Sally Phillips

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Sally Phillips
Sally Phillips for Eureka! museum.jpg
Phillips appears for the Eureka! museum in 2019
Born
Sally Elizabeth Phillips

(1970-05-10) 10 May 1970 (age 53)
British Hong Kong
Education Wycombe Abbey
Alma mater New College, Oxford
Occupations
  • Actress
  • comedian
  • television presenter
Years active1994–present
Spouse
Andrew Bermejo
​
​
(m. 2003;div. 2017)​
Children3

Sally Elizabeth Phillips (born 10 May 1970) [1] [2] is an English actress, comedian, and television presenter. She co-created and was one of the writers of the sketch comedy show Smack the Pony . She is also known for her roles in Jam & Jerusalem as Natasha "Tash" Vine, Miranda as Tilly, I'm Alan Partridge as Sophie, Parents as Jenny Pope, Set the Thames on Fire as Colette in 2015, Zapped as Slasher Morgan, and her guest appearances as the fictional Prime Minister of Finland Minna Häkkinen in the US TV series Veep . Phillips also co-starred in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies as Mrs Bennet and in the role of Shazza in all three films of the Bridget Jones franchise.

Contents

From 2004 to 2019, Phillips played the title role in the BBC Radio 4 comedy show Clare in the Community . In 2018 she was curator for series 12 of The Museum of Curiosity on BBC Radio 4. In 2022, she played the prison warden on Pennyworth .

Early life

Phillips was born in Hong Kong, which at the time was under British rule; her father Tim, later chairman of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, [1] [3] was an executive with British Airways. In following her father's job, she grew up in the Far East, the Middle East, Italy and Australia. At the age of 13 she was sent to board at Wycombe Abbey School, where she studied her O-Levels and A-Levels. [4]

Phillips read Italian and linguistics at New College, Oxford, where she joined the Oxford Revue, playing mostly male parts, alongside contemporaries including Stewart Lee and Richard Herring (who went on to have their own television show, Fist of Fun , in which Phillips appeared as "the girl who smells of Spam"). She then co-wrote and performed the one-woman show Benadetta, the Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy, based on a true story. She appeared in the 1990 Oxford Revue THRASH, which also starred Ed Smith. [4]

Phillips took a first, applied to write a PhD on the Spaghetti Western, changed her mind, and studied drama with the Théâtre de Complicité. [4]

Career

Phillips performed at nine consecutive Edinburgh Fringe Festivals, appearing in shows including Ra-Ra-Rasputin, Arthur Smith's version of Hamlet (as Ophelia) and Cluub Zarathustra with Simon Munnery, Stewart Lee, Richard Thomas, Julian Barratt and Lori Lixenburg. Her first television role was in Lee and Herring's Fist of Fun in 1994, followed shortly after by a cameo in Alas Smith and Jones with Mel Smith. In 1995, Phillips played the role of a reporter in the unbroadcast pilot of Chris Morris's spoof series Brass Eye . In Six Pairs Of Pants, six actors produced a number of regular sketches, which developed as the series progressed. [5] As well as Phillips, the show featured Jessica Hynes, Simon Pegg, Neil Mullarkey, Katy Carmichael and Simon Schatzberger, and was written in part by Phillips. Regular sketches included two New Zealand characters who had moved to the UK and worked behind various bars, the whole group as "Flatmates" and various spoof horror trailers. Phillips had a role as a "Travel Tavern" receptionist in I'm Alan Partridge (1997), and as Laura in Holding the Baby . She played radio DJ Gemma White in the TV series In the Red .

In 1997, Phillips featured in Eddie Izzard's sitcom Cows . She had a starring role in the short-lived 1999 British comedy series Hippies with Simon Pegg and Julian Rhind-Tutt. Phillips garnered a nomination for best female newcomer at the 1999 British Comedy Awards as she along with Fiona Allen and Doon Mackichan co-created, wrote, and performed in Smack the Pony .

