Siobhan Finneran has returned to screens in BBC One's Time, reprising her role as prison chaplain Marie Louise O'Dell. The actress, 60, is in a long-term relationship with actor Don Gilet, known for playing DI Mervin Wilson on Death in Paradise and Lucas Johnson on EastEnders.
Return to Time and Career Highlights
BBC prison drama Time airs on Sunday evening (October 11) at 9pm and has assembled a seriously impressive cast for its third outing. Jimmy McGovern's BAFTA-winning series returns for another three-part story, and just like its previous instalments, viewers can expect an almost entirely new set of characters.
Sean Bean and Stephen Graham led the first series in 2021, before Jodie Whittaker, Bella Ramsey, and Tamara Lawrance took over for series two, but this time it's David Tennant heading up the cast as Bobby Bailey, alongside Siobhan Finneran, who returns as Marie Louise O'Dell. Time viewers are reunited with prison chaplain Marie Louise, who has taken up a post at a young offenders' institution after losing her faith.
Siobhan is widely celebrated for her roles as Clare Cartwright in Happy Valley and Sarah O'Brien in Downton Abbey. Among her other notable credits are The Stranger, Cold Feet, and Benidorm. Earlier this year, she appeared in the BBC detective drama Death in Paradise alongside her current real-life partner.
Relationship with Don Gilet
The duo reportedly met in 2017 whilst filming ITV crime drama The Loch, in which Siobhan took on the role of DCI Lauren Quigley, and Don appeared as forensic psychologist Blake Albrighton. Their professional relationship evolved into romance, and they have been together ever since, though Siobhan still calls Saddleworth home, whilst her other half, Don, is based in north London.
The geographical separation doesn't faze them, with Siobhan noting that Don spends much of his time abroad in Guadeloupe filming Death in Paradise anyway. Speaking to The Times last year, she said: "That's just the way it is, isn't it? That's how it's always been. And he's out of the country for seven months a year doing Death in Paradise anyway."
Siobhan disclosed she has made trips to the French Caribbean island, which she calls an "amazing place", to see Don. The Protection actress swiftly rejected any notion of them being a "power couple", confessing they can be "hopeless" when attempting to organise themselves, joking: "I've not heard that one before." She continued: "We are both off the telly. Other than that we're pretty normal. You wouldn't think we were a power couple this morning, both running around trying to get out of the house on time. Hopeless."
Marriage to Mark Jordon
Siobhan was previously married to former Heartbeat and Emmerdale actor Mark Jordon whom she met in the 1990s. The couple wed in 1997 and have two children together: a daughter named Poppy and a son named Josh. Siobhan and Mark were married for 17 years before divorcing in 2014.
Mark, 61, also starred in the original series of All Creatures Great and Small and appeared in other popular television shows, including Hollyoaks, Doctors, Coronation Street, Casualty, and, most recently, The Long Shadow. He is now engaged to Emmerdale star Laura Norton, who plays Kerry Wyatt on the ITV soap, and the couple have two children of their own. In an interview with Hello magazine in 2023, the couple confirmed their two kids have been diagnosed with a rare genetic disease called Usher syndrome that affects their vision and hearing. Time airs on BBC One and iPlayer at 9pm on Sunday.
