Sarah Lancashire, best known from the British series Happy Valley, is a super popular actress who hates publicity.
7.5. 14:45
Happy Valley, the award-winning British star of series Sarah Lancashire, 58, never wanted to be in the limelight, although she was introduced to the glamor of the TV world as a child.
Lancashire’s father Geoffrey and mother Hilda worked as scriptwriters and secretaries at Granada Television. Sara also thought that she would rather be behind the scenes than in front of the camera.
It wasn’t until the age of 18 that he became interested in acting and luckily got an opportunity to study this field. Early in his career, Lancashire took roles in theater and taught acting.
At 22, Sarah became pregnant and married Gary Hargreaves, who was 11 years her senior.
Lancashire later stated that she married only because she did not want to be tainted by giving birth to her son out of wedlock. The couple’s second son was born two years later in 1989.
Sarah’s father wrote the script for the popular soap Coronation Street, in which the 23-year-old appeared in a cameo in 1987.
A subsequent role in the 1990s as Raquel in the series made Lancashire a popular TV face, with whom she became recognizable on the street.
– I heard someone calling my name. It was terrible, absolutely terrible. It felt like a violation of my boundaries, he told The Telegraph in 2018.
Sarah Lancashire’s most recent work includes the HBO Max series Julia (2022–), in which she portrays cooking show pioneer Julia Child. Photo: HBO Max
Lancashire, who is very particular about her privacy, has mostly stayed out of the public eye.
I’ve learned that it’s possible to be as clueless as you want to be. It’s a choice, and I’ve gotten pretty good at being anonymous.
A few years after appearing on Coronation Street, Lancashire suffered a depression-related nervous breakdown. He didn’t talk about his situation at work, but continued to work.
One reason for Lancashire’s position was a failed marriage. The couple divorced in 1995, as “10 years of marriage had already lasted 10 years too long”.
For the next five years, Sarah focused on medicine.
He remained celibate, went to therapy and took antidepressants. Despite challenges in his personal life, his career continued to skyrocket. Her status as a super popular TV face was confirmed by her role as a nurse in the series Sydän päkkäva from 1997 to 2006.
In 2000, Lancashire made an extraordinary deal. ITV channel wanted the actor to commit to their productions only for two years. The £1.3 million deal made Sarah the highest paid actress on British television.
In August 2001, Lancashire married TV boss Peter Salmon. She gave birth to their third son in 2003.
In 2004, Lancashire made his directorial debut with the anthology series The Afternoon Play, for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best New Director.
Last Tango in the Halifax series stars Sarah Lancashire, Anne Reid, Derek Jacobi and Nicola Walker. Photo: Album / Entertainment Pictures / Zuma / MV Photos
In the series Last Tango in Halifax (2012–2020), Lancashire played Caroline, a woman he is dating, which generated an exceptionally good audience response.
The series’ producer, Sally Wainwright, was so impressed with Lancashire’s performance that she signed her up for the lead role as Chief Constable Catherine Dawood in the recently concluded dark-tone hit series Happy Valley (2014–2023) on TV1 .
Lancashire has been awarded for an influential role in the BAFTA.
Happy Valley, the Valley of Shadows series (three seasons) can be seen at Yale Arena.
