Sinéad Keenan

Sinéad Keenan (born 27 December 1977[1]) is an Irish actress with a wide range of television, film and stage credits. Keenan is best known for playing Farrah Phelan in Fair City and for playing the role of werewolf Nina Pickering on BBC Three's supernatural drama Being Human.[2] She has since played DCI Jessica James in ITV1 drama Unforgotten since 2023.

Sinéad Keenan
Keenan holding an action figure of her Doctor Who character at the Birmingham Memorabilia Convention in 2012
Born (1977-12-27) 27 December 1977
Dublin, Ireland
Alma materUniversity College Dublin
OccupationActress
Years active1999–present
Spouse
Chris McGill
​
(m. 2012)​
Children2

Biography

Keenan was born and raised in Dublin, and is the eldest of three children. Her younger brother and sister, Rory and Gráinne,[3] are also actors.[4]

She attended University College Dublin,[3] graduating with a degree in Sociology and History.[5] As a child, Keenan says she wanted to be a lawyer because she loved the US legal drama, Matlock, but as she got older she realised that she actually just wanted to play the part of the lawyer, not be one.[4]

Career

Keenan's first role was in 1999, when she was cast as the teenage girlfriend of Cillian Murphy in the film, Sunburn.[4] After this, she played the character Farrah Phelan in Irish soap opera Fair City for a year. Keenan has stated she would return to Fair City, as another character.[6]

Keenan left Fair City amid fears of becoming type-cast,[7] and moved on to film the movie On the Nose with Cracker actor Robbie Coltrane. Her next television role was as Lisa Cassidy in short-lived Irish sitcom The Cassidys.

Keenan then went on to have guest roles in Murder City, Taggart and Doctors, along with starring in movies Conspiracy of Silence and Trouble with Sex, before landing the role of Kelly Hawkins in ITV's Moving Wallpaper, which ran for two series.

Following this, Keenan played Nina Pickering in Toby Whithouse's Being Human. The actress, and her chemistry with on-screen boyfriend Russell Tovey, was so well liked by Whithouse that he edited the storyline to keep Keenan's character in the show. The character of Nina was retained for the second and third series; in the latter Keenan was upgraded to a main cast member.

Following her success in Being Human, Keenan has had guest roles in Victoria Wood's Mid Life Christmas, Agatha Christie's Poirot, Silent Witness and David Tennant's final episodes of Doctor Who.

Throughout her career, Keenan has had strong roots in theatre becoming a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), playing parts such as Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream[8] and Evie in the original play, The American Pilot.[9] She also starred in The Comedy of Errors.[10]

In March 2018, Keenan won the Royal Television Society Programme Award for Actor (Female) for her role as Melanie Jones in Little Boy Blue.[11] In April 2018, it was announced that she had been nominated for a Leading Actress BAFTA TV Award for the same role.[12]

Keenan had a starring role in the Jimmy McGovern and Gillian Juckes drama Care, shown on BBC One on 9 December 2018.[13]

In April 2021, it was announced that Keenan would be starring in the two-part BBC One drama Three Families, which will focus on abortion in Northern Ireland. It was filmed in Northern Ireland in 2020.[14]

In March 2022, it was announced that Keenan would be appearing in series 5 of ITV's crime drama Unforgotten as DCI Jessica James.[15]

Personal life

In 2012, she married film and tv director Chris McGill, founder at Dusthouse Productions, with whom she has two sons.[16][17]

