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. 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.
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. 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.
Selected filmography Year Title Role Notes 2011–2013 EastEnders Nurse Green 4 episodes 2015–2018 Scream Street Cleo Farr 20 episodes 2018 Click and Collect Toy shop assistant TV movie 2019 Cold Feet Gemma Murphy 1 episode 2019–2020 Go Jetters Tala (voice) 30 episodes 2020 G-Loc Ohsha Film 2020–2024 McDonald & Dodds DCI Lauren McDonald Series regular 2025 Death in Paradise Kelly Herbert 1 episode
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