# Sinéad Keenan
**Sinéad Keenan** (born 1977) is an Irish actress known for television drama and comedy, best known for playing the werewolf Nina in the BBC's *Being Human*, Melanie Jones in ITV's *Little Boy Blue*, and DCI Jess James as the co-lead of ITV's cold-case drama *Unforgotten* from series five onward[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444681/) • [2](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/02/09/unforgotten-star-sinead-keenan-ucd-had-an-awful-lot-of-arty-farty-people-i-felt-oh-jesus-i-cant-compete-with-that/). Born in Dublin, she has worked in British and Irish television for more than two decades and has won [Royal Television Society](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-television-society) and Monte Carlo Golden Nymph awards[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444681/) • [3](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/sinead-keenan/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1977, Dublin, Ireland[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444681/) |
| Television debut | Farrah Phelan in the RTÉ soap opera *Fair City*, 1998; left in 2003[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sinead-keenan/) |
| Breakthrough role | Nina, a werewolf, in *Being Human*, 2009–2011, 19 episodes[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444681/) |
| Acclaimed performance | Mel Jones in *Little Boy Blue* (2017); BAFTA nomination, RTS Award, and Monte Carlo Golden Nymph, all 2018[3](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/sinead-keenan/) |
| Current lead role | DCI Jess James in *Unforgotten*, series 5, 6, and 7[3](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/sinead-keenan/) |
| Upcoming | Robyn in *How to Get to Heaven from Belfast* (Netflix), due February 2026[5](https://theweek.com/culture-life/tv-radio/february-2026-new-tv-scrubs-strip-law-how-to-get-to-heaven-from-belfast) |
| Family | Sister of actors Rory Keenan and Gráinne Keenan; married to director Chris McGill, two sons[2](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/02/09/unforgotten-star-sinead-keenan-ucd-had-an-awful-lot-of-arty-farty-people-i-felt-oh-jesus-i-cant-compete-with-that/) • [6](https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/sinead-keenan-unforgotten/) |
## Early life and training
Keenan grew up in Dublin, the eldest of three children, in what she has described as a middle-class family with "no showbiz in our background"[2](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/02/09/unforgotten-star-sinead-keenan-ucd-had-an-awful-lot-of-arty-farty-people-i-felt-oh-jesus-i-cant-compete-with-that/). When she proposed an acting career, her parents resisted, and she attended [University College Dublin](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-college-dublin) first[7](https://www.filmweb.pl/person/Sin%C3%A9ad%2BKeenan-87186). Her parents eventually came round to the idea of letting her try acting for a year, on the condition that she finish her degree[2](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/02/09/unforgotten-star-sinead-keenan-ucd-had-an-awful-lot-of-arty-farty-people-i-felt-oh-jesus-i-cant-compete-with-that/).
The break came by chance: in the summer of her finals, RTÉ's soap opera *Fair City* called her drama group, long after a screen test, because it needed someone quickly as a body swap for the character Farrah Phelan. She was offered the role and played Farrah, Natalie Phelan's headstrong daughter, for four seasons from 1998 before leaving the show in 2003[2](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/02/09/unforgotten-star-sinead-keenan-ucd-had-an-awful-lot-of-arty-farty-people-i-felt-oh-jesus-i-cant-compete-with-that/) • [4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sinead-keenan/). Her film debut followed in *Sunburn* (1999)[7](https://www.filmweb.pl/person/Sin%C3%A9ad%2BKeenan-87186).
## Stage work
Keenan built a stage career in Britain alongside her television work. Her theater credits include Adele in *Loyal Women* at the [Royal Court Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-court-theatre) in London and Polly in *The Gingerbread Lady* at the Theatre Royal Bath and on UK tour, and in 2005–06 she played Hermia in *A Midsummer Night's Dream*, Evie in *The American Pilot*, and Luciana in *The Comedy of Errors* for the [Royal Shakespeare Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-shakespeare-company), in England, on tour in Japan, and in the West End[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444681/).
## Television career
**Early British roles.** After moving to London in her early twenties, Keenan took small parts in series such as the medical soap *Doctors*, and in 2008 was cast as Kelly Hawkins, an overworked production assistant, in the satirical BBC soap *Moving Wallpaper*[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sinead-keenan/). Comedy credits followed, including Bronagh in *London Irish* (2013), the sitcom by [Lisa McGee](https://www.edgepedia.org/lisa-mcgee), Maggie in *Uncle*, and The Guv in *Hobby Bobbies*[8](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/sinead_keenan/). She also appeared in *Taggart*, *Silent Witness*, and *Lip Service* before her later breakthroughs[6](https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/sinead-keenan-unforgotten/) • [9](https://www.nationalworld.com/culture/television/sinead-keenan-revealed-unforgotten-season-5-itv-3612708).