In 2001, she took the starring role in the David Nicholls series Rescue Me for BBC1. She also played cameo roles in Mean Machine , Birthday Girl and Born Romantic and wrote episodes for the animation Bob and Margaret .

In 2003, she was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. She appeared in Bridget Jones's Diary as Shazza, having previously auditioned for Bridget; the character was based upon the film's director, Sharon Maguire.

In 2004, she took the title role in the BBC radio sitcom Clare in the Community which ended after 74 episodes in 2019. In August 2005, she returned to the stage after a long absence, in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest at the Oxford Playhouse. [6] In 2006, she appeared in the Australian comedy feature BoyTown ; on television, she appeared as Clare Winchester in the BBC2 science fiction comedy Hyperdrive .

In the second series of Green Wing , Phillips played the character of Holly, whose appearance threatens the blossoming relationship between Mac (Julian Rhind-Tutt) and Caroline (Tamsin Greig). Between 2006 and 2009, she had a recurring role in the BBC's comedy Jam & Jerusalem as Natasha "Tash" Vine, a scatterbrained New Ager.

In 2009, Phillips took the role of Tilly in Miranda as Miranda Hart's character's irritating upper-class friend. The series found critical success and Phillips remained a part of the show throughout its duration, from 2009 to 2015.

She also had a guest-star part in E4's Skins , series 3 playing Pandora's mother.

In 2009, Phillips won a British Film Council screenwriting competition for her film Fag Mountain. Her first feature film script, The Decoy Bride , started production in spring 2010. Phillips appeared in a supporting role in the film, playing Emma, a Hollywood assistant. The film was released in February 2012, premièring first on cable television and as a digital download, and then had a limited theatrical release.

In December 2010, she appeared in the BBC1 drama Accidental Farmer .

In 2012, she played the lead role in the Sky 1 comedy Parents and also appeared in the CBeebies television series Justin's House. The same year she also appeared with Justin Fletcher in the role of Mr Tumble in Something Special . [7]

She made two episodes of series 3 of the Dave maths and comedy series Dara Ó Briain: School of Hard Sums in 2014, in which she was set various maths-based physical challenges. In America, Phillips has made five appearances in the HBO comedy series Veep as Minna Häkkinen, a fictional Finnish prime minister.

In 2014, she narrated the first series of The Supervet on Channel 4.

During 2015, Phillips appeared in several TV shows, notably House of Fools and Death in Paradise . She has also appeared in the comedy Burn Burn Burn as Ingrid, a main character, and also the TV film Distinguished Ladies in which she plays the lead role of Bianca.

Phillips appeared in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016) as Mrs Bennet, and as Shazza in Bridget Jones's Baby .

In 2016, she presented the one-off BBC documentary A World Without Down's Syndrome?, which examined the potential impact of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT).

In 2017, she competed in series 5 of Taskmaster against Bob Mortimer, Aisling Bea, Nish Kumar and Mark Watson, finishing as runner-up to the eventual winner Mortimer. She appeared in All Star Musicals and Tim Vine Travels in Time in December 2017.

In 2018, she played the scatty new night manager Lou in Trollied .

In 2020, she played The Gibby in Channel 4's sitcom Friday Night Dinner .

She was the winner of the four competitors who appeared in the special Christmas edition of The Great British Sewing Bee that was transmitted on New Year's Eve 2020 on BBC One. Her fellow competitors in the programme were Sabrina Grant, Lesley Joseph and The Vivienne.

In 2022, she starred as business owner Gina in Australian comedy film How to Please a Woman .

In 2023, she played Tessa in the Netflix romantic comedy Love at First Sight .

In January 2024, she was a guest co-host on the BBC One quiz show Pointless . [8]

Personal life

In 2002, Phillips was hospitalised with salmonellosis during a charity trip to Mexico. She said the illness led to a brain infection that made her body become a "micro-brewery", causing neurological symptoms. Her recovery took months. [9] [10] [11]

In March 2022 she appeared on Mel Giedroyc's Unforgivable TV show and discussed a two-year relationship with Richard Herring in her early 20s.

