This City Is Ours star James Nelson-Joyce’s private life with singer girlfriend Olivia Frances Brown

Actor James Nelson-Joyce earnt a new legion of fans last month following the release of BBC One’s new crime drama series; This City Is Ours.

In the show, Liverpudlian rising star James portrays gang leader Michael Kavanagh, who is struggling to strike a balance between his criminal career and family life.

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Directed by Saul Dibb, the series is set in Liverpool and also features Sean Bean as Ronnie Phelan, Hannah Onslow as Diana Williams and Jack McMullen as Jamie Phelan.

As the show continues to garner interest, join HELLO! as we take a closer look at James Nelson-Joyce’s private life away from the spotlight with his singer-actress girlfriend, Olivia Frances Brown…

Who is James’ glamorous girlfriend

James, 36, appears to be dating jazz singer Olivia Frances Brown. The pair have attended numerous events together in recent months, while James has also featured on her Instagram feed.

Last month, they attended a string of glitzy events, including the BFI London Film Festival, several premieres, a BRITs after-party and the gala screening of A Thousand Blows.

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According to Intertalent, Olivia hails from Liverpool and is an actress and singer-songwriter based in Manchester. She has starred in Channel 4 drama series, The Gathering, as well as Archie and BBC’s Boiling Point.

She trained at LIPA and the Institute of the Arts Barcelona.

As for her music, Olivia is a jazz singer and recently made a debut with her single ‘Shade of Red’ earlier this year. Per notion, her style is “a fusion of classic Motown influences and modern sensibilities”.

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Of her newest release, Olivia shared: “I wanted to capture that feeling of being utterly consumed by something you know you shouldn’t want, yet can’t escape… There’s a raw, almost frantic energy in it—the way desire twists into something darker, something that haunts you.”

Her track ‘You’ll Just Have To Do,’ appeared on Radio 1 BBC Introducing, while her track ‘She Knows’ enjoyed success on BBC Radio Merseyside.

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James’ career and private life

The actor has appeared in a plethora of notable shows including the likes of ITV’s Little Boy Blue, Stephen Merchant’s The Outlaws and Martin Freeman’s The Responder. He’s also had roles in Industry and The Gold.

He’s previously credited fellow actor Stephen Graham with kick-starting his career. During a chat with Radio Times, he said: “Growing up, I didn’t know a single actor. The people in my life were brickies, builders, people who wanted to be footballers and boxers. It wasn’t until I saw Stephen on telly and he had an accent like mine that I realised it was achievable. It was that thing of, if you see it, then you can believe it.”

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He added: “I know how lucky I am. I’ve got parents who’ve worked all their lives, slogged and slogged, and their son says, ‘I think I want to have a go with this acting.’ And their response was, ‘OK, son, go do it.'”