Dervla Kirwan (born 24 October 1971) is an Irish television and stage actress who has had roles in British television shows which included Ballykissangel and Goodnight Sweetheart among others. She also appeared in the Doctor Who Christmas special episode, "The Next Doctor" and provided the voiceovers for the "This is not just food" television advertising campaign for UK retailer Marks & Spencer.

Biography

Kirwan is married to actor Rupert Penry-Jones, with whom she has two children, Florence and Peter. She met him in 2001 while appearing in Dangerous Corner and they married in 2007 after a three-year engagement. She had previously been engaged to Stephen Tompkinson, her co-star in Ballykissangel, in 1998.

She and Penry-Jones both appeared in Casanova in 2005, although they did not share any scenes. They had worked on stage together in 2001 in a West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, production of J B Priestley's Dangerous Corner, when he played Robert Caplan to her Olwen Peel. In November, the production transferred to the Garrick Theatre for a successful four-month West End season.