Sarah Lancashire

Sarah Lancashire
Born	(1964-10-10) 10 October 1964 Oldham, Lancashire, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1988-present
Spouse(s)	Peter Salmon (2001-present) Gary Hargreaves (1985-1995)

Sarah Lancashire (born 1964) is an English actress, probably best recognised for her role as Raquel Watts in Coronation Street. She has been nominated for two BAFTA TV Awards and an Olivier Award.

Early life

Born 10 October 1964 in Oldham, Lancashire, she graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1986.

Television

Lancashire's first recurring television role is still her best known. She played barmaid Raquel Watts in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street from 1991 to 1996, reappearing for one last episode in 1999. Raquel was a sweet, if somewhat dippy character, who was a firm favourite with viewers of the long running show. She had previously appeared on the programme in November 1987 playing Wendy Farmer. In late 1991 she also had a guest appearance in The Bill.

After leaving Coronation Street, rather than struggle to find work in other shows after playing such a well-known character (a fate that has befallen many soap opera actors), Lancashire worked in a number of high profile series. From 1997 to 1999 she played Ruth Goddard in the ITV drama series Where The Heart Is, and in 1999 she appeared in the BBC sitcom Murder Most Horrid, which also starred comedienne Dawn French.

Lancashire has appeared in the BBC Radio 4 legal sitcom Chambers which later moved onto television. In 2000, she starred in the drama Seeing Red, portraying actress Coral Atkins, who founded a care home for children. and won two British television industry awards as a result. In 2001 she went on to star in the acclaimed BBC drama series Clocking Off, a role that saw her win the Best Actress award at the Television and Radio Industry Club Awards. Lancashire has continued to work regularly since, notably in a BBC drama portraying Angela Cannings, a British woman who was convicted of killing her two baby sons but was released when medical evidence given at her trial was deemed dubious. She has recently appeared in two series of the ITV1 drama series Rose and Maloney as Rose Linden opposite Phil Davis as Marion Maloney.

In 2002, she played the role of Meg Bartlet in the psychological thriller tele-movie The Cry. Her character Meg, a social worker grieving the stillbirth of her daughter, befriends a woman called Christine whose baby daughter Eleanor suffers from breathing problems. Gradually, Meg becomes convinced the child is being abused and eventually abducts her after the claims make headline news. Changing her car and appearance and using the name Annie Lomax, she heads to Cheshire where Christine used to live, determined to prove that Eleanor's mother is guilty of abuse.

In September 2006, she starred in a BBC comedy drama Angel Cake, and in 2007 she played Mary Miles in the E4 teen Comedy/Drama Skins. In April 2008, she appeared in "Partners in Crime", the opening episode of the 2008 series of Doctor Who, as "Miss Foster, an enigmatic and powerful businesswoman". She also narrates the BBC drama series Lark Rise to Candleford. Filmed in August to December 2008, Lancashire stars in All the Small Things alongside Neil Pearson and Richard Fleeshman. She plays Esther Caddick, a full-time mother and choir member in the short TV series Heart and Soul.

In Spring 2010 Lancashire portrayed the mother of murdered prostitute Anneli Alderton in the BBC Drama Five Daughters. At the time, she was listed as the highest paid actress in British television. Further, she plays fellow servant and love interest of the butler Mr Pritchard in Upstairs Downstairs in 2010.

In September 2012, Lancashire appeared in the role of Miss Audrey in the BBC period drama series The Paradise.

In November 2012, she appeared alongside Derek Jacobi, Anne Reid and Nicola Walker, in the BBC original drama Last Tango in Halifax.

Stage

On 5 December 2005, she returned to the West End stage to play Miss Adelaide in the Donmar Warehouse production of Guys and Dolls at the Piccadilly Theatre. Her taking over from Jane Krakowski coincided with Nigel Harman's taking over of the role of Sky Masterson from Ewan McGregor. Lancashire suffered a reported chest infection and was forced to leave the production officially on 7 February 2006 having not performed since the matinee performance on 4 January 2006.

Lancashire's last role to date was that of Joyce Chilvers in the new Cameron Macintosh production of Betty Blue Eyes, which ran in the Novello Theatre in London until September 2011.

Directing and presenting

In 2005, Lancashire made her directorial debut on an episode of the BBC series The Afternoon Play and was nominated for the Best New Director award at the BAFTA television awards.

In 2006 she presented an edition of the Five documentary social heritage series Disappearing Britain in which she interviewed people with memories of Wakes Week holidays in Blackpool by Cotton mill workers in the early 20th Century. It included an investigation of her own family history and holidays by her great grandfather Tom Lancashire in Llandudno.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
1996	National TV Award	Most Popular Actress	Coronation Street	Nominated
1998	National TV Award	Most Popular Actress	Where the Heart is	Nominated
2000	National TV Award	Most Popular Actress	Seeing Red	Won
2005	BAFTA TV Award	Best New Director (fiction)	Viva Las Blackpool (BBC Afternoon Play)	Nominated
2012	Olivier Award	Best Actress in a Musical	Betty Blue Eyes	Nominated
2013	BAFTA TV Award	Best Supporting Actress	Last Tango in Halifax	Nominated

Personal life

Lancashire is the daughter of the television scriptwriter Geoffrey Lancashire (1933–2004), who wrote several hundred episodes of Coronation Street. She is married to the television producer Peter Salmon, with whom she has a son. She also has two sons from a previous marriage.

External links

• Sarah Lancashire at IMDb