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Shaun Evans in Until I Kill You, © ITV/Shutterstock

Inside Shaun Evans' love life: from his very famous ex to celebrity crush

The Endeavour actor plays killer John Sweeney in ITV's Until I Kill You

Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
Updated: 2 days ago
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Shaun Evans is back on our screens in ITV's new true-crime drama, Until I Kill You, which sees the Endeavour star play serial killer John Sweeney. He stars opposite Motherland's Anna Maxwell Martin who portrays nurse Delia Balmer in the four-partner, which follows her terrifying ordeal after realising her boyfriend of three years is a murderer. 

Based on Delia's 2017 memoir Living with a Serial Killer, the series depicts the pair's relationship, from their first meeting in a London pub in 1991 to the moment John attacked her with an axe. 

Shaun, 44, has become a household name across the nation since starring in ITV's Endeavour, which ran from 2012 to 2023. But how much do you know about his life away from the cameras? Find out all we know about the star…

WATCH: Shaun Evans stars in Until I Kill You

Shaun's early life and TV career

Shaun was born on 6 March 1980 in Liverpool to Irish parents. His dad was a taxi driver while his mother was a health care worker.

Shaun Evans as Endeavour© ITV/Shutterstock
Shaun Evans starred in ITV's Endeavour

The actor trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama before going on to star in Channel 4's Teachers and The Virgin Queen.

ANNA MAXWELL-MARTIN as Delia Balmer and SHAUN EVANS as John Sweeney in Until I Kill You© ITV
Shaun stars opposite Anna Maxwell Martin in Until I Kill You

Throughout his career he has also appeared in more than his fair share of crime drama, including Whitechapel, Ashes to Ashes and Inspector George Gently, giving him good practice before landing his breakthrough role as Endeavour. He's since appeared in the first season of the BBC drama, Vigil

Shaun Evans' love life and famous ex-girlfriend

Although we know everything about Shaun's acting career, the star does tend to keep his personal life out of the spotlight, and as a result, his current relationship status is unknown. He also isn't officially on any social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

However, we do know that Shaun was previously in a relationship with Irish musician Andrea Corr, who's famed for singing lead vocals in the pop rock band The Corrs. 

The couple first crossed paths on the set of the romance film The Boys from County Clare in 2003 and dated for four years. 

Andrea Corr and boyfriend Shaun Evans in 2004© Julian Makey/Shutterstock
Andrea Corr and Shaun Evans met on a film set

Opening up about their split during an interview with the Irish Independent in 2007, a year after their break up, Andrea, 50, said: "I don't look back and think, 'Oh God, I wasted four years.' I do have faith.

"I would not step into marriage lightly. I am not married by my own choice, not because no one wanted to marry me," she added. 

Andrea wrote her hit track, Ten Feet High, about her and Shaun's break up. Speaking about the song, which featured on her 2007 album of the same name, she said it's about making one another feel ten feet high before becoming claustrophobic within the relationship. 

shaun evans andrea corr© Photo: Getty Images
Andrea wrote her 2007 song Ten Feet High about Shaun

"I suppose what I'm trying to say is that you're imprisoned. And it is not him doing it. He's in prison too," Andrea explained. "It's when you're not inspiring each other anymore.

The singer continued: "It's the really sad point of a relationship when you still love each other but it is over; but you have to admit it's over. And you can't blame the person. It would be easier if you could go 'You did this' or they could go 'You did that'. It is almost sadder when a relationship ends when there is no blame. It ran its course."

Shaun has previously spoken about keeping his private life away from the cameras, previously telling Ox in a Box: "[Endeavour has] little impact on my life which I like because I’m not a person who has a public persona, or a profile on social media. I just like to do my job and then go home and carry on with my life.

However, the actor has previously joked about having a "crush" on Patti Smith after the American singer revealed that she enjoyed watching Endeavour. He told Belfast Telegraph in 2015: "I've got the biggest crush on Patti Smith. I find her really inspiring. Her photographs are incredible, the poetry that she writes, and just her way of living.

Patti Smith attends a red carpet for "Maria" during the 81st Venice International Film Festival at  on August 29, 2024 in Venice, Italy© Stefania D'Alessandro
Patti Smith pictured in Italy in August this year

"I'm totally gushing now, but as soon as I finished one of her books, I started it again, because I was so intoxicated with the atmosphere of it. She's something else."

Clearly a big fan, Shaun was spotted in the crowd at Patti's concert at Somerset House in London in July this year.

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