# Sarah Parish

Sarah Parish (born 7 June 1968) is an English actress. She is known for her work on television series including The Pillars of the Earth, Peak Practice, Hearts and Bones, Cutting It, Doctor Who, Mistresses, Merlin, Atlantis, Monroe, HBO's Industry, Stay Close, Trollied, W1A and, as the titular character, Bancroft.

## Early life

Parish was born in Yeovil, Somerset, to Bill and Thelma Parish; she has a sister, Julie, and a brother, musician John Parish. She was educated at the local Preston School and Yeovil College. She began acting at an early age and believes her first stage appearance was aged two in a pantomime in the village of Tintinhull in Somerset, playing the pearl in an oyster. She later attended Yeovil Youth Theatre.

## Career

After training at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in London, her appearance in a cult advert for Manchester-based Boddingtons bitter in 1994 (as Vera, who likes nothing better than "a good rub down with chip fat"), led to a series of roles as Northern women, including Dawn Rudge in Peak Practice (1993), Allie Henshall in Cutting It (2002), Annie Naylor in Trust and Natalie Holden in Blackpool (2004). She starred alongside Debra Messing in the movie The Wedding Date, had a small role in The Holiday, which starred Jude Law, and appeared as the Empress of the Racnoss in the Christmas 2006 Doctor Who episode "The Runaway Bride".
Parish appeared in the one-off drama Recovery. She also starred in the BBC series ShakespeaRe-Told in which she played Beatrice. She returned as GP Katie Roden in series two and three of Mistresses, which debuted on BBC One in February 2009. She played Lady Catrina in the BBC television series Merlin.
In 2011, Parish co-starred in ITV's medical drama Monroe, alongside James Nesbitt. From 2013 to 2015, she appeared in the BBC TV series Atlantis, playing one of the main characters, Pasiphaë. From 2014 to 2017, she played the role of Anna Rampton in three series of the BBC TV comedy W1A. Since November 2015, Parish has portrayed Cheryl Fairweather in Sky One sitcom Trollied.
In December 2017, she played Supt Elizabeth Bancroft in the ITV miniseries Bancroft. The second series was broadcast in January 2020.
In December 2019, she appeared in The Cockfields as Melissa, girlfriend of Nigel Havers' character, Larry. From 2020 to 2024, she has appeared in the HBO/BBC drama Industry. In December 2021, Parish appeared in the Netflix original Stay Close as Lorraine.

### Co-stars

She has frequently co-starred opposite David Tennant — in the 2004 musical serial Blackpool; the Tony Marchant drama Recovery; the 2006 Doctor Who Christmas special episode, "The Runaway Bride"; in the third series of the ITV crime drama Broadchurch; and in the 2017 film You, Me and Him. She has joked: "We're like George and Mildred – in 20 years' time we'll probably be doing a ropey old sitcom in a terraced house in Preston."

## Personal life

Parish married James Murray on 15 December 2007 in Hampshire. It was announced in January 2008 that she was pregnant with their first child, due on Parish's 40th birthday. Their daughter Ella-Jayne was born with Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome and died in 2009. In her memory, Parish and Murray raise funds for the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Southampton General Hospital. As of December 2019, they had raised £5.2 million towards the PICU. Their second daughter, Nell, was born on 21 November 2009.
When asked about her hobbies and interests, Parish cites her vegetable garden.
On 2 March 2018, Parish sustained an accident, breaking her leg when sledging in the snow. She commented: "Note to self: cheap plastic sledges are for sitting in and gently trundling down primary slopes – NOT a substitute for a stand-up snowboard".