**Being Human.** From 2009 to 2011 she played Nina, a werewolf, in the BBC's supernatural flat-share drama *Being Human*, appearing in 19 episodes alongside [Russell Tovey](https://www.edgepedia.org/russell-tovey), Lenora Crichlow, and [Aidan Turner](https://www.edgepedia.org/aidan-turner)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444681/). She has called it the job she had the most fun on[10](https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/culture/sinead-keenan-unforgotten-interview/).
**Little Boy Blue.** In 2017 she played Mel Jones, the mother of murdered Liverpool schoolboy Rhys Jones, in ITV's four-part drama *Little Boy Blue*, directed by Paul Whittington[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444681/) • [3](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/sinead-keenan/). The performance brought her a 2018 BAFTA Television Award nomination for Leading Actress, the RTS Award for Best Actress, and the Monte Carlo Television Festival Golden Nymph for Outstanding Actress[3](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/sinead-keenan/) • [11](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444681/awards/). She has described it as the work she is proudest of[10](https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/culture/sinead-keenan-unforgotten-interview/).
**Later drama roles.** Through the late 2010s and early 2020s she appeared in *Deep Water* (2019) as Roz, *Porters* (2019) as Dr Bartholomew, *My Left Nut* (2020) as Patricia, *Showtrial* (2021) as DI Paula Cassidy, and *Three Families* (2021) as Theresa Ryan, the last earning an IFTA nomination for Best Actress in a Lead Role – Drama[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444681/) • [11](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444681/awards/) • [12](https://ifta.ie/awards/OFFICIAL%20PRESS%20RELEASE%20IFTA%20NOMINATIONS%202022.pdf). She also made a one-episode appearance as Aideen O'Shea in the third series of *Derry Girls* in 2022[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444681/) • [8](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/sinead_keenan/).
## Unforgotten
In 2023 Keenan took over as co-lead of ITV's *Unforgotten*, playing DCI Jess James opposite [Sanjeev Bhaskar](https://www.edgepedia.org/sanjeev-bhaskar)'s DI Sunil "Sunny" Khan after [Nicola Walker](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicola-walker)'s character, DCI Cassie Stuart, was killed off at the end of series four[13](https://www.itv.com/thismorning/articles/sinead-keenan-tells-all-about-her-new-role-in-hit-series-unforgotten). Her first reaction was to decline: she told her agent she would not be "the eejit who follows Nicola Walker", and only agreed after reading the scripts[14](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/clips/unforgotten-s5-after-cassie/). Series creator Chris Lang wrote the character's prickly arrival so that the audience, still mourning Cassie, would share Sunny's resistance to her[2](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/02/09/unforgotten-star-sinead-keenan-ucd-had-an-awful-lot-of-arty-farty-people-i-felt-oh-jesus-i-cant-compete-with-that/).
Unlike most of her roles, Jess speaks with Keenan's own Dublin accent; she had assumed an English accent would be required, but Lang wanted her to keep the Irish one[15](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/unforgotten-sinead-keenan-big-rt-interview/). A personal detail carried into the fiction: her real sister Gráinne played Jess's sister, who turns out to be the woman Jess's husband Steve has been having an affair with[2](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/02/09/unforgotten-star-sinead-keenan-ucd-had-an-awful-lot-of-arty-farty-people-i-felt-oh-jesus-i-cant-compete-with-that/). She reprised the role in series six, which returned in February 2025[16](https://www.irishnews.com/entertainment/unforgotten-sinead-keenan-on-series-6-of-crime-drama-SVYWKCWIQJDYVMEW3BWPNMEZ24/), and is credited for series seven[3](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/sinead-keenan/). The latest series drew over seven million viewers[17](https://www.womanandhome.com/life/news-entertainment/crime-dramas-with-women-leads/).
