat comprising eight former couples who split as at least one of them cheated. The Eternaut Netflix, streaming now This week's foreign language offerings include K-Drama Weak Hero, Germany's Exterritorial (featuring a bilingual Dougray Scott), and this one featuring toxic snow in Argentina. Suspect: Shooting of De Menezes Disney+, streaming now Daniel Mays, Conleth Hill, Max Beesley, Emily Mortimer, Russell Tovey, and Edison Alcaide star in this recounting of one of the most catastrophic errors in British policing, the killing of an innocent Brazilian man in the wake of the 7/7 London bombings. Chef's Table: Legends Netflix, streaming now Celebrating culinary icons shaping modern food while marking the franchise's 10th anniversary, this series showcases four legendary chefs whose influence inspires generations globally. And one of them is Jamie Oliver. You Netflix, streaming now I won't lie, I haven't viewed even a single episode of this on account of the hammy narration provided by Penn Badgley's psychotic Joe (watching through Gogglebox was more than enough) and the parade of gormless sorts he's managed to slay on both sides of the Atlantic. Now, for season 5 (yes, five seasons) and 'the killer finale', he's back in New York to address yet more skeletons in his closet. Wear Whatever The F You Want Prime Video, streaming now Also returning to New York for another season, we have Clinton Kelly and Stacy London inspiring those in a fashion funk to express their unique style, even if it breaks all the style rules. Havoc Netflix, streaming now To save a politician's estranged son after a failed drug deal, a perpetually dishevelled detective (Tom Hardy) rampages through the criminal underworld, revealing layers of corruption permeating East LA. This is quite the filming feat, given it was partially shot in the mean streets of Barry Island Pleasure Park, Wales. Flintoff Disney+, streaming now Chronicling Freddie Flintoff's remarkable cricket career, multitude of presenting gigs (A League of Their Own, Living With Bulimia, Australian Ninja Warrior), two Ashes wins with England, his status as a national sporting icon, and his return to cricket after a life-altering Top Gear car crash in 2022. If you only visit Disney+ to watch Star Wars-related fodder, there are new episodes of Andor: A Star Wars Story.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Protection viewers spot 'holes' in ITV crime drama
Protection viewers have said they have spotted 'holes' in the new ITV drama that have left them baffled. The series focuses on witness protection and sees DI Liz Nyles (Siobhan Finneran) looking after a little girl whose parents are killed before her dad can testify against a drug baron. But as episode two got under way, many viewers suggested it wasn't believable having just one person care for an important witness to the murders. It was also revealed that the girl had access to a tablet and was secretly communicating with someone while she was supposed to be in hiding, which fans pointed out was a serious oversight. Episode two, which aired on Monday, 17 March, took place in the aftermath of the McLennan family murders, with DI Nyles having taken their daughter Amy (Tilly Kaye) into their home. One tense scene saw the detective and Amy out in the car when masked men started chasing them. Terrified, they drove to a shopping centre where they tried to get lost in the crowd as the men pursued them. In another scene Amy was seen sneaking a look at a tablet that she had tucked in a drawer. She later started messaging somebody and although she didn't reveal her location she did share some details about her situation. Several viewers pointed out that it was unrealistic that the detective was looking after Amy alone, and that she'd have taken her out in her car without any back up. One said on X: "I really want to like this series but come on! Like they would let one single officer just take the kid to her house and ferry her about totally on her own." Someone else commented: "So the Protection team around Amy is just DI Liz? FGS do better and give her back up." "Unbelievable isn't it?" posted someone else. "Whatever happened to child safeguarding?" they added. Read more: Siobhan Finneran ITV's Protection compared to Line of Duty, called 'best crime drama in years' Inside ITV's Siobhan Finneran's life off-screen with soap star ex and fellow TV detective she's 'romantically linked' to (Manchester Evening News, 3 min read) ITV Protection fans 'done' with new drama minutes in after 'brutal' scene (Wales Online, 2 min read) One fan claimed it was "sheer insanity". "There's clear safeguarding rules surrounding children and what Liz is doing with Amy is totally ignoring those!" they wrote. Somebody else suggested Liz should've booked a hotel for Amy to stay in "rather then letting her stay in her home, it's too risky". Others took issue with her being able to use a tablet while her location was being hidden. "I don't think the police would let a girl in protection hang on to her tablet," one person pointed out on X. Another agreed: "Surely anyone with half a brain would've taken the girls tablet off her to keep her safe." "This is full of holes… not sure if I can keep watching, it's SO irritating," one viewer remarked. However, others insisted they wouldn't let such issues put them off watching the gripping drama. "Totally unrealistic but totally enjoying Protection," explained one. Protection returns at 9pm on ITV on Sunday, 23 March.
