Tala Gouveia

Tala Gouveia
Born
Tala Helen Gouveia
(1988-02-13) 13 February 1988
Nottingham, United Kingdom
OccupationActress
Years active2010–present

Tala Helen Gouveia (born 13 February 1988) is an English actress, best known for playing DCI Lauren McDonald in the ITV crime drama McDonald & Dodds (2020–2024).

Early life

Gouveia was born in Nottingham.[1] The daughter of two theatre actors, Gouveia trained at the Bristol Old Vic.

Career

Her first TV job was a small role in EastEnders from 2011 to 2013 as Nurse Green.[2]

Between March 2020 and August 2024, Gouveia played DCI McDonald in the Bath-set ITV police drama McDonald & Dodds opposite Jason Watkins as mismatched detectives and an array of guest stars including Rob Brydon, Patsy Kensit, Martin Kemp and Robert Lindsay. She has also appeared as Gemma Murphy in the ITV1 drama Cold Feet, the CBeebies' children's series Go Jetters, and the BBC1 2018 Christmas show Click & Collect.[3][4] 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, Tyger Drew-Honey, Debra Stephenson and John Thomson.[5]

Selected filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2011–2013 EastEndersNurse Green 4 episodes
2015–2018 Scream StreetCleo Farr 20 episodes
2018 Click and CollectToy shop assistant TV movie
2019 Cold FeetGemma Murphy 1 episode
2019–2020 Go JettersTala (voice) 30 episodes
2020 G-LocOhsha Film
2020–2024 McDonald & DoddsDCI Lauren McDonald Series regular
2025 Death in ParadiseKelly Herbert 1 episode

References