Sinéad Keenan has returned as DCI Jessica James in the new series of ITV’s Unforgotten – but away from the cameras, has a famous husband and didn’t always want to be an actress
Sinéad Keenan is back on our screens for the new series of ITV’s Unforgotten, taking on the role of DCI Jessica James once again.
The 47 year old actress joins forces with Sanjeev Bhaskar as DCI Sunny Khan to unravel a new murder mystery that sees them digging into Gerry Cooper’s history. When they meet his widow Juliet, portrayed by Victoria Hamilton, even more secrets start to emerge.
When she’s not captivating audiences in the ITV hit drama, Sinéad enjoys life with her husband, film and TV director Chris McGill, the brains behind Dusthouse Productions. Chris has directed talents like Tom Hiddleston and Jude Law. He has credits on EastEnders and Holby City and has dabbled in voice acting, contributing to the video game Fable III.
Sinéad tied the knot with Chris in 2012, with Irish actor Andrew Scott reportedly among the guests. The couple are parents to two boys, but they keep their family life out of the spotlight. Despite this, Sinéad occasionally gives fans a peek into her home life, once humorously tweeting about the trials of Saturday mornings, reports the Mirror.
She candidly wrote, “Worst thing about Saturday morning? Putting on children’s football socks!” In December 2022, she let slip that her sons were seven and five at the time, which suggests they’re around nine and seven today.
Aside from Unforgotten, Sinéad is recognised for her roles as Farrah Phelan in Fair City and Nina Pickering in Being Human. However, acting wasn’t always on the cards for her.
Born and bred in Dublin, Sinéad, the eldest of three siblings, didn’t initially dream of an acting career. She studied sociology and history at university with dreams of becoming a lawyer, inspired by the US legal drama Matlock. But as she grew older, she realised she was more interested in playing a lawyer than actually being one.
Her younger brother Rory and sister Gráinne have also made names for themselves in the acting world. Sinéad made her acting debut back in 1999, playing Cillian Murphy’s teenage love interest in the film Sunburn. In a heart-to-heart with the Mirror back in February 2008, Sinéad credited her brother Rory with inspiring her and Grainne to pursue acting.
“We support each other – it’s nice we all work in the same business,” she said. “So he started the acting thing in the family – our parents aren’t in the acting business at all but they are very proud of us.” Her sister Grainne later appeared alongside her in an episode of Unforgotten’s fifth season, playing the role of Debbie.