Telegraph
16-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Protection, ITV1 review: Siobhan Finneran finally gets the lead role she deserves
Hallelujah! Siobhan Finneran has been given a lead role, and it's about time too. She has been great right back to Rita, Sue and Bob Too. She can do brassy (Benidorm) and icy (Downton Abbey) and naive (Happy Valley) but has never had the chance to carry a show. Until now, with the crime thriller Protection (ITV1). And, as you would expect, she's cracking. She plays DI Liz Nyles, who works in the Protected Persons Service, better known as witness protection. It's her job to keep a family safe as the father prepares to give evidence against a crime boss. But the location of their safe house is leaked and soon Nyles has to combine her role as protector with rooting out the corrupt copper who is sabotaging the operation from the inside. The ensuing drama has shades of Line of Duty, particularly as Nyles's boss is played by Ace Bhatti, whom you may remember as LoD's slippery police and crime commissioner. Nyles has other worries: she's a single parent who has also assumed caring duties for her ailing father (David Hayman). And there's the awkward matter of her affair with a colleague (Barry Ward), a relationship that becomes pertinent to the case. If that's not enough, a supercilious detective from another unit, played by Katherine Kelly, has her suspicions that Nyles is responsible for the leak. Things get off to a confident start, with punchy action scenes directed by Simen Alsvik (Lilyhammer). It's clearly plotted and not filmed in the dark, which makes a refreshing change from half of the shows we're served these days. Then it gets a bit silly. If you're going to make a serious drama about witness protection – the opening caption solemnly informs us that, at any given time in the UK, there are up to 3,000 people in the programme; police officers in the units often work under aliases, just as the witnesses go under assumed identities – then please don't have Nyles taking a child witness into her own home with no security measures whatsoever. Over successive episodes she leaves this kid at home, takes her out in the car with no police back-up even though murderers are on their tail, and even manages to lose her at one point. As with all ITV dramas, suspension of disbelief is required. It does keep you guessing, though, and you will have no idea who to trust. And if the quality of the plotting fails to match Finneran's talents, it doesn't matter all that much – you still get to watch her be the star of the show.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
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. READ MORE: Clive Owen looks to the future as he makes sad farm decision 'time to pass the baton' READ MORE: EastEnders fans only just realising Jacqueline Jossa is related to soap co-star in real life 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.
