Sally Wainwright facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sally Wainwright
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Wainwright in 2018
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| Born |
Sally Anne Wainwright
1963 (age 61–62) Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
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| Education | University of York |
| Occupation | |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Austin Sherlaw-Johnson (m. 1990)
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| Children | 2 |
Sally Anne Wainwright (born in 1963) is a talented English writer, producer, and director for television. She is well-known for creating exciting dramas. Many of her shows are set in her home area of West Yorkshire, England.
Her stories often feature "strong female characters" who are interesting and real. People often praise Sally Wainwright for her excellent and natural-sounding dialogue in her shows.
Sally Wainwright started her career writing for a radio show called The Archers. In the 1990s, she also worked on popular TV soap operas like Emmerdale and Coronation Street. Her first original drama, At Home with the Braithwaites, was shown from 2000 to 2003.
Later, she found great success with Unforgiven in 2009. For this show, she won the Writer of the Year Award from the Royal Television Society. Some of her other popular works include Scott & Bailey (2011–2016), Last Tango in Halifax (2012–2020), Happy Valley (2014–2023), and Gentleman Jack (2019–2022).
Last Tango in Halifax won the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2013. Happy Valley won the same important award in both 2015 and 2017.
Contents
Early Life and Dreams
Sally Wainwright was born in 1963 in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Her parents were Harry and Dorothy Wainwright. She grew up in Sowerby Bridge and went to local schools there. Later, she studied English at the University of York. She has one sister.
Wainwright always knew she wanted to write. She started writing when she was just nine years old. Her big dream was to write for the famous TV show Coronation Street. When she was 16, she saw a play that really inspired her. She loved how the play used short sentences and natural conversations.
Starting a Career in Writing
While at the University of York, Sally Wainwright wrote a play called Hanging On. She took it to the Edinburgh Festival, which helped her find an agent for her writing. Before becoming a full-time writer, she even worked as a bus driver!
When she was 24, she left her driving job to write for the radio show The Archers. She wrote an exciting story for the show where the village shop was robbed. After that, she wrote for Coronation Street from 1994 to 1999. She learned a lot about writing good stories during this time.
A writer named Kay Mellor encouraged Sally to create her own original TV shows. So, Sally created At Home with the Braithwaites. This show was about a woman who secretly won the lottery. It was nominated for many awards. In 2006, she wrote Jane Hall, which was about a woman bus driver in London. Sally used her own experiences to write this series.
Award-Winning Dramas
In 2009, Sally Wainwright won the Writer of the Year Award from the Royal Television Society for her show Unforgiven. This show also won several other awards, including best TV series.
Wainwright often says that the strong female characters in her shows feel "almost real" to her. She feels they appear "fully formed" in her imagination. She likes to be in charge of how her shows are made. She has directed and produced some of her own work. This helps her make sure the scenery and dialogue truly show Yorkshire.
In 2011, she wrote Scott & Bailey, a series about two female police officers. The idea for this show came from actresses Suranne Jones and Sally Lindsay, along with a former police detective.
Sally Wainwright based her series Last Tango in Halifax on a true story from her own mother's life. After her mother became a widow in 2001, she reconnected with a lost love through a website called Friends Reunited. With her mother's permission, Sally turned this story into a TV series. She even showed parts of the series to her mother before it was broadcast.
At first, both Last Tango in Halifax and Scott & Bailey were turned down by TV channels. But they were later accepted and became very popular. Last Tango in Halifax was voted best series by BAFTA in 2012, and Sally won an award for best writer.
Happy Valley was filmed in Yorkshire's Upper Calder Valley and Hebden Bridge. Sally Wainwright wrote the main role specifically for actress Sarah Lancashire. Sally also directed episode 4 of the first series, which was her first time directing. A third series of Happy Valley was released on January 1, 2023, and the final episode aired on February 5, 2023.
In 2016, Sally Wainwright became a Fellow of the Royal Television Society.
Historical Dramas
Wainwright wrote and directed a two-hour drama special for BBC One called To Walk Invisible. It was shown in 2016 in the UK and in 2017 in the US. This show was about the famous Brontë family, especially the three sisters, Anne, Emily, and Charlotte, and their brother, Branwell. Sally was very excited to bring the lives of these "fascinating, talented, ingenious Yorkshire women" to the screen.
In 2019, Sally Wainwright's show Gentleman Jack premiered. It was shown on BBC One in the UK and HBO in the US. This drama is about a 19th-century Yorkshire landowner and diarist named Anne Lister. Actress Suranne Jones played Anne Lister, and Sophie Rundle played Ann Walker.
