The latest and final series of Happy Valley has left viewers on the edge of their seats as it returns after years off the air.
Sarah Lancashire plays Catherine Cawood, a police community officer for the West Yorkshire Police Department, in the BBC cop drama. The third season sees Catherine discover the remains of a gangland murder victim in a drained reservoir, which sets off a chain of events and leads her to Tommy Lee Royce, the man who raped her daughter.
Following the gritty drama, many fans are concerned that a throwaway scene could hint towards the demise of a fan-favourite character. Fans have picked up on the frequent references to Catherine's upcoming retirement, which they worry hints at her death in the upcoming season finale.
But, what do we know about the show's lead actress? Here, we take a look at Sarah's life outside the show, reports the Mirror.
TV links before fame
Sarah had links to the TV industry before finding fame herself, as her father Geoffrey Lancashire, who died in 2004, was a TV script writer. During his career, he wrote 171 episodes for ITV soap Coronation Street and penned other TV series including Inheritance, Shabby Tiger, and The Cuckoo Waltz.
Meanwhile, Sarah's mum Hilda worked as his personal assistant.
TWO Coronation Street roles
Before her best-known role in Happy Valley, Sarah marked the start of her career on stage instead of on screen. She said "the start of her career as an actor" came after she took part in two plays with the Manchester Library Theatre Company.
In 1987 she went on to make a brief appearance in Coronation Street as Wendy Farmer, a nurse and prospective lodger for the Duckworths. Four years later, Sarah returned to the soap in a new role January 1991 as Raquel Wolstenhulmer.
She played the dizzy shop worker role at Weatherfield's Bettabuy supermarket. Sarah's character was only supposed to be in a few episodes, but her portrayal of Raquel cemented her as a fan favourite among viewers.
Sarah's mental health
Despite finding success in her career, Sarah was struggling with her mental health at the time and battled depression behind the scenes.
Recalling her breakdown while playing Raquel on Corrie, she told The Scotsman in 2004: "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.
"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."
She added: "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 b****y 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."
The actress then sought help after her mother encouraged her to see a doctor and credits getting help to get "her life back".
Love life and TV boss husband
Sarah has been married twice and tied the knot with her first husband at just 22-years-old. She revealed that her marriage to husband Gary Hargreaves came as she refused to have a child out of wedlock.
"I got married only because I was pregnant," Sarah explained to the The Telegraph. "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."
The couple were married for a decade, but later split in 1995. She said: "My marriage lasted for 10 years, which was 10 years longer than it should have done. It was tough."
The actress shares sons Thomas and Matthew with her first husband.
Sarah later remarried TV executive Peter Salmon, in a low-key ceremony at Langar Hall in Nottinghamshire in 2001. The couple share their son Joseph together.
As well as her own children, Sarah is also a step mum to Peter's three sons from his previous marriage to Penny Watt.
40-year-long friendship with co-star Siobhan Finneran
Sarah has been good pals with her friend Siobhan Finnerman long before the two worked together on Happy Valley.
Siobhan, 56, previously discussed her friendship with Sarah as she told The Guardian: "God, decades. We first met when I was 17. She’s a couple of years older and was doing this brilliant theatre studies course at Oldham College, which I’d applied to.
"Sarah and some other students performed at the open day. We met then and eventually did a play together. We’ve both got a slightly warped sense of humour and we both like a cake.
"It’s always a joy to work with another actress who actually eats cake."
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