Sharon Horgan will be back on screens tonight in the BBC's hard-hitting legal drama, Best Interests. The Irish actress will star alongside Michael Sheen in the four-part series that follows a family driven apart by having to make choices no parent would ever want to make.
The 52-year-old will take on the role of Nicci Lloyd, a mum and warrior for her younger daughter Marnie, who has a life limiting condition. Speaking about the role, which is very different to the work Sharon has done in the past, the actress said: "In actual fact, we did have the release of the humour in the scripts.
"It starts off funny and we really had to chisel out those moments, because they were important — it can't just be, like, you know, a grief fest. And it can't just be a relentless endurance test, or our audience would have felt that. But it's the straightest thing I've ever done. And I found it absolutely exhausting."
Read more: Channel 5 For Her Sins full cast list: Who stars alongside Jo Joyner and Rachel Shenton?
Sharon was in the middle of filming Apple TV's Bad Sisters when she was cast as Nicci in Best Interests, but what else has she starred in? Here's everything you need to know.
Sharon Horgan's TV and film work
Aside from Best Interests, Sharon's most recent work is in Bad Sisters, as mentioned above. The actress takes on the lead role of Eva, one of five sisters who take it upon themselves to murder their sister's abusive husband. Sharon also co-created the Apple TV series.
In 2021, Sharon starred opposite James McAvoy in BBC Two's Together. The drama told the story of a couple who were already struggling in their marriage and were suddenly forced to go into lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sharon has also starred in Amazon Prime's 2018 film, Game Night, alongside Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams in the role of Sarah, a funny colleague who gets dragged into a game that goes horribly wrong while on a first date, as well as the Netfllix television series Criminal. The show takes place in an interrogation room as London investigators question suspects accused of grievous crimes until the truth comes to light, Sharon plays Danielle.
Sharon is perhaps best known, however, for her roles in BBC Three's Pulling and Channel 4's Catastrophe, both of which she starred in and co-wrote, as well as being the writer and creator behind Motherland starring Anna Maxwell Martin.
Sharon Horgan's life off-screen
Sharon revealed she drew on her own traumatic real-life experiences when taking on the role of Nicci in Jack Thorne's thought-provoking drama Best Interests. Sharon's daughter, who she shares with her ex-husband Jeremy Rainbird, was diagnosed with meningitis as a toddler.
"I felt really connected to Nicci," Sharon told OK! Online. "My daughter was very ill when she was about 16 months old, and we were in a position where we didn’t know if she would live or die. She’s 19 now, and ever since she came along I’ve been an emotional wreck.
"I specifically remember the feeling of ‘whatever you have to do, I don’t care, just keep her alive’. That feeling is in my bones and my DNA, that’s why I had this connection with Nicci."
The former couple, who split in 2019, also share another daughter. Sharon, who grew up on a turkey farm in Co Meath, is one of five siblings including her famous brother, former rugby player Shane Horgan.
Best Interests starts tonight at 9pm on Monday, June 12, on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. For more showbiz and television stories get our newsletter here.
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