Claire Cooper leads the cast of Channel 5's new period drama, The Hardacres, which follows the journey of a working-class family from a grimy fish dock to amassing a vast Yorkshire country estate.
The actress, who stars as Mary Hardacre, rose to fame in the mid-2000s after starring as Jacqui McQueen in Channel 4's Hollyoaks and has since appeared in Scott & Bailey, Love, Lies & Records, and Strike Back.
But did you know that she's married to a very famous TV star? Keep reading to find out all about Claire's family life away from the cameras…
Meet Claire's very famous husband
Since 2015, Claire, 43, has been married to Irish actor Emmett J. Scanlan, who boasts an impressive list of TV credits.
Viewers will recognise the 45-year-old as Brendan Brady in Hollyoaks, Billy Grade in Peaky Blinders, Marcus MacLeod in Ten Percent and Inspector Kieran Shaw in The Tower.
© ITVHe also portrayed D.C. Glenn Martin in the crime drama The Fall, which starred Jamie Dornan and Gillian Anderson. More recently, he played Shane Tessier in the Netflix thriller, Fool Me Once.
Claire and Emmett first crossed paths when the Irish actor joined the cast of Hollyoaks in 2010.
© Harvey/BAFTA/ShutterstockIn December 2014, Emmett popped the question after three years of dating and marked the special moment with a sweet post on Instagram.
Alongside a snap of the pair locking lips whilst holding a glass of red wine each, Emmett penned: "There are over a million ways to ask the question, but only one real answer…," adding the hashtag: "#WorldsLongestHangoverStartsToday."
The couple tied the knot in a former warehouse in New York City that offered picture-perfect views of the Big Apple.
© Photo: HELLO!"It's something I'll never forget," Emmett told HELLO! at the time. "Everyone got behind the wedding with such love that it was overwhelming at times."
© @claire_e_cooper/InstagramClaire sometimes offers insights into married life on social media. Back in June, she shared a touching tribute to her other half to mark Father's Day.
"Happy Fathers Day to our heartbeat @scandalous_13 it's been a crazy few years that we've all surfed together but having you by our side putting the unpredictability into our lives has caused absolute CHAOS … we are all like spinning tops," penned the Yorkshire-born star. "We love you sorely & it always hurts when you have to go away. We can say this with absolute confidence that myself & all three of your children adore & love you SO much & it's agreed you are the MOST ANNOYING man on the planet."
Claire and Emmett's adorable children
The couple share two children: a son named Ocean-Torin, who arrived in July 2020, and their daughter, Fiáin-Luna, who was born in November 2022.
Emmett is also a dad to his 22-year-old daughter Kayla from a previous relationship.
Claire and Emmett have been very open about their path to parenthood, revealing back in 2020 that Claire suffered a devastating miscarriage before welcoming their first son.
© @claire_e_cooper/InstagramOpening up about the heartbreaking loss on social media, the actress penned: "We lost our little soul July 2019 the devastation was unreal, the day came when my body let go of what I'd fought so hard to keep. Little did we know that I myself would also end up in a precarious situation strapped to machines & fighting - it truly was hard enough losing our baby but to then fight for my own life was something else. I lost over a third of my blood & my recovery was painfully slow. Instantly anaemic & instantly heartbroken."
The actress went on to say that she'd spent over a decade being "constantly asked when I'd have children". "The last few years I retreated subconsciously just so I didn’t have to have those conversations," she penned before sharing her devastation at losing her baby.
"So when we lost our little person we were devastated & quite honestly I was angry - I'd always wanted children but I was frightened & didn't need to explain that to anyone but I found that I was constantly left defending my ovaries & desires," explained the actress before going on to say that she now stands "so tall with my husband by my side, grateful, strong and full of joy we have been blessed with our little man who arrived on OUR timeline and who knows maybe he was the same soul who visited before."
