Tala Gouveia is an English actress, best known for playing DCI Lauren McDonald in the ITV crime drama ''

McDonald & Dodds ''McDonald & Dodds'' is a British television crime drama series, based in the English city of Bath, that stars Tala Gouveia and Jason Watkins as mismatched detectives, DCI Lauren McDonald & DS Dodds. Created and principally written by screenwri ...

'' (2020–present).

Early life

Gouveia was born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

. The daughter of two theatre actors, Gouveia trained at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

Career

Her first TV job was a small role in ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' from 2011 to 2013 as Nurse Green. In March 2020, Gouveia played DCI McDonald in the

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

-set

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

police drama ''

'' opposite

Jason Watkins Jason Watkins (born 28 October 1962) is an English stage, film and television actor. He played the lead role in the two-part drama ''The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies'', for which he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor. He has also ...

and an array of guest stars including

Rob Brydon Robert Brydon Jones (; born 3 May 1965) is a Welsh actor, comedian, impressionist, presenter, singer and writer. He played Dr Paul Hamilton in the Australian/British comedy series ''Supernova'', Bryn West in the BBC sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey'' a ...

Patsy Kensit Patricia Jude Kensit (born 4 March 1968) is an English actress and was the lead singer of the pop band Eighth Wonder in the 1980s. Beginning her career as a child actor, Kensit gained attention when she acted in a string of commercials for Bird ...

Martin Kemp Martin John Kemp (born 10 October 1961) is an English musician and actor, best known as the bassist in the new wave band Spandau Ballet and for his role as Steve Owen in ''EastEnders''. He is the younger brother of Gary Kemp, who is also a ...

and Robert Lindsay. She has also appeared as Gemma Murphy in the

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...

drama ''

Cold Feet Cold feet is a phrase that refers to a person not going through with an action, particularly one which requires long term commitment, due to fear, uncertainty, and doubt. A person is said to be "getting cold feet" when, after previously committin ...

'', the

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...

' children's series ''

Go Jetters ''Go Jetters'' is a British 3D animated television series, airing on CBeebies and is also available on BBC iPlayer. A geography-based programme, it was commissioned by CBeebies controller Kay Benbow and is a co-production of CBeebies In-house ...

'', and the

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

2018 Christmas show '' Click & Collect''. Gouveia also has credits for the 2019 film ''Before We Grow Old'' and has provided the regular voice of Cleo Farr in the animated series ''Scream Street'' alongside the likes of

Jim Howick James "Jim" Howick (born 14 May 1979) is an English actor and writer, known for his appearances in television series such as ''Peep Show'', ''Horrible Histories'', ''Stag'', ''Ghosts'' and '' Here We Go''. Early life Howick was born in Chiches ...

Tyger Drew-Honey Lindzi James Tyger Drew-Honey (born 26 January 1996) is an English actor and television presenter. He is best known for his role as Jake Brockman in the British sitcom '' Outnumbered'', Citizen Khan as Richard Scab before later appearing in '' H ...

Debra Stephenson Debra Stephenson (born 4 June 1972) is an English actress, comedian, impressionist and singer, best known for her roles as Diane Powell in ''Playing the Field'', Shell Dockley in '' Bad Girls'' and as Frankie Baldwin in ''Coronation Street''. ...

, and John Thomson.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gouveia, Tala Living people 1984 births 21st-century English actresses Actors from Nottingham Black British actresses English television actresses