The Independent
16-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Happy Valley's Siobhan Finneran: ‘We're all a bit of a mess, blundering our way through stuff'
Siobhan Finneran reckons she's 'not very good with dates'. But she can remember exactly what she was doing the morning after the first episode of Happy Valley 's final season aired – because she ended up having to do an accidental victory lap of one of the North West's least glamorous locations. 'It was at the start of '23, wasn't it?' recalls the actor, who played Clare Cartwright, recovering addict and younger sister to Sarah Lancashire's indefatigable police officer Catherine Cawood, in all three series of the brilliant, Bafta-winning drama. 'I was flying to Iceland to make a film called The Damned, so I was at Manchester airport. I have never experienced anything like that, because in most of the queues I stood in to get on the aeroplane, everybody had watched it the night before.' They all seemed to want a post-show debrief, from the security officers screening her luggage to her fellow passengers. 'Everybody loved it, so you can't moan about that, can you?' she reasons. 'I just went red a lot, and felt a bit sweaty.' Speaking over Zoom, Finneran's perched on a chintzy floral sofa, a vape just sneaking into the camera frame (she's recently quit smoking). Chatting with her is enjoyably straightforward and entirely free from actorly earnestness, delivered in that recognisable Oldham accent (she was born in Manchester, then her family moved out to Saddleworth, near the Pennines, a few years later; she's still based there now). Whether she's playing someone like Clare, who is at once endearing and deeply frustrating, resilient in some ways but fragile in so many others, or a larger-than-life comic creation shot through with realism, as she does in shows such as Alma's Not Normal or The Other One, Finneran has a habit of making her characters feel like people you actually know. They seem like someone you might bump into at the shops or, indeed, in the airport queue. And when she's part of a sprawling ensemble, it's often her performance that sticks in the memory long afterwards. Just think of her role as chaplain Marie-Louise in Jimmy McGovern's Time, a glimmer of warmth in the prison drama 's bleakness. Or her turn as scheming lady's maid Sarah O'Brien in Downton Abbey, unforgettable for very different reasons. Her career kicked off when she turned up for a casting call for Rita, Sue and Bob Too, Alan Clarke's 1987 comedy about a married man's affair with two teenage girls, which proved controversial on its release. She was 'just delighted to have got a job', she says now, but filming was still 'terrifying' because 'you don't really know what you're doing, what it's going to look like and how it's going to be perceived'. Somehow, over the course of the ensuing four decades, Finneran hadn't taken on a lead role until she signed up to star in ITV's new crime thriller Protection. She plays Detective Inspector Liz Nyles, head of a witness protection unit. Not that it was necessarily the prospect of finally getting lead billing that drew her in, she says, pointing instead to the intrigue of this shadowy branch of policing, where officers often work under aliases to keep their professional and private lives entirely separate. 'It's very secretive, it's a very under-the-radar unit,' she says. 'I think this is probably the first time we see that told in a TV series in this way. We don't really know enough about it, but we don't know enough about it because we don't need to.' The show was based on the experiences of a real witness protection officer but, perhaps for obvious reasons, Finneran didn't get to meet with them. 'I certainly didn't go undercover,' she deadpans. 'I can't watch them when they're doing the chasing on the telly, the police,' she adds, because, despite having appeared in her fair share of crime dramas over the years, 'I find it really stressful. So I'd have been hopeless.' The sheer speed at which Liz's professional life starts to unravel, though, provides a performer of Finneran's subtlety with plenty of raw material. In the opening scenes, a carefully choreographed operation is blown up in catastrophic fashion, just before a key witness is set to testify; soon, Liz is forced to grapple with the possibility that her affair with a junior colleague might have compromised the whole thing. 'We have to watch Liz try and keep a lid on her own emotional journey,' Finneran says. 'To try and work out who she can trust, who she can't, has the affair she's had impacted on the people she's supposed to be keeping safe?' At the same time, her character is being pulled in different directions at home, caught between the demands of single parenting and caring for her elderly dad. 'My children are more grown up now,' she says, referring to the son and daughter she shares with her ex-husband, the actor MarkJordon. 'But a lot of people I know are at that stage where they've still got youngsters growing up, but their parents are now reliant on them. That's happening everywhere, isn't it? They're stuck in the middle, trying to deal with teenage kids and ailing parents, and becoming the parent to all of them.' Detective dramas, she notes, are gradually getting better at weaving the reality of women's lives into the story. 