Sally Phillips - Career

Career

Sally Phillips was the only woman in the 1990 Oxford Revue THRASH which also starred Ed Smith. She did nine consecutive Edinburgh Fringe Festivals, appearing in shows such as 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 TV role was in Lee and Herring's Fist of Fun in 1994, shortly after followed by a cameo in Alas Smith and Jones, in which Mel Smith vomited over her. In 1995, Phillips played the role of a reporter in the unbroadcast pilot of Chris Morris's spoof series Brass Eye which at that point was called Torque TV, however she did not appear in the series itself.

Her role as a receptionist in I'm Alan Partridge proved to be her big break and she was nominated for best female newcomer at the British Comedy Awards that year. She had a starring role in the short-lived 1999 British comedy series Hippies (with Simon Pegg and Julian Rhind-Tutt), and also co-created and wrote Smack the Pony, an all-female, double Emmy Award winning comedy show. 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 "Shazzer", previously auditioning for Bridget. She also featured in the Eddie Izzard written sitcom Cows.

In 2001 she took the starring role in the David Nicholl's series Rescue Me for BBC 1. She also played cameo roles in Mean Machine, Birthday Girl and Born Romantic and wrote episodes for the animation Bob and Margaret.

In 2004, she took the title role in the still-running popular BBC radio sitcom Clare in the Community. 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. In 2006 she appeared in the Australian comedy feature BoyTown, while on television she appeared as Clare Winchester in the BBC2 sci-fi comedy Hyperdrive.

Between 2006 and 2009 she had recurring parts in the BBC's comedies Jam & Jerusalem as a scatterbrained New Ager and in 2009 she appeared in Miranda as Miranda Hart's character's irritating upper class friend. 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, premiering first on cable TV 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 appeared in the CBeebies television series Justin's House as Wanda Round