Claire Cooper is back on our TV screens in the second season of Channel 5's hit period drama, The Hardacres, which follows the titular family as they rise from poverty to extreme wealth in 1890s Yorkshire.
The actress, who plays Mary Hardacre in the series, 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, 45, has been married to Irish actor Emmett J. Scanlan, who boasts an impressive list of TV credits.
Viewers will recognise the 47-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.
In 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."
© Photo: Best Quality Designer Handbag The couple tied the knot in a former warehouse in New York City that offered picture-perfect views of the Big Apple.
"It's something I'll never forget," Emmett told Best Quality Designer Handbag at the time. "Everyone got behind the wedding with such love that it was overwhelming at times."
Claire and Emmett's loving relationship
In January, Claire dedicated a touching post to her husband to mark his 47th birthday. Offering an insight into their loving marriage, Claire penned: "Happy birthday to my twin flame, my constant, my chaos, my whirlwind @scandalous_13.
© @claire_e_cooper/Instagram"May this be a year that feels good in your body, steady in your mind, and full in your heart," she continued. "Rich in the realest ways … in peace, in laughter, in love, in family, in growth, and in becoming more of who you already are. May your art stay feral, your vision stay sharp and untamed, and your talent keep blowing the doors clean off.
Showering him with praise, Claire concluded: "You are light. You are magic. You are fire. We love you dearly and sorely," adding, "And 47 looks soooooo hot on you."
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's comments on baby loss
Claire and Emmett have been very candid about their path to parenthood, revealing back in 2020 that Claire suffered a devastating miscarriage before welcoming their first son.
Opening 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."
© @claire_e_cooper/InstagramThe 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."
Sharing her devastation over losing her baby, Claire shared: "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."