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1998 | Middleton's Changeling | Asylum Inmate | |
| 1999 | Parting Shots | Ad Agency Receptionist | |
| 2005 | The Wedding Date | TJ | |
| 2006 | The Holiday | Hannah | |
| 2016 | Dunroamin | Joanna | Short film |
| 2016 | Present | Beth | Short film |
| 2018 | You, Me and Him | Mrs. Jones | |
| 2018 | Bad Apples | Nurse | |
| 2024 | Duino | Didi | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1994 | The Bill | Linda Fincham | Series 10; Episode 134: "Taking Stock" |
| 1997–1999 | Peak Practice | Dawn Rudge | Series 5–8; 33 episodes |
| 1998 | Babes in the Wood | Roxy | Series 1; Episode 4 |
| 2000 | Beast | Helen | Series 1; Episode 5: "Twin Pekes" |
| 2000 | City Central | Karen Ridley | Series 3; Episode 3; "Everything Must Go" |
| 2000 | Brotherly Love | Julia Empthorpe | Episode 2: "Sex and Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll" |
| 2000 | Kiss Me Kate | Liz | Series 3; Episode 2: "Magnolia" |
| 2000–2001 | Hearts and Bones | Amanda Thomas | Series 1 & 2; 13 episodes |
| 2001 | Table 12 | Sharon | Episode 10: "Peripheral Vision" |
| 2001 | Smoke | | Television film |
| 2001 | The Vice | Jane Farrell | Series 3; Episodes 1, 2 & 4 |
| 2002 | Sirens | Ali Pearson | Television film |
| 2002 | Impact | Gaynor Crosswell | 2-part mini-series |
| 2002–2005 | Cutting It | Allie Henshall | Series 1–4; 25 episodes |
| 2003 | Unconditional Love | Lydia Gray | Television film |
| 2003 | Trust | Annie Naylor | Mini-series; Episodes 1–6 |
| 2003 | Reversals | Dr. Charlotte Woods | Television film |
| 2004 | Blackpool | Natalie Holden | Mini-series; Episodes 1–6 |
| 2005 | Monkey Trousers | Various characters | Episode 2 |
| 2005 | ShakespeaRe-Told | Beatrice | Mini-series; Episode 1: "Much Ado About Nothing" |
| 2005 | Our Hidden Lives | Maggie Joy Blunt | Television film |
| 2006 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Evie Ballantine | Series 2; Episode 1: "Sleeping Murder" |
| 2006 | If I Had You | Sharon Myers | Television film |
| 2006 | Girls on the Bus | Cassidy Long | Pilot episode |
| 2006 | Aftersun | Sue | Television film |
| 2006 | Doctor Who | Empress of the Racnoss | Series 3; Episode: "The Runaway Bride" |
| 2007 | Recovery | Tricia Hamilton | Television film |
| 2007 | Director's Debut | Florist | Episode 2: "Baby Boom" (uncredited role, also director) |
| 2007 | Sex, the City and Me | Jess Turner | Television film |
| 2008–2010 | Mistresses | Dr. Katie Roden | Series 1–3; 16 episodes |
| 2009 | Merlin | Lady Catrina | Series 2; Episodes 5 & 6: "Beauty and the Beast: Parts I & II" |
| 2010 | The Pillars of the Earth | Regan Hamleigh | Mini-series; Episodes 1–8 |
| 2011–2012 | Monroe | Jenny Bremner | Series 1 & 2; 12 episodes |
| 2012 | Hatfields & McCoys | Levicy Hatfield | Mini-series; Episodes 1–3 |
| 2013 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Flossie Monro | Series 13; Episode 2: "The Big Four" |
| 2013 | Breathless | Margaret Dalton | Mini-series; Episodes 2–5 |
| 2013–2015 | Atlantis | Pasiphaë | Series 1 & 2; 20 episodes |
| 2014–2020 | W1A | Anna Rampton | Series 1–4; 15 episodes |
| 2015–2018 | Trollied | Cheryl Fairweather | Main role; Series 5–7; 24 episodes |
| 2016 | The Collection | Marjorie Stutter | 5 episodes |
| 2017 | The Keith & Paddy Picture Show | Dana Barrett | Series 1; Episode 2: "Ghostbusters" |
| 2017 | Broadchurch | Cath Atwood | Series 3; Episodes 1–8 |
| 2017–2020 | Bancroft | DSU/DCS Elizabeth Bancroft | Main role; Series 1 & 2; 7 episodes |
| 2018 | The Keith & Paddy Picture Show | Charlie Blackwood | Series 2; Episode 2: "Top Gun" |
| 2018–2019 | Medici | Lucrezia de' Medici | Series 2 & 3; 12 episodes |
| 2019–2021 | The Cockfields | Melissa | Supporting role; Series 1 & 2; 7 episodes |
| 2020–2024 | Industry | Nicole Craig | Series 1–3; 12 episodes |
| 2021 | McDonald & Dodds | Mariel Flynn | Series 2; Episode 3: "The War of Rose" |
| 2021 | Inside No. 9 | Dawn | Series 6; Episode 6: "Last Night of the Proms" |
| 2021 | Stay Close | Lorraine | Mini-series; Episodes 1–8 |
| 2022 | Heathrow: Britain's Busiest Airport | Herself - Narrator | Series 8; Episodes 1–3 |
| 2024 | Piglets | Superintendent Julie Spry | Lead role; Episodes 1–6 |
| 2024 | Geek Girl | Jude Paignton | 8 episodes |
| 2024 | Curfew | DI Pamela Green | Main cast; Episodes 1–6 |
| 2024 | DNA Journey | Herself | Series 5; Episode 3: "James Nesbit and Sarah Parish" |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
| 2003 | National Television Awards | Most Popular Actress | Cutting It | Nominated | |
| 2006 | Gold Derby Awards | TV Movie/Mini Supporting Actress | Blackpool | Nominated | |