The Stage

Parish in talks to return to BBC1 primetime in Mistresses

Published Tuesday 20 February 2007 at 16:15 by Liz Thomas

Cutting It star Sarah Parish is being lined up for a new BBC1 primetime drama series about infidelity.

The Corporation is in talks with the actress, who got her first break in the Boddington’s beer adverts in the early nineties, to star in an eight-part show called Mistresses.

Penned by EastEnders writer Rachel Pole, the programme follows the stories of five female friends who have all ended up in the role of ‘the other woman’.

A source told The Stage: “It will be a real coup to have Sarah. She’s sexy, funny and down to earth - perfect for the style of the show.”

The role will be Parish’s first primetime series since Cutting It, in which she made her name as troubled hairdresser Allie Henshall and won a National Television Award for most popular actress. Since then she has starred in Blackpool alongside David Tennant and has made a number of single dramas including Much Ado About Nothing, Aftersun and forthcoming production Recovery. Last Christmas, she made a guest appearance in the seasonal special of Doctor Who.

She told The Stage: “I needed to put in some distance before thinking about doing another series in primetime because the whole experience is very intense but I think it is getting to the point that I will do another one.”

Independent production house Ecosse Films, best known for BBC series Monarch of the Glen and ITV two-parters such as Heartless and Like Father, Like Son, is making the drama.

Casualty and Doctors producer Lowri Glain has created Mistresses, while Pole, who worked on Corporation shows Black Cab and Attachments, scripted the series.

* See an interview with Sarah Parish in the paper this week