## How to Get to Heaven from Belfast
Two days after wrapping *Unforgotten* series six, Keenan flew to Belfast to film *How to Get to Heaven from Belfast*, a Netflix series from *Derry Girls* creator Lisa McGee, in which she plays Robyn, one of three Belfast schoolfriends in their late thirties who reunite for the wake of a fourth friend and find that the body in the coffin is not her[10](https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/culture/sinead-keenan-unforgotten-interview/) • [5](https://theweek.com/culture-life/tv-radio/february-2026-new-tv-scrubs-strip-law-how-to-get-to-heaven-from-belfast). The series, directed by Michael Lennox and set across Belfast, Donegal, Dublin, London, and Malta, was scheduled to air in February 2026[3](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/sinead-keenan/) • [18](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/12/01/unforgotten-star-sinead-keenan-every-time-i-finish-a-job-i-think-i-could-never-work-again/). It is her fourth collaboration with McGee, after *Being Human*, *London Irish*, and *Derry Girls*[18](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/12/01/unforgotten-star-sinead-keenan-every-time-i-finish-a-job-i-think-i-could-never-work-again/).
## Personal life
Keenan is married to the television director Chris McGill, with whom she has two sons, and the family lives in [Stratford-upon-Avon](https://www.edgepedia.org/stratford-upon-avon)[6](https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/sinead-keenan-unforgotten/). Both her younger siblings became actors as well: her brother [Rory Keenan](https://www.edgepedia.org/rory-keenan), who studied theater at [Trinity College Dublin](https://www.edgepedia.org/trinity-college-dublin), and her sister Gráinne Keenan, who studied international relations at St Andrews and trained at RADA[2](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/02/09/unforgotten-star-sinead-keenan-ucd-had-an-awful-lot-of-arty-farty-people-i-felt-oh-jesus-i-cant-compete-with-that/). She has spoken about the insecurity of acting work and about tag-teaming childcare with her husband so that one parent is always home[10](https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/culture/sinead-keenan-unforgotten-interview/).
## References
1. [Sinéad Keenan, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444681/)
2. [Unforgotten star Sinéad Keenan: 'UCD had an awful lot of arty-farty people', The Irish Times (9 February 2025)](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/02/09/unforgotten-star-sinead-keenan-ucd-had-an-awful-lot-of-arty-farty-people-i-felt-oh-jesus-i-cant-compete-with-that/)
3. [Sinéad Keenan, Independent Talent](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/sinead-keenan/)
4. [Sinéad Keenan, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sinead-keenan/)
5. [February TV brings the debut of 'How to Get to Heaven from Belfast', The Week](https://theweek.com/culture-life/tv-radio/february-2026-new-tv-scrubs-strip-law-how-to-get-to-heaven-from-belfast)
6. ['I thought I'd be an eejit to follow Nicola Walker', The Sunday Post](https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/sinead-keenan-unforgotten/)
7. [Sinéad Keenan, Filmweb](https://www.filmweb.pl/person/Sin%C3%A9ad%2BKeenan-87186)
8. [Sinead Keenan, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/sinead_keenan/)
9. [Who is Sinéad Keenan? Actress lands Unforgotten season 5 role, NationalWorld](https://www.nationalworld.com/culture/television/sinead-keenan-revealed-unforgotten-season-5-itv-3612708)
10. [Sinéad Keenan On Unforgotten: 'No One Will See It Coming', Country and Town House](https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/culture/sinead-keenan-unforgotten-interview/)
11. [Sinéad Keenan – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444681/awards/)
12. [IFTA Nominations 2022, Official Press Release](https://ifta.ie/awards/OFFICIAL%20PRESS%20RELEASE%20IFTA%20NOMINATIONS%202022.pdf)
13. [Sinéad Keenan tells all about her new role in Unforgotten, ITV This Morning](https://www.itv.com/thismorning/articles/sinead-keenan-tells-all-about-her-new-role-in-hit-series-unforgotten)
14. [Unforgotten | After Cassie, MASTERPIECE, PBS](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/clips/unforgotten-s5-after-cassie/)
15. [Sinéad Keenan on Unforgotten, Radio Times](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/unforgotten-sinead-keenan-big-rt-interview/)
16. [Unforgotten: Sinéad Keenan on series 6 of crime drama, The Irish News](https://www.irishnews.com/entertainment/unforgotten-sinead-keenan-on-series-6-of-crime-drama-SVYWKCWIQJDYVMEW3BWPNMEZ24/)
17. [12 must-watch crime dramas with women leads, Woman & Home](https://www.womanandhome.com/life/news-entertainment/crime-dramas-with-women-leads/)
18. [Unforgotten star Sinéad Keenan: 'Every time I finish a job, I think I could never work again', The Irish Times (1 December 2025)](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/12/01/unforgotten-star-sinead-keenan-every-time-i-finish-a-job-i-think-i-could-never-work-again/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Irish actors › Surnames G to M*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license