Sarah Lancashire is back in her lead role as Catherine Cawood in the BBC drama Happy Valley. The 58-year-old has had a very successful career - at one point she was the highest-paid TV actress in the UK and has spoken openly about her mental health while in the spotlight.
Sarah famously played Raquel Wolstenhulme in the ITV soap Coronation Street from 1991 to 1996 and again in 2000 and it was her breakthrough role. Despite succeeding on the screen, Sarah was secretly deeply struggling with her mental health and depression.
Speaking to The Scotsman Sarah said she was on medication and considered taking her own life twice. The only people who knew she was struggling were her family as she never told anyone at Coronation Street and continued to show up to work every day.
READ MORE: BBC Happy Valley: What happened in series one and two of the Sarah Lancashire drama?
She said: "In my early days, depression did inhibit me because I was too debilitated and terrified to tell anyone why I couldn’t get on a train from Manchester for auditions in London," she says. "I fully believed I’d lose work if I admitted to it. Tranquillisers were the worst thing for it and I ended up in a terrible mess. My twenties were a write-off.
"It’s a cruel illness because you can’t see it and you can hide it so well. At least, I can. I’m a genius at hiding it. I think a lot of people are. Actors are bloody marvellous at hiding... My family knew, but I didn’t tell anyone at Coronation Street and I didn’t take any time off. I just battled along, which was the worst thing I could have done. Every day I was hysterical at the thought of getting out of bed, but I made myself do it."
Sarah - who is also famous for Last Tango in Halifax - sought help for her mental health when her mother encouraged her to visit a doctor. She says seeking help "gave me my life back".
When Sarah was 22 she married her first husband Gary Hargreaves out of pressure not to have a child out of wedlock. She told The Telegraph: "I got married only because I was pregnant. Simple as that. I am a very traditional girl and was horrified at the thought of having a child out of wedlock. I didn't want a child of mine to be different or have fingers pointed at."
After struggling with her mental health and her breakdown during Coronation Street, Sarah left her first marriage, as this was also making her unhappy. She said: "My marriage lasted for 10 years, which was 10 years longer than it should have done. It was tough."
In 2000 she started seeing her now husband former director of BBC North and Chief Creative Officer of BBC Vision Peter Salmon. The couple became engaged and married in 2001.
Very happy in her second marriage, Sarah has one son with Peter and two sons from her previous marriage. Happy Valley will return to BBC One on Sunday, January 1 at 9pm.
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