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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
Entertainment
Maisie Lillywhite

Happy Valley star Susan Lynch's quiet country life just up the road from Bristol

Happy Valley star Susan Lynch has just joined the cast of Unforgotten as Liz Baildon for series four of the crime drama series. Prior to landing her new role, she starred in popular TV shows like Killing Eve and Happy Valley, and has also appeared in a number of films, including From Hell, Waking Ned, Nora, and 16 Years of Alcohol - the latter of which she won a British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for.

Despite not yet reaching her half-century birthday, Susan is named by The Irish Times as one of Ireland's greatest film actors, Entertainment Daily reports. The Northern Irish actress was born in the townland of Corrinshego, and has four very talented famous siblings, all of whom work in showbiz.

Her brother is the actor and novellist John Lynch, who has appeared in films Angel Baby and The Secret Garden, and also appeared in The Fall, with fellow Northern Irish actor Jamie Dornan playing the lead role. Pauline Lynch, sister of Susan and John, starred in Trainspotting, with their other brother Seamus Lynch playing a crucial role behind the scenes of film and television productions in the camera and electrical department.

Read more: Carol Vorderman teases fans with 'secret filming' as she flaunts glam look

Although she was born in Northern Ireland, Susan enjoyed a quiet life just up the road from Bristol for some time. Susan was married to Misfits actor and podcaster Craig Parkinson for 12 years before the pair quietly separated in 2019.

The couple swapped Camden for the Cotswolds and 'got rid' of their TV in the process after they realised they barely communicated with one another whilst living in London. In a 2016 interview, Craig told This Morning presenters Holly Willougby and Phillip Schofield that he was 'nine years clean' from watching TV.

Craig and Susan, pictured here in March 2018, were married for around 12 years (Getty Images)

At around the same time, he told The Guardian: "My wife and I were watching some s*** like I'm a Celebrity in our flat in Camden, and realised we hadn't spoken to each other for ages.

"We decided to get rid, then we moved out of London. We've never looked back."

Susan and Craig opted to move to the Cotswolds countryside as they wanted a baby. They achieved their goal, welcoming a little boy, who is now ten, into the world after making the big move. During his chat with Holly and Phil seven years ago, Craig said that he enjoyed cooking at their home in Painswick, whilst Susan was green-thumbed in their country garden.

Sadly, Craig's dad confirmed to MailOnline in October 2020 that his son and daughter-in-law had called it quits. He said: "Yes, they have split up. It’s very sad but Craig is okay, and people do know. They are trying to stay amicable, it’s just one of those things."

A source told the publication: "Craig and Susan kept their split very private but they parted ways last year. It has been completely amicable between them. They have busy careers and are involved with separate ventures, they just grew apart and decided it would be stronger for their family if they were no longer married."

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