14 May 2023 , 17:00
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The BAFTA Television Awards return tonight with comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan hosting this year's star-studded ceremony.
The nation's sweetheart Sarah Lancashire has been nominated for Leading Actress, but not for her stellar leading role in Happy Valley, but for her portrayal in Julia - Sky Atlantic's biopic of cooking icon Julia Child.
The much-loved BBC police drama returned earlier this year after a seven-year hiatus and while the third and final series was a huge hit, tonight's award show is set to honour the very best of TV of 2022.
Sarah, who has been hailed as the UK's 'Meryl Streep' thanks to her gripping portrayal of Catherine Cawood, won a BAFTA in 2017 for the role.
Sarah as Catherine Cawood in Happy Valley (BBC/Red Productions/Ben Blackall)She could well do the same tonight for her state-side performance in Julia, which tells the story of how Child revolutionised both the kitchen and television in the early 1960s.
Sarah Lancashire feared telling TV bosses about 'debilitating depression battle'
After first rising to fame in Coronation Street, the former soap star has come a long way in showbiz from her humble beginnings in Oldham, Greater Manchester.
Sarah has been married twice - first marrying music lecturer Gary Hargreaves, who is 11 years her senior, at the age of just 22.
They had two children together, Thomas and Matthew, before splitting after a decade in 1995.
The actress previously admitted in an interview with The Telegraph that she only married to not have a child out of wedlock.
"I got married only because I was pregnant," Sarah explained.
Sarah Lancashire, winner of the Leading Actress award for Happy Valley in 2017 (WireImage)
Gary Hargreaves and Sarah Lancashire (Williams Neville)"Simple as that. I am a very traditional girl and was horrified at the thought of having a child out of wedlock."
And being married at such a young age took a toll on their relationship, as Sarah revealed it was 'tough'.
The 58-year-old added: "My marriage lasted for 10 years, which was 10 years longer than it should have done. It was tough."
Sarah joined Coronation Street in 1991 as the iconic character Raquel Watts, who she played until November 1996, but did return for one episode in January 2000.
It was here where she met her second husband, Peter Salmon, who at the time worked as one of the show's producers at Granada Studios.
Inside Happy Valley Ryan actor Rhys Connah’s life away from hit show
Sarah married the TV producer in 2001 (PA Archive/Press Association Images)
The pair have one son together (PA)They started dating and later got engaged during a 2001 trip to New York, before then marrying in the same year in a low-key ceremony at Langar Hall in Nottinghamshire.
The couple, who have now been together for more than two decades, share son Joseph, now 20.
The family moved south and now live in a £3million five-bedroom house on a quiet road in the South-West London enclave of Twickenham.
Sarah is also a step mum to Peter's three sons from his previous marriage to Penny Watt.
Formerly the Director of BBC Studios, and the Chief Creative Officer of the Endemol Shine Group, Peter, 66, is now the Executive Chairman of Banijay UK.