Spinster O'Brien would make a great love story, says Downton Abbey's Siobhan Finneran

Sarah O’Brien the mean lady’s maid on a date – with Joseph Molesley the butler? The very rafters of Downton Abbey would rock - and Siobhan Finneran would love it.

The actress behind Lady Grantham’s spinster servant has admitted that she wants to see her alter ego find love – and that she and Kevin Doyle, the actor behind Molesley, have been jokingly setting up their two characters.

“O’Brien with a boyfriend would be stupendous!” Finneran told the Radio Times. “Who would be brave enough to take her on a date?

"Kevin Doyle, who plays Molesley, and I are always speculating what our characters would be like on a date - it would be hilarious.”

The 46-year-old actress said she had invented a back story for O’Brien saying “I believe that at some point she has had some damage done to her”.

But she admitted that her version of O’Brien’s past hasn’t always matched up with creator Julian Fellowes’s storylines. “The fact that she had a nephew and family she cared about came as a bit of a surprise,” she said.

The Benidorm star said she relished playing the most-hated character on the ITV1 period drama. “I love O’Brien the most when she’s spiteful and has a brilliant put-down. She’s a clever lady and a bad enemy to make.”