When I was on Coronation Street it was phenomenal, declares Sarah Lancashire as Happy Valley bags two epic wins at NTAs
ALL eyes were on Sarah Lancashire at the National Television Awards last night as she bagged multiple awards and paid tribute to her old stomping ground, Coronation Street.
Happy Valley was the big winner of the 2023 NTAs as it scooped up the Best Returning Drama award while its leading lady claimed Best Drama Performance and the Special Recognition award.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the O2 when Sarah, 58, accepted her awards last night, and the Happy Valley star was particularly moved by Sir Ian McKellen’s kind tribute to her as he presented her with the Special Recognition NTA.
Speaking to The Sun after her win, the BBC star admitted she was expecting it at all.
“I’m shell shocked, I’m absolutely shell-shocked and almost speechless,” she said.
After catching her breath, Sarah also paid tribute to her Weatherfield roots, having launched her career on the cobbles of Coronation Street playing Raquel Watts from 1991 to 1996, along with a special return in 2000.
She recalled her time on the soap last night, explaining that it created a solid foundation for her impressive decades-long TV career.
Looking back, she said: “When I was in Coronation Street, we had a phenomenal writing team in the 90s, and every soap evolves every decade and my decade was blessed with Paul Abbott, Sally [Wainwright], Frank [Cottrell-Boyce], Julian [Farino], John Stevenson, [and] the directors that I’ve worked with.
“It’s one of the best training sources in the world, it really is,” Sarah gushed, adding, “the calibre of people that you’re working with and in such an immediate fashion, it’s extraordinary.”
“I’m truly very proud of my years in Coronation Street. I was terribly lucky to work with extraordinary people.”
Sarah also noted that it was an honour to have received her third award from Ian, 84, who she worked with on the TV movie The Dresser in 2015.
“It’s a tremendous moment. I’m so thrilled I’m truly, truly thrilled – I’ve received this from Sir Ian McKellen and that’s remarkable,” she said through tears.
Meanwhile, The Lord of the Rings alum went on to share a few more words of praise about the TV star.
“I wanted to do it, but I didn’t know what to say. I just said to Sarah now, which I didn’t quite manage to say to the viewers, there are in this country great theatre actors, there are great cinema stars, but do we ever think of our actors on television as being the same way?
“This is a Laurence Olivier, you don’t get better than Sarah Lancashire and she’s doing it in your own homes on your own television and that makes her more special than all the rest really,” he gushed.