Phillips is a Christian. [12] She was married to Andrew Bermejo for 14 years and has three sons from their marriage, one with Down's syndrome. [2] [13] In 2017, the couple separated. [14]

Phillips is a patron of Blue Apple Theatre (Hampshire, UK) which specialises in creating performance work with adults with a learning disability. [15]

Filmography

Key
†Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1999 Notting Hill CarolineUncredited
2001 Birthday Girl Karen
Mean Machine Tracey
Bridget Jones's Diary Sharon "Shazza"
2004 Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason Sharon "Shazza"
Gladiatress Worthaboutapig
Tooth: Do You Believe in Fairies?Mom
2006 BoyTown Holly
2011 The Decoy Bride EmmaAlso writer
2015 Set the Thames on Fire Colette
2016 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Mrs Bennet
Bridget Jones's Baby Sharon "Shazza"
The Rizen The Suited Woman
2017 Ferdinand Greta (Voice)
2017 You, Me and Him Amy
2018The More You Ignore MeMarie Henty [16]
2018 Surviving Christmas with the Relatives Miriam
2019The Rizen: PossessionThe Suited Woman [17]
2019 Blinded by the Light Mrs Anderson
2021 Off the Rails Liz
2022 How to Please a Woman Gina
2022 The Fence Sharon Knight
2023 Love at First Sight Tessa Jones
TBA Modì General's wifePost-production [18]

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1995 Smith & Jones Episode #8.1, #8.3
1995–1996 Fist of Fun Various7 episodes
1997 I'm Alan Partridge Sophie6 episodes
1998 Holding the Baby Laura
1998 In the Red Jemma White3 episodes
1999 Hippies Jill Sprint6 episodes
1999–2003 Smack the Pony Various charactersAlso writer
2000The JunkiesSalShort
2002 Rescue Me Katie Nash
2005–2006 Green Wing Holly HawkesSeries 2
2006 Hyperdrive Clare WinchesterSeries 1
2006 The Amazing Mrs Pritchard Meg Bayliss5 episodes
2006–2009 Jam and Jerusalem Natasha "Tash" VineAll three series (18 episodes)
2009–2015 Miranda Matilda "Tilly"Main character (20 episodes)
2009 Skins Angela MoonEpisode: "Pandora"
2009SvengaliMichelleTV film
2011 Parents Jenny PopeMain character (6 episodes)
2012 New Tricks Samantha GersonEpisode: "Moving Target"
2012–2020 The Undateables Narrator
2013 Chickens Miss TrimbleEpisode: "Leper"
2013 Something Special Special Guest1 episode Series 5
2013–2014, 2016–2017, 2019 Veep Minna Häkkinen5 episodes
2014 The Supervet NarratorSeries 1
2015We’re Doomed! The Dad’s Army StoryAnn CroftTV film tribute
2015 Death in Paradise Cheryl MooreEpisode 29: "Swimming In Murder"
2016 Galavant IvannaEpisode: "Bewitched, Bothered, Belittled"
Midsomer Murders Lucy KeswickEpisode 19.1 "The Village that Rose from the Dead"
A World Without Down's Syndrome?PresenterBBC Documentary [19]
2016–2017 Zapped Slasher Morgan4 episodes: "Pear Fair" (2017), "The Party" (2017), "Mr Wuffles" (2016), "Mr Weaver" (2016)
2017 Lip Sync Battle UK Herself1 episode
Comic Relief Co-presenter 2017 telethon
Henry IX Queen Katerina [20]
Hospital People Helena Steel MP, Health MinisterEpisode: "The New Ward"
Taskmaster HerselfSeries 5 [21]
The One Show Guest presenterTwo episodes
Travel Man GuestOne episode
All Star MusicalsHerself, participant
QI Herself1 episode
Tim Vine Travels in Time Catherine of Aragon Christmas special
2018 Trollied Lou Chettle6 episodes
The One Show Guest presenter2 episodes
QI Herself5 episodes
Vanity Fair Lady Steyne2 episodes
2018–2019 Tourist Trap Elaine GibbonsMain character (13 episodes) [22] [23]
2019 Archibald's Next Big Thing FlurbinEpisode: "Mountain Mayhem"
Year of the Rabbit Princess Juliana of Bulgaria3 episodes
2020 Friday Night Dinner The Gibby1 episode [24]
2020 Sunday Morning Live Presenter [21] 1 episode
2022Murder, They HopeAlex1 Episode
2022My Life at Christmas with Sally PhillipsHerself3 episodes [25]
2021 Meet the Richardsons Sally PhillipsSeries 2 recurring. Fictionalised version of herself

