Dervla Kirwan

Born: October 24 1971
Where: Churchtown, Dublin, Eire

The actress is known primarily for British TV series such as Ballykissangel and Goodnight Sweetheart.

Rare excursions onto the big screen have included Carmel in Pete's Meteor and Rosie Boyd in Michael Winterbottom's With Or Without You.

The daughter of an insurance clerk and a teacher Dervla - her name means daughter of a poet - was just 15 when she landed a role in the BBC's The Troubles.

A year later she was cast in Billy Roche's Wexford Trilogy at London's Bush Theatre and reprised the role on TV.

In 1990, she made her feature debut as young Martha in December Bride but returned to TV to cause a stir as the teenage lover of a bank manager in A Time To Dance.

Subsequent TV roles included Goodnight Sweetheart opposite Nicholas Lyndhurst and A Handful of Stars.

Joe O'Byrne cast her in the comedy Pete's Meteor alongside Brenda Fricker and Mike Myers and she starred opposite Christopher Ecclestone in With Or Without You.

Subsequent TV work has included Assumpta in Ballykissangel, The Flint Street Nativity, Hearts & Bones, Shades, The Bombmaker and Dalziel and Pascoe.

After the Newcastle-set detective series 55 Degrees North, she stayed in the city for the romantic comedy School for Seduction with Kelly Brook.