Siobhan McGovern/Bandele (Alison Coffey) 2001

First Regular Appearance: 4.13 (#215)  Sunday 7th January 2001

Last Regular Appearance: 4.26 (#228)  Sunday 15th April 2001

Duration: EP: 215 - 228  |  SE: 4.13 – 4.26 

Last Seen: Sharing a first proper kiss with Monday after Harchester's Champions League qualification. Later leaves him in a letter.

Siobhan came from Northern Ireland, before heading south to Dublin where she found a job in a four-star hotel as a chambermaid. It was just an ordinary day in January 2001 when a trio from Harchester United in the English Premiership checked into the hotel, Siobhan not knowing the affect their arrival would have on her life. Agent Jeff Stein and his daughter Tash Parker were in Dublin to obtain a work permit for Nigerian striker Monday Bandele, only Monday is not eligible, and they realise the next best way of getting him this permit is for him to marry an EU citizen. Tash gets to know Siobhan at the hotel and thinks she may be the perfect candidate, persuading her that a much more exciting life would await her as the new Mrs Bandele, and it works when Siobhan and Monday make it to the alter.

The two settle into married life in Harchester as best they can, but are tested immediately when Monday's real fiancée from back home, Lola arrives. Obviously, she is not happy about the marriage to Siobhan, and Monday stays with Lola for the night to prove his commitment to her. There is a close shave when Monday has to make it back to Siobhan the next day, when immigration offers pay a visit. Siobhan gives a convincing performance as the genuine Mrs Bandele, and Monday's position at Harchester is safe once more, though his relationship with Lola doesn't survive in the long run.

Siobhan's friendships with the other Harchester wives help her get by in her new arranged marriage life. She is also a good confidant to Lynda when she is unsure whether to keep the baby she is carrying by the married Ray Wyatt. Siobhan reveals she had an abortion because she felt unready for motherhood at a young age, but would want a baby before it's too late, which convinces Lynda to keep her baby. Lynda however, suffers a miscarriage, and Siobhan is there to console her in the immediate aftermath. When Siobhan hears nothing from her family on her twentieth birthday, she knows it is because they aren't happy with her unconventional marriage to Monday.

As the team qualifies for their first ever Champions League, Siobhan requests the Caribbean for she and Monday to have their honeymoon at last. Over the summer, Siobhan becomes increasingly lonely in Harchester. Her friends depart one by one to new clubs, notably Lizzie to Bolton while Lynda leaves for Mallorca. With things still not right with her family, and knowing she and Monday would never be a proper couple, Siobhan waits until Monday leaves to prepare for an international game in Nigeria before making her getaway. Monday returns having picked up an injury and is concerned that Siobhan didn't come to meet him, and with Tash, finds a letter waiting for him at the house. Monday is sad at Siobhan's departure, and the beginning of another of his complicated relationships, this time with Tash, begins soon after.