Audiobooks

YearTitleAuthorNotesRefs.
2022The Satsuma Complex Bob Mortimer Co-read with Bob Mortimer [26]

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References

  1. 1 2 Greenstreet, Rosanna (15 June 2012). "Q&A: Sally Phillips". The Guardian . Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Interview with Sally Phillips on Down syndrome Awareness". This is Local London . 27 November 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  3. ↑ Kelso, Paul (5 July 2007). "More screens to entertain drenched punters". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Farndale, Nigel (8 April 2001). "Funny, bright, lovely". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  5. ↑ "Six Pairs of Pants[13/10/95] (1995)". BFI . Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  6. ↑ "BBC - Oxford Stage-The Importance of Being Earnest". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  7. ↑ "Anyone see 'something special' today?". Pregnancy Forum. 7 March 2013.
    - "Strange to see Sally Phillips". 29 May 2012 – via Twitter.
  8. ↑ Morris, Lauren; Mensah, Katelyn (5 January 2024). "Who are the Pointless guest hosts?". Radio Times. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  9. ↑ "Series Q, Episode 12 - Quagmire". British Comedy Guide. 11 September 2020.
  10. ↑ "QI XL S17E12 Series Q - HD - Quagmire 15 February 2020 (XL edition)". 11 September 2020. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  11. ↑ Boulos, Nick (27 February 2016). "Celebrity Traveller: Sally Phillips talks chicken cooked in a bin and Northern Lights". Daily Express.
  12. ↑ "Sally Phillips on High School Shooting – The Last Leg". 19 February 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018– via YouTube.
    - Gilbert, Gerard (19 January 2013). "Always the best friend: Sally Phillips on Christianity, comedians and the class system". The Independent. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  13. ↑ "Sally Phillips on High School Shooting". The Last Legs. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018– via YouTube.
    Potton, Ed (14 December 2017). "Sally Phillips: Whenever Weinstein saw my face in the edit suite he said, 'Cut it!'". The Times. ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  14. ↑ A Downside Of Feminism | Romesh Talks to Sally Phillips About Her Early Acting Career , retrieved 5 August 2021
  15. ↑ "Blue Apple". Blue Apple. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  16. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (11 April 2018). "Gurinder Chadha's 'Blinded By The Light' Blessed By Bruce Springsteen; Cast Set". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  17. ↑ "The Rizen: Possession - Goldfinch Studios". Goldfinchstudios.co.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  18. ↑ Vivarelli, Nick (27 September 2023). "Johnny Depp Starts Shooting 'Modì' in Hungary, With Italy's Luisa Ranieri Joining Al Pacino and Riccardo Scamarcio in Cast". Variety. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  19. ↑ "A World Without Down's Syndrome?". BBC. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  20. ↑ "Henry IX cast and crew credits". British Comedy Guide.
  21. 1 2 "BBC One - Sunday Morning Live - Sally Phillips". BBC. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  22. ↑ "A new comedy series following the tourist team of Wow Wales, who are tasked with selling Wales to the world." BBC One Wales website
  23. ↑ "BBC One - Tourist Trap - Episode guide". BBC. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  24. ↑ Butcher, David. "Series 6 - Episode 3 The Au Pair". Radio Times. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  25. ↑ "My Life at Christmas with Sally Phillips". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  26. ↑ "Audible.com | Try Audible Free Today" . Retrieved 19 April 2023– via www.audible.com.
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