Netflix is gearing up for the release of Black Doves this week, starring acclaimed English actress Sarah Lancashire as a high-ranking spy. Born in Urmston and raised in Oldham, Lancashire, Sarah-Jane Abigail Lancashire, who is now 60, comes from a family with a strong television background.
Her dad, Geoffrey Lancashire, was a noted TV scriptwriter known for his work on Coronation Street and The Cuckoo Waltz. While her mum, Hilda, supported him as his personal assistant.
Geoffrey launched his career in journalism before moving to Granada Television where he authored continuity scripts, passing away in October 2004.
Sarah hails from a family of four kids, including an older brother, a younger one, and her twin brother. Sharing her bond with her twin in a Sunday Mirror interview, she remarked: “My twin is a doctor and I drive him mad, but he makes me see the funny side of things.”
She confided that self-doubt has been a lifelong companion, contrasting herself with her intellectually inclined siblings: “I have always suffered from low self-belief,” she admitted. “My three brothers were all quite intellectual, while I was a bit dippy as a child. I just went round singing, `La, la, la,’ and doing handstands. The best my mother hoped for me was that I would meet a nice man, settle down and have children.”
Despite her perceived flightiness as a child, Sarah became a dedicated mother to three children and endured the breakdown of her decade-long marriage to music lecturer Gary Hargreaves, who was 11 years her senior and the father of two of her sons, Tom and Matthew, subsequent to meeting him at the young age of 18, marking her first significant relationship.
Sarah has openly acknowledged that the primary responsibility for raising her children falls on her shoulders, saying it’s “mostly down to [her]”.
She tied the knot with TV producer Peter Salmon in a low-key ceremony in Nottinghamshire back in 2001.
Peter popped the question during a trip to New York earlier that same year, marking the start of their relationship which began in the summer of 2000.
Their paths had crossed years before when she was playing Raquel in Coronation Street and he was working for the production company behind the show.
In March 2003, Sarah welcomed her third son, Joseph, into the world and has always put motherhood before her acting career.
“To my children I am a mum. I am nothing more. I am a mum who happens to work on television, which they have been used to since they were born, so there’s no big deal,” she has stated.
Her role as a mother has been a stabilising force in her life, especially after battling depression and experiencing a nervous breakdown during her time on Corrie.
Black Doves airs on Netflix on December 5