Filmography

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1999Fair CityFarrah Phelan
2001The CassidysLisa Cassidy
2004Murder CityYoung motherSeries 1, Episode 5
2007TaggartAlic MartinSeries 23, Episode 3 - Tenement
2008DoctorsElenaSeries 10, Episode 22 - Larp
2008Moving WallpaperKelly Hawkins
2009Comedy ShowcaseWendySeries 2, Episode 4 - The Amazing Dermot
2009–2011Being HumanNina PickeringSeries One, Episodes 2–6, Series Two, Episodes 1–4, 7, 8. Series Three, Episodes 1–8
2009Agatha Christie's PoirotNora BrentSeries 12, Episode 1 - "The Clocks"
2009–2010Doctor WhoAddams"The End of Time"
2009Victoria Wood's Mid Life ChristmasDelia Smith's secretary
2010Victoria Wood's Little CrackerMrs WhitefieldShort for Sky1
2011Silent WitnessNaomi SilverlakeSeries 14, Episode 1–2 - A Guilty Mind
2012Lip ServiceNoraSeries 2
2013London IrishBronaghChannel 4
2013The Five(ish) Doctors RebootDoctor Who fanBBC Red Button
2015UncleMaggieSeries 2, Episode 5 - A Guilty Mind
2017Little Boy BlueMelanie Jones
2018CareClaire90-minute drama by Jimmy McGovern and Gillian Juckes
2019 Porters Dr. Bartholomew Series 2, 5 episodes
2019 Deep Water Roz ITV
2020 My Left Nut Patricia Campbell BBC
2021 Three Families Theresa Ryan Two-part drama for BBC One
2021 Showtrial Detective Inspector Paula Cassidy Five-part drama for BBC One
2022 Derry Girls Aideen Series 3, episode 3
2023–present Unforgotten Detective Chief Inspector Jessica James Series 5. Six-part crime drama for ITV

Personal appearances
Year Title Role Notes
2009Doctor Who ConfidentialHerselfLords and Masters, Allons-y!
2011Alan Carr: Chatty ManHerselfSeries 5, Episode 7

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1999SunburnMargaretKeenan's first role
2001On The NoseSinead Delaney
2003Conspiracy of SilenceMajella
2004Mind Of the CrimeCarrieTV movie
2006Trouble With SexKathy

Radio and CD audio drama
Year Title Role Radio station / production company
2011Crimes Of MancuniaDCI Lise LazardBBC Radio 4
2014Doctor Who: Iterations of IAoifeBig Finish Productions

Theatre
Year Title Role Theatre / notes
2003Loyal WomenAdeleRoyal Court Theatre
2005The American PilotEvieThe Other Place
2005Comedy of ErrorsLucianaRoyal Shakespeare Theatre
2006A Midsummer Night's DreamHermiaNovello Theatre

Awards and nominations
Year Organisation Award Work Result Ref.
2018Royal Television Society Programme Awards Actor (Female) Little Boy Blue Won [18]
BAFTA TV Awards Best Actress Little Boy Blue Nominated

References
  1. "BBC Three, Being Human character profile and actress biography". BBC. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  2. "Being Human Returns to BBC America 24 July". 12 September 2012. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014.
  3. "Interview: Sinead Keenan, actress". Scotsman.com. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  4. "We Chat To Sinead Keenan". Company Magazine. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  5. "FARRAH AND AWAY; Fair City actress has sights on Hollywood". The Free Library. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  6. "I'd return to Fair City..as someone ELSE". The Free Library. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  7. "SEXY SINEAD SWAPS PUB LIFE FOR BIT OF A LAUGH". The Free Library. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  8. "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Online Review. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  9. "Nina". BBC. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  10. "The Comedy of Errors". The Stage. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  11. "RTS Programme Awards 2018". Royal Television Society. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  12. "Bafta TV Awards 2018: All the nominees". BBC News. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  13. "Care". BBC Media Centre Programme Information. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  14. "Cast confirmed for BBC One drama Three Families, from the producers of Three Girls". BBC Media Centre. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  15. "Sinéad Keenan joins Sanjeev Bhaskar for Unforgotten series 5". BBC Studios News via BBC Media Centre. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  16. Shillcock, Francesca (20 March 2023). "All there is to know about Unforgotten star Sinéad Keenan's family including famous siblings". Hello!. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  17. Fear, Helen (13 March 2023). "As Sinéad Keenan joins Unforgotten as DCI Jess James, we reveal her seriously famous family!". Entertainment Daily. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  18. "RTS Programme Awards 2018 In Partnership With Audio Network". Royal Television Society. Retrieved 18 May 2018.

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