'I think there's room for improvement, but we'll know when that's been a success when we stop talking about it really, and it's just the norm, you know?' she says, matter-of-fact as ever. There are shades of Happy Valley in the way that Finneran's new series deals with the messy intersection between its protagonist's work and home lives. For so many viewers, the heart of that earlier show was the painfully believable sibling relationship between Finneran and Lancashire, as sisters who can rake up years-old resentments, then crack a joke in the same breath. 'One minute you're screaming about something, and two minutes later, you know, you're all sitting down and eating your tea,' Finneran sums it up. 'It's family life, isn't it?' she adds, noting that there's 'some kind of comfort' in watching 'people who look like us, and are a bit messy – we're all a bit of a mess, blundering our way through stuff'. She and Lancashire go way back – her co-star was a few years above her at Oldham Technical College, where they both studied theatre – which made summoning a sisterly dynamic easier. But Finneran is also quick to sing the praises of writer and director Sally Wainwright, hailing her as 'one of the greatest storytellers'. She recalls one scene in particular, where we see Catherine putting Clare to bed after she's relapsed, ensuring that she's in the recovery position. 'There's care, there's love, there's kindness there. Scenes like that, we don't necessarily need to see them as an audience. But Sally puts them in. And, well, we invest more in them, don't we?' More Happy Valley is off the cards – and feels unnecessary, after that nerve-shredding ending – but can we expect another collaboration in the future? 'Oh, I don't know, darling,' she says (Finneran peppers her conversation with 'darling' – the slightly abbreviated northern version, as opposed to the more elongated, theatrical kind). 'I love her stuff. I absolutely love her stuff. So I hope so, at some point.' If you glance at Finneran's back catalogue, especially in recent years, you'll see some quite harrowing subject matter; from Happy Valley to Time 's bleak portrayal of the prison system to real-life stories such as The Moorside, about the Shannon Matthews abduction case, and The Reckoning, which dealt with Jimmy Savile's crimes. She's pragmatic when she describes how she tends to choose her work. 'It's not necessarily that I think, 'oh, that needs to be heard, that needs to be said, I need to be involved in the making of that,'' she says. 'It can just depend on what drops on that day.' Alternating the hard-hitting material with comedy roles prevents her from feeling weighed down, too. 'I was very, very lucky that when I finished doing Protection, I went on to make the second series of Alma's Not Normal,' she says. 'So that was the complete antithesis of what I'd just done. I can't say that I'd have been desperate to do another big, heavy drama on the back of [ Protection ], because you can kind of go, 'that's enough of that for the time being. Let's change it up and go and do something different.'' In Alma's Not Normal, Sophie Willan's semi-autobiographical, Bolton-set comedy, Finneran dons outlandish wigs and fake teeth to play the title character's mum Lin, who is dealing with a heroin addiction and mental health problems. Not exactly the breezy stuff of sitcoms, you might think, but 'Sophie manages to make really hard-hitting political points about the state of welfare, social care and stuff like that, without you feeling like you're having it rammed down your throat,' Finneran says. 'She's not doing a party political broadcast. She's just making a statement, and in the mix of that, we're also laughing at the situations the characters have got themselves into' – and 'question[ing] whether we should be laughing so hard'. A show like Alma, she adds, brings bigger issues to life, because it lives on in our memories in a way that a news bulletin doesn't. 'We can listen to LBC all day and listen to what a state the country's in, how angry people are, and yes, we can learn from that. But I think with something like Alma's Not Normal, it just stays with you that bit longer.' I wonder whether Finneran thinks there's much space for aspiring writers from working-class backgrounds – like Willan's, and Wainwright's – to carve out careers right now, as the TV industry seems more precarious than ever. 'Gosh, I hope so, darling. Because without that, what are we going to be left with?' She points to Time writer Jimmy McGovern's dedication to 'bringing up young writers' and 'newcomers' (because 'they're not all young!'). 'You have to hope there will always be people like that in the industry to encourage and support.' Up next for Finneran is Out of the Dust, a psychological thriller set in a conservative Christian sect. So, if she's sticking to her usual pattern (a bleak one, then a funny one), she's probably overdue a bit of comedic respite. Whatever form that comes in, I predict it might just provoke more compliments in the airport queue.
