Shetland star Phyllis Logan's 12-year marriage to The Crown's Kevin McNally

BAFTA-winning actress, Phyllis Logan has joined season eight of Shetland, and fans are delighted. No stranger to the world of TV, the Scottish star counts Silent Witness, Downton Abbey, and Doctor Who among her ever-expanding list of credits, but there's one show in particular that completely changed her life. 

Back in 1994, Phyllis appeared in the mini-series, Love and Reason, which is where she crossed paths with her future husband, and fellow character actor, Kevin McNally, famed for his performances in The Crown and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

During a 2017 interview with Mail Online, Phyllis spoke about finding love when she least expected it. "I never thought real love – the sort where your blood tingles and your world explodes with joy – would happen to me at my time of life," she said. "I believed I had missed out. But I'm ever so glad it happened.'"

By 1996, Phyllis and Kevin had welcomed their son, David. Speaking to The Guardian in 2017, Phyllis revealed that she hadn't intended on having children initially. "I thought I didn't want a child for years because my career was more important to me than having a family," she began. 

"I was so busy. It would have been nice to have had another child after our son, David, but it was tough enough having a baby for the first time at 40. But David doesn't see himself as an only child because Kevin already had his daughter, Rachel, and his stepson, Peter."

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Prior to meeting Phyllis, Kevin had been in a relationship with actress Stevie Harris, with whom he shares a daughter, Rachel McNally. 

While Phyllis and Kevin have been together since 1994, it was in 2011 that they decided to tie the knot. Two years later, the couple revealed that they'd been living in Chiswick. As of 2020, Phyllis and Kevin have become patrons of their local theatre, Chiswick Playhouse. 

While the pair have an extremely close relationship, their respective filming schedules can be challenging. Explaining that they have a system in place, Phyllis told The Guardian:"My husband, Kevin, is my closest confidant; that's the way it should be with a partner. 

"We make sure we speak to each other every day even if one or both of us is away working. It's important to maintain contact – even if it's only to discuss the car tax. I didn't want to date another actor, because I thought they were vain. I always used to say that I would never have one in my house – but you can't legislate for love." 

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On occasion, however, Phyllis and Kevin have been given the opportunity to act alongside one another. In fact, the actress was particularly surprised to learn that her husband had been cast as Horace Bryant in Downton Abbey. "No one told me it was going to happen and when Kevin said he'd got a part in Downton, I thought he was winding me up," she told the Express. 

"I kept asking him, 'No, what are you really doing?' When I realised it was true, I was a bit miffed that he hadn't asked me first, but I liked having him around and I'd love to work with him again. He played the dour grandfather of housemaid Ethel Parks' baby, born out of wedlock. Mrs Hughes was very protective of Ethel, who was played by lovely Amy Nuttall, so I was in all his scenes and we both enjoyed that."

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