Sarah Parish returned to our screens in Piglets on ITV over the summer, comedy that some had labelled “offensive” even before it got a start date.
And while the actress made her name in the likes of romcoms such as Cutting It, and Hearts & Bones, she’s also played a serial killer in Bancroft, a sexual abuser in Industry, and a witch in Atlantis… There’s no typecasting her!
In real life, Sarah has endured more tragedy than most have to deal with in a lifetime. But she’s faced it with her long-term partner, now husband, who’s also a top TV actor.
Here’s everything you need to know about Sarah Parish, her career, family life, and the horror fall that left her in a wheelchair.
Who plays Superintendent Julie Spry in Piglets?
Actress Sarah Parish portrays Superintendent Julie Spry in Piglets, a new comedy from ITV. And, that’s a wig, incase you were wondering!
The series follows a fresh intake of police trainees as they arrive at Norbourne Police Training College. No-nonsense Superintendent Julie Spry and the less-strict Superintendent Bob Weekes (Mark Heap) have the job of overseeing the training of the new recruits.
All of the rookies have motives for being there, but some are more legitimate than others…
A synopsis from ITV1 says: “The government’s stated policy of recruiting 20,000 new police officers in double quick time has not come at the cost of lowering standards. Or has it?
“Set in a fictional police training college, Piglets is about a newly-recruited group of six very different would-be cops and the handful of key staff whose thankless task it is to knock them into some kind of shape.”
From the writing team behind the excellent Green Wing, Piglets already managed to cause controversy. The Police Federation called for the title of to be changed, saying it was “highly offensive” and a “disgusting choice”.
Of course, the word pigs is a slang, and insulting, nickname for the police. Piglets, in turn, is a reference to trainee police.
What else has Sarah Parish been in?
Sarah Parish is a well liked TV, film and theatre actress. She’s been on our screens ever since 1994, when she made her first ever TV appearance in The Bill, playing Linda Fincham in one episode.
She went on to play Dawn Rudge in Peak Practice, Amanda Thomas in Damian Lewis‘ romantic drama Hearts & Bones, and Allie Henshall in the popular Amanda Holden drama Cutting It.
Other notable roles include Annie Naylor in Trust opposite Robson Green, Natalie Holden in Blackpool, and Lady Catrina in Merlin. Between 2008 and 2010, Sarah portrayed Dr. Katie Roden in Mistresses, before moving on to play Regan Hamleigh in The Pillars of the Earth, Levicy Hatfield in Hatfields & McCoys, and Jenny Bremner in Monroe.
She played Margaret Dalton in Breathless, Pasiphae in Atlantis, Marjorie Stutter in The Collection, and suspect Cath Atwood in Broadchurch.
Between 2015 and 2018, Sarah portrayed Cheryl in the supermarket-based comedy Trollied, before doing something totally different – playing Lucrezia de’ Medici in Medici.
She famously starred as DSU Elizabeth Bancroft – a senior detective who was also a serial killer – in the dark thriller of the same name. For six years, between 2014 and 2010, she played Anna Rampton in the comedy W1A. More recently, she’s portrayed Melissa in The Cockfields, Lorraine Griggs in Harlan Coben thriller Stay Close, Nicole Craig in Industry, and Jude Paignton in Geek Girl.
She’s a film star, too
Sarah has also appeared in multiple films, including The Holiday, The Wedding Date, Aftersun, and Sirens.
And she’s on Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh on Sunday (November 3).
Is Sarah Parish in Industry?
Sarah Parish played the Alpha Female Nicole Craig in Industry on BBC One. Nicole was involved in one of the show’s most shocking scenes – when she committed a sexual assault in the back of a taxi.
The HBO show, produced by Girls creator Lena Dunham, starred a glossy crop of previously unknown actors opposite well-known faces Sarah Parish and Derek Riddell.
The series follows graduate recruits at a London investment bank who have six months to prove themselves before half of them are fired. Uncomfortable scenes include nightclub excesses, trading floor bullying, sex and sexual harassment.
Who is Sarah Parish married to?
Sarah Parish is married to English actor James Murray. The pair wed on December 15, 2007, in Hampshire surrounded by friends and family. The cast of Cutting It were present, including her real life mates Amanda Holden, and Angela Griffin.
They met on the set of Cutting It in 2004, where he played Liam Carney. James is probably best known for his roles in Primeval, Chaos, Cucumber, and Defiance.
Between 2020 and 2021, he portrayed CS John Houseman in McDonald & Dodds. He’s also famous for playing Prince Andrew in The Crown, and Col. ‘Chick’ Harding in the recent hit drama Masters of the Air.
James and Sarah have appeared together on screen in several TV shows. As well as Cutting It, they both starred in Geek Girl in 2024.
They continue to live in Hampshire with their daughter.
