Born in Manchester in 1966, actor Siobhan Finneran’s first major role was as Rita in the 1987 film Rita, Sue and Bob Too. Her extensive TV work includes Happy Valley, Alma’s Not Normal and Downton Abbey, for which the cast won the 2012 Screen Actors Guild award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series. Finneran has starred in films such as Clio Barnard’s The Selfish Giant and Daniel Kokotajlo’s Apostasy, and her latest role is in the shipwreck thriller The Damned, in cinemas now. She lives in Saddleworth, Greater Manchester, and has two children.
1. TV
After the Party, Channel 4
A mate recommended this, but I had to go out for a walk after two episodes because it made me so anxious. The premise is that a woman, played by Robyn Malcolm, accuses her husband of being a paedophile, after she sees him lying on a bed looking after a drunken teenager at a party, and nobody believes her. The story starts five years after this accusation. It was perfect TV: the script was fantastic, the acting was ridiculously brilliant. I loved the fact that it actually made me question my own judgment.
2. Music
Thee Sacred Souls
I first heard them on the radio, probably 6 Music, and I thought I was listening to an old northern soul track. It was their single Running Away, which I downloaded on to my phone, on one of my playlists. I didn’t really look into them and then two months ago my son sent me one of their songs and said: “You’ll love this, Mum.” I love the vocals; I love that it’s got a bit of a vintage sound. I’ve managed to get tickets to see them in February at the Roundhouse – I think they’re going to blow my mind live.
3. Theatre
John Cooper Clarke at the Lowry, Salford
Last year I went to this great spoken word evening, with guests Mike Garry, Luke Wright and Toria Garbutt. I don’t think I’ve ever been to an entire evening of spoken word before, but it was the perfect night in the theatre for me: I roared with laughter and I also cried. I know they are performing but because they’re not jumping around you really listen to what they’re saying. I felt very emotional listening to a lot of Mike Garry’s work – I loved his poem What Me Mam Taught Me. John Cooper Clarke was incredible and funny.
4. Food
Mackie Mayor, Manchester
I didn’t know about this place until a couple of years ago. It’s the former Smithfield market in what is now known as the Northern Quarter in Manchester. It had been empty since the 90s, and somebody’s refurbished it really lovingly. It’s like a big canteen and you can get whatever you want in there, from tacos to ramen to pizza. It’s got big benches and a really great atmosphere. I love the fact that it’s a bit of Manchester history that I can sit in and have a chat with mates. And the food’s excellent.
5. Art
Rudi Hurzlmeier
I found a card I’d been sent years ago, clearing out a drawer, and laughed as soon as I saw it again. It’s a picture of a nun looking in a shoe shop, and a bloke next to her has got his hand on her bum. I showed it to Don [Gilet], my fella, and now one of my Christmas presents is a book of Hurzlmeier’s work. He’s a German cartoonist and painter who is involved with the German satire magazine Titanic. Some of his paintings are quite weird, but the ones with a sense of humour really make me smile.
6. Radio
Soul Music series, Radio 4
This is a real go-to if I can’t sleep, or if I’m in the car. Each episode is about a song, and it can be a song I don’t know or a song I know really well – I listened to the one about Prince’s Purple Rain the other day. It usually starts with the song’s history from people who were there at its conception, and then you hear about what it’s meant to other people all over the world. Somebody might point out a particular line in the song, and you suddenly hear it slightly differently. It’s really eloquent and beautiful.
