Siobhan Finneran
Acting
Born 1966-04-27
Oldham, Lancashire, England, UK
66 credits
Read biography
Siobhan Margaret Finneran is an English television and film actress. She made her screen debut in the 1987 independent film Rita, Sue and Bob Too, and subsequently worked consistently in television drama including roles in Coronation Street (1989–1990), Clocking Off (2000–2002) and The Amazing Mrs Pritchard (2006). In 2005, Finneran originated the lead female role in the stage play On the Shore of the Wide World and was awarded the Manchester Evening News Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Also a comedy performer, Finneran appeared as Janice Garvey, a leading character in the first seven series of ITV sitcom Benidorm (2007–2015). Later television roles include portraying a lawyer in the mini-series Unforgiven (2009), an embittered servant in the first three series of the costume drama Downton Abbey (2010–2012) and a recovering addict in Happy Valley (2014–2023), for which she was nominated for the 2017 British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress. Later film credits include Mrs Swift in the 2013 film release The Selfish Giant, which earned her a British Independent Film Award nomination. Finneran is also a prolific television documentary narrator.
Finneran was born in Oldham, Greater Manchester, then in Lancashire, to Irish parents. She moved with her family to Saddleworth as a young child, and has lived in the area ever since. During childhood Finneran was always drawn to the performing arts and was a fan of the celebrated English comedian Eric Morecambe, recalling that "as a little girl I wanted to be Eric Morecambe. Not to be like him but to actually be him". She completed a theatre studies course.
In 2023, Finneran became patron for Manchester based charity Contact Hostel, an organisation that provides support and accommodation for teenage girls facing homelessness.
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Filmography
— top 60 of 66
Acting
59 credits
Doctor Who
Death in Paradise
Downton Abbey
Casualty
Heartbeat
Peak Practice
Inside No. 9
Benidorm
Happy Valley
Unchosen
Timeshift
Wire in the Blood
The Stranger
The Damned
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
Time
Blue Murder
The Syndicate
The Widow
Protection
A Confession
Out of the Blue
Clocking Off
The Reckoning
Alma's Not Normal
Comedy Showcase
The Loch
Bob & Rose
Boy A
Dictator: The Hitler Interviews
The Amazing Mrs Pritchard
Unforgiven
The Other One
Snatches: Moments from Women's Lives
Apparitions
Sparkhouse
Forensics: The Real CSI
Midwinter of the Spirit
Resort to Murder
The Moorside
The Selfish Giant
Johnny and the Bomb
Blood Strangers
Huggo
Nobody from Nowhere
Rita, Sue and Bob Too
Inside No. 9: The Party's Over
Harold Shipman: Doctor Death
James Bulger: The New Revelations
The Yorkshire Jobcentre
Pond Life
The Chillenden Murders
Apostasy
Coronation Street: Romanian Holiday
Passer By
Hunting the Essex Lorry Killers
Benidorm: 10 Years on Holiday
The Royal
Broadcast Signal Intrusion
Other credits
1 credit
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