Sharon Horgan ‘is dating actor Barry Ward and visited him on the set of his new series – after splitting from The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess’

The Motherland creator, 52, has been spending more and more time with Barry in recent weeks, after they worked together on shows including Dating Amber and Bad Sisters.

Sources have also revealed that Sharon has even visited Barry on the set of his new TV drama Trespasses.

The Bad Sisters star previously tied the knot with Jeremy Rainbird back in 2005, staying with the businessman for 14 years until they split in 2019, and went onto date Tim for two years before they split earlier this year. 

An insider told The Sun: ‘Sharon is flying high in her career but her personal life is just as hot. After things fizzled out with Tim, she caught the eye of Barry.

‘They have worked on a few shows together, including Dating Amber and Bad Sisters, and they have been spending more time together recently.

‘Everyone around them has commented on their chemistry, and Sharon and Barry certainly seem to be enjoying spending time together.’

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Sharon Horgan and Barry Ward for comment. 

Barry’s new TV show, Trespasses is also set to star X Files legend Gillian Anderson, and offers a new take on religious tensions in Northern Ireland in the Seventies, focusing on a Catholic teacher and Protestant solicitor who fall in love.

Following her divorce from Jeremy in 2019, Sharon grew close to musician Tim three years ago, but in recent months decided to end their romance and remain good pals. 

Sharon recently admitted she wished she had ended her marriage earlier because ‘it was so clear that it wasn’t right’.

The creator of a string of hit relationship-based series such as Pulling, Catastrophe and Divorce told the How to Fail podcast: ‘I guess it was one of those things that was a long time coming.

‘And I feel like it’s weirdly connected to confidence as well, or also that thing of what you should do versus what your body tells you and your brain tells you that you ought to do.

‘It’s like the Catastrophe story. We got together, we had a baby, and we made it work for a long time. We had another baby, and he was involved in the business. But there came a point where it was so clear that it wasn’t right for either of us.

‘I don’t know whether it’s being slightly a bit Catholic – some of that stuff still being in me was just that idea of not getting divorced. You don’t get divorced. Just stay in it – it’s so much harder to go through all that, to go through a divorce.’

Talking about her current mood on the show, she added: ‘It’s an odd one because I’ve never been happier, but I’m still angry at myself – not really for the failure of the marriage, but for not figuring it out earlier.

‘It’s so destructive. You get one life and that’s an awful lot of time to spend on something that’s not working.

‘I don’t know what kind of conditioning it is that got so in the way of what my instinct was, and what would have been good for everyone. It is being harsh but I feel like I kind of deserve it.

‘So it’s a weird one. Yes it failed, but it had such a positive impact on my life. The stuff that’s less fun is the business of divorce. It’s debilitating, time-consuming, money draining. It’s not fun for anyone.’

Discussing co-parenting her daughters Sadhbh, 21, and Amer, 16, the award-winning writer and actress said: ‘There’s no co-parenting. Just me, it’s just me. It was more like how it impacted when we told the girls.

‘I have this recurring image of my youngest daughter on her own crying. When she was crying with us we were able to talk and talk it out and explain how it was going to be, but she left and went into another room. That’s going to stay with me forever.

‘What I’d lost sight of was how important it was for them to see a working relationship, a healthy working relationship.’

Sharon also spoke about her divorce from her husband last year and how it has ‘changed’ her life, telling Red Magazine she felt ‘scared’ separating at first, but that she is much happier now.

She told the publication: ‘I found it scary at first, but it’s just about learning to do things in a slightly different way.

‘Everything I was relying on another person for, I was then able – for the most part – to teach myself. I’m not saying I don’t have help around me – it’s a big old thing I’m running here – but learning how to do things I was scared of has made my life richer.

‘I feel more in control and more independent. I certainly feel happier than I have been in the last few years.’

Sharon also went on to speak about the ‘shame’ surrounding divorce, saying it shouldn’t be the case because it can be a life-changing decision.

‘Divorce can be a really helpful, handy thing that can change your life,’ she said. ‘There’s a lot of shame attached to the failure of a relationship, and that shouldn’t be the case.’