Who is Maria Doyle Kennedy? Redwater actress playing farmer Rosin Kelly and Father Ted star

WHILE Kat and Alfie Moon are firm favourites with soap fans, actress Maria Doyle Kennedy is on her way to becoming a familiar name for BBC viewers.

The Irish actress stars alongside the ex EastEnders couple in spin-off show Redwater. Here's the lowdown...

Who is Maria Doyle Kennedy?

Maria Doyle Kennedy has many strings to her bow, boasting talents as an actress, singer and songwriter.

The raven-haired performer originates from Clontarf, in Dublin, and is 52-years-old.

She juggles her busy career with her role as mum-of-four.

What has Maria Doyle Kennedy starred in?

The Irish lass's acting career has spanned the past 25 years and she rocketed to fame playing Patsy on comedy Father Ted.

She also starred in period drama The Tudors, Downton Abbey and Orphan Black.

She found fame on the bid screen, appearing in the 2016 sequel The Conjuring 2, which followed the release of original flick The Conjuring.

Has she released any music?

Musical Maria has specialised in folk songs in the tuneful side of her career.

As a solo artist, she is well-known for her albums Mutter and Sing.

Meanwhile she found further fame with The Black Velvet band and released two albums between 1989 and 1992.

What is Redwater?

Redwater airs on Thursday evenings at 8pm on BBC One.

Described as a spin-off from the BBC soap,  Redwater has some exciting plot twists and sees Kat (Jessie Wallace) and Alfie (played by Shane Ritchie) transported to a sleepy fishing village in Ireland in search of Kat’s long lost son.