Her newest show, Renegade Nell, is an adventure story about a highwaywoman. It started streaming on Disney+ on March 29, 2024. In 2024, filming also began for her series Riot Women, which is about a group of women who start a band in Yorkshire.
Personal Life
Sally Wainwright lives in Oxfordshire. She is married to Austin Sherlaw-Johnson, who deals in old sheet music. They have two sons. As of 2023, they also have a Maine Coon cat that Sally says is the biggest in the world!
In 2020, Sally Wainwright was given an award called Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). This was to honor her great work in writing and television.
Sally has mentioned that she feels she is "slightly autistic" and that social interactions can sometimes be difficult for her.
Television Work
| Year | Work | Credited as | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Writer | Creator | Producer | Director | |||
| 1991 | Emmerdale | Yes | No | No | No | 2 episodes |
| 1992–1995 | Children's Ward | Yes | No | No | No | Staff Writer |
| 1994 | The House of Windsor | Yes | No | No | No | 1 episode |
| 1994–1999 | Coronation Street | Yes | No | No | No | 57 episodes |
| 1994–1995 | Revelations | Yes | No | No | No | 5 episodes |
| 1999 | Bad Girls | Yes | No | No | No | 1 episode |
| 1999–2000 | Playing the Field | Yes | No | No | No | 5 episodes |
| 2000–2003 | At Home with the Braithwaites | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Writer, creator and associate producer |
| 2002 | Sparkhouse | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Wrote all 3 episodes; credited as co-producer |
| 2003 | The Canterbury Tales: The Wife of Bath | Yes | No | No | No | 1 episode |
| 2005 | ShakespeaRe-Told: The Taming of the Shrew | Yes | No | No | No | 1 episode |
| 2006 | Jane Hall | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 6 episodes as writer, creator and co-producer |
| 2006 | The Amazing Mrs Pritchard | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 6 episodes as writer, creator and associate producer |
| 2007 | Dead Clever | Yes | Yes | No | No | Television film |
| 2007 | Bonkers | Yes | Yes | No | No | 6 episodes |
| 2009 | Unforgiven | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 3 episodes as writer, creator and executive producer |
| 2011–2016 | Scott & Bailey | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 31 episodes, 19 as writer. Co-creator Diane Taylor Based on an idea by Suranne Jones and Sally Lindsay |
| 2012–2020 | Last Tango in Halifax | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 24 episodes as writer, creator and executive producer |
| 2013 | The Last Witch | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Pilot episode/Television film |
| 2014–2023 | Happy Valley | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 18 episodes as writer, creator and executive producer, 5 as director |
| 2016 | To Walk Invisible | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Television film |
| 2019–2022 | Gentleman Jack | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8 episodes as writer, creator and executive producer, 4 as director |
| 2024 | Renegade Nell | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
Other Works
- 1986–1988: The Archers (Radio show: BBC Radio 4) − Writer (2 years)
- 2000: Emily Brontë's Lover (Radio show: BBC Radio 4) − Writer
- Hanging On (play)
Awards and Honors
Sally Wainwright has received many awards for her amazing work:
- 2003: Best Short Drama Banff Festival for The Wife of Bath's Tale
- 2009: RTS Awards, Best Drama Serial for Unforgiven
- 2011: RTS North West Awards, Best Writer for Scott & Bailey
- 2013: Sky WFTV Awards, Technicolor Writing Award
- 2013: BAFTA TV Craft Awards, Best Drama Writer
- 2013: BAFTA TV Craft Awards, Best Drama Series for Last Tango in Halifax
- 2014: Broadcast Awards, Best Drama Series for Happy Valley
- 2014: British Screenwriters’ Awards, Best British TV Drama Writing for Happy Valley
- 2014: Crime Thriller Awards, Best TV Series for Happy Valley
- 2014: TV Choice Awards, Best New Drama for Happy Valley
- 2015: Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, Best Drama Writer
- 2015: BAFTA TV Craft Awards, Best Drama Writer
- 2015: Edgar Allan Poe Awards, Best Television Episode for Happy Valley (episode 1)
- 2015: WGGB Awards, Best Long Form TV Drama for Happy Valley
- 2015: Edinburgh TV Awards, Best Programme of the year for Happy Valley
- 2015: BAFTA Awards, Best Drama Series for Happy Valley
- 2017: RTS Programme Awards, Best Drama Writer for Happy Valley
- 2017: RTS Programme Awards, Judges' Award
- 2017:BAFTA Awards, Best Drama Series for Happy Valley
- 2017: BAFTA TV Craft Awards, Best Drama Writer for 'Happy Valley'
- 2020: Royal Television Society Awards, Best Drama Series Winner for 'Gentleman Jack'
- 2020: Freedom of The Borough of Calderdale
- 2020: Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to Writing and Television.
