Sally Phillips

She is known for her work in the comedy television series I’m Alan Partridge, Jam and Jerusalem, Miranda, Taskmaster and Veep. She started her comedy career in the Oxford Revue and completed 9 Edinburgh Fringe runs in shows like Ra-Ra-Rasputin, a comedy biography of Rasputin the monk set to the words and lyrics of Boney M, Simon Munnery’s Cluub Zarathustra, with Stewart Lee, Richard Thomas and Julian Barratt and as Ophelia in Arthur Smith’s Hamlet alongside writing and performing comedy for BBC Radio.

In 1997 she was cast in Smack the Pony which aired on Channel 4 from 1998-2001. Smack the Pony was a ground-breaking female-led sketch show that she developed and co-wrote which also starred Doon Mackichan, Fiona Allen, Sarah Alexander and Darren Boyd. It won many awards, among them two international Emmys.

Sally’s television roles include Vanity Fair, Year of the Rabbit, Zapped, Green Wing, Henry IX which won the Golden Rose of Montreux; Friday Night Dinner as well as Rescue Me, Tourist Trap and Parents in which she played the leads.

Sally has appeared in over 40 films. Roles include Shazzer in the three Bridget Jones movies, Mrs Bennett in Pride Prejudice and Zombies, Amy in You, Me and Him, Marie in The More You Ignore Me, as well as parts in Blinded by the Light, Burn, Burn, Burn, Off the Rails and Birthday Girl. She also provided voices for the animated film Ferdinand (1998).

In 2016 she fronted the documentary A World Without Down's Syndrome? (BBC2), exploring our national screening policy's ethical implications. It won the Radio Times Readers Awards and Sanford St Martin awards for the Best single documentary and was shown worldwide. This success has led to contributions to The Nuffield Council Report, invitations to speak to midwives, gynaecologists, politicians, and philosophers globally, and she continues to be a vocal disability advocate.

Sally is a popular guest on QI and other British panel shows. In 2017, she became one of BBC Radio 4's 'Museum of Curiosity's' favourite curators. She is an occasional presenter, hosting The One Show from time to time. During Lockdown she co-presented BBC One’s Sunday Morning Live with Sean Fletcher.

In 2019, with Ronni Ancona and Nick Hamson, Sally founded the production company Captain Dolly, a subsidiary of Film Soho. They have scripts in development for both TV and Film. Sally is currently writing The Wedding with Nisti Sterk for the Swedish Production company, Jarowskij

Last year Sally played the lead in writer-director, Renee Webster’s debut, How to Please A Woman in Australia. The film opened in Australia and New Zealand this month and opens in the US on 14th July after being selected for Bentonville. She also worked alongside Miriam Margoyles, Tamsin Greig, Tom Cullen, Rakhee Thakrar, and Andi MacDowell in the feature film, My Happy Ending.