Sarah Lancashire
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Sarah Lancashire (born October 10, 1964) is an English actress. She was born in the town of Oldham, in Lancashire, England and graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1986. She is married to the television producer Peter Salmon, with whom she has a son. She also has two sons from a previous marriage.
Lancashire's first television role is still her most famous to date. She played barmaid Raquel Watts in the top rated ITV1 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.
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 and has built a reputation as one of British television's most respected actresses. She has shed the image of the Raquel Watts character with varied roles and has consequently avoided being typecast.
From 1997 to 1999 she played Ruth Goddard in the ITV1 drama series Where The Heart Is.
In 1999 Lancashire appeared in the BBC sitcom Murder Most Horrid, which also starred comedienne Dawn French. Lancashire also 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.
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 Elanor 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, 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 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.
On 5 December 2005, she returned to the West End stage to play Miss Adelaide in the Donmar Warehouse production of Guys and Dolls currently playing 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. Unfortunately, Sarah 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.
In September 2006, Sarah starred in a BBC comedy drama Angel Cake.
Sarah Lancashire's most recent appearance in 2007 has been Mary Miles in the E4 teen Comedy/Drama Skins,