Does Piglets actress Sarah Parish have children?
A year after getting married to James Murray, Sarah fell pregnant with their first child, who was due on Sarah’s 40th birthday. However, their happiness was tragically cut short. Ella-Jayne was born with a rare genetic disease called Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome.
Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome caused a large hole in her heart and a defective heart valve. Sadly, Ella-Jayne died in 2009, eight months after she was born.
As a result of their tragedy, Sarah and James continue to raise funds for the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Southampton General Hospital in their daughter’s memory. They have raised millions so far and plan to raise even more. They also set up their own charity.
Sarah and James welcomed their second daughter on November 21, 2009, whom they named Nell.
Did Sarah Parish lose a child?
Actress Sarah Parish and her husband Jamie Murray tragically lost their first daughter, Ella-Jayne, when she was just eight months old in January 2009.
Ella-Jayne was born with a serious heart defect and spent the first four months of life in intensive care.
Talking about the grief she felt after her daughter’s death, Sarah told The Guardian: “Grief is a personal thing. Jim and I knew we had to deal with Ella-Jayne’s death in our own way.
“So we went to Cambodia to work in an orphanage for a couple of months, and then we set up a charity, the Murray Parish Trust.”
During an appearance on This Morning, Sarah added: “When Ella-Jayne passed, we felt we couldn’t walk away from the hospital without giving something back to the surgeons and doctors and nurses and all the incredible people that helped us and her so much.
“And so we started doing a couple of sponsored walks, and a cake bake sale… And then, 10 years later, we’ve turned into a full-time charity.”
Reflecting on how the charity has helped raised 0ver £5 million, Sarah smiled modestly: “It has snowballed, somewhat.”
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Loss of her baby daughter almost ended her marriage
The Broadchurch star also revealed that the loss of her baby daughter almost ended her marriage.
Writing in the Daily Mail, she said: “Such an incredible loss inevitably puts an enormous strain on a relationship because people grieve in different ways.
“It would take the most emotionally mature people to be able to cope in that situation, and to comfort one another in the correct way. I can only say now, eight years later, that I’m not sure we were able to do that at the time.”
She added: “We have made mistakes and done things that don’t work for each other – and you either end up together, or you don’t.”
Sarah said they might not still be together if they hadn’t created a charity, the Murray Parish Trust, in memory of their daughter.
She wrote: “It has given us something to focus on and it has most definitely been good for our relationship. I hope that by speaking out now, I may help other couples who find themselves in that same sad position, and that something positive might come out of something so tragic.”
How old is Piglets actress Sarah Parish? Where is she from?
Sarah Parish was born on June 7, 1968, in Yeovil, Somerset, to Bill and Thelma Parish.
She is currently 56 years of age.
The Piglets star has a sister, Julie, and a musician brother John Parish.
Has Sarah done Strictly?
Industry star Sarah Parish has revealed she turned down the chance to compete on Strictly Come Dancing – because it would “send her over the edge”.
The actress actually grew up wanting to be a dancer, but it seems like donning the fake tan and sparkles for the BBC competition is a step too far.
In a new interview with The Telegraph, she explained: “I think Strictly’s great. But I can’t even go to a celebrity party, so having to do a celebrity dance in spandex every week would send me over the edge.”
What accident was Piglets star Sarah Parish in?
Sarah Parish often shares her various mishaps and injuries with her social media followers. Including breaking her leg when sledging in the snow in March 2018.
In 2021, she broke her back on holiday. She was left with several injuries, including a broken rib and a fractured spine. Sarah was rushed to a local hospital in Turkey following the fall.
She explained that, as she was shooting Industry at the time, she was able to continue filming. She told The Guardian: “I broke my back in 2021. I was shooting Industry and luckily, I was usually sitting at a table in a restaurant, having a go at someone, so I could do that with a back brace on.”
However, Sarah went on to describe another injury that left her in a wheelchair and with “a bad depression”. She said: “In 2022, I had another very bad accident and I broke both my ankles. I had multiple calcaneal [heel bone] fractures. I jumped from a quite a high height off a fence. So yeah, I’ve got a terrible habit of breaking bones.”
‘Very, very blue’
Talking about the aftermath of the injury, in which she was stuck at home for three months, Sarah added: “It was a tough old time. I run a charity with my husband, the Murray Parish Trust, and we had a campaign called Hares of Hampshire. So if I had to do anything for that, like public speaking, I had an electric wheelchair that I could buzz around in, like a really bad Bond villain.
“But after that, I fell into a bad depression. The reality of what happened had really sunk. So there were a couple of very, very blue weeks.”
Read more: Sarah Parish hits back after furious This Morning fans accuse her of ‘breaking lockdown rules’
Catch Sarah Parish on Love Your Weekend on Sunday November 3 at 9.30am on ITV1.
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