Inside the life of Ellis star Sharon D Clarke – from romantic on-stage wedding to award-winning theatre queen
SHARON D Clarke is a three time Olivier Award winner and is best known to television audiences for her role as Lola in Holby City and Grace in Dr Who.
She is currently on television opposite Lennie James in the BBC‘s Mr Loverman and stars in the new Channel 5 detective drama, Ellis.
Sharon has had an extensive career, appearing in an array of other TV shows including The Bill and EastEnders, as well as BBC drama The Shadow Line.
However, Sharon has also had a prolific stage career.
She won the 2014 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a supporting role for her role in The Amen Corner.
She won her second Olivier for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Caroline Thibodeaux in the 2018 West End production of Caroline of Change.
She reprised the role on Broadway in 2021, earning her both Tony and Grammy Award nominations.
In October 2020, she won her third Olivier for her role in the revival of Death of a Salesman at London‘s Young Vic.
It is no wonder therefore that Sharon chose a romantic stage setting to be married in when she tied the knot with wife Susie McKenna in 2008.
Sharon, who was born in Enfield, North London said: “I have loved Hackney Empire from the first time I saw her. My dad used to play bingo there.
“In 1999, I played Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, written and directed by a lady called Susie McKenna, who I eventually married on the Empire stage in 2008.”
She added: “This beautiful theatre has given me the love of my life and a family who are my true peeps to this day.”
In a new interview with The Guardian Sharon reflected on her illustrious career and said: “I’ve never really known what’s coming around the corner.
“I started at dance school when I was six, so I knew that I wanted to be a part of this industry, but I never asked for fame.”
She added that her 15-year-old self watched Dr Who from behind the sofa and would say: “Wow, this is madness, you’ve gone to Broadway and been on Doctor Who.”
Sharon concluded by saying: “I feel very lucky. The universe has been wonderful to me in my chosen career, so I will continue to leave things in the universe’s hands.”
Top Channel 5 dramas
Channel 5 has become a hub for gripping drama, these are some of the best My5 has to offer.
- All Creatures Great and Small – Based on the best-selling novels by real-life vet Alf Wright, the show revolves around a trio of vets working in the Yorkshire Dales in the late 1930s. Eccentric Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West) hires James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) for his veterinary practice at Skeldale House alongside himself and his younger brother Tristan (Callum Woodhouse). There James settles into his new life and even finds love with local farmer’s daughter Helen (Rachel Shenton).
- The Ex-Wife – New parents Tasha (Céline Buckens) and Jack (Tom Misson) seem to have the perfect life, but the constant presence of Jack’s overly friendly but suspicious ex-wife Jen (Janet Montgomery) puts pressure on the couple. But as the series progresses it becomes less clear who the bad guy really is and how far everyone will go to get the life they think they deserve.
- Heat – EastEnders alum Danny Dyer leads this four-part action thriller, set in Australia, which sees two families holidaying together during bushfire season. But instead of rest and relaxation, secrets and lies start to unravel — and not everyone will make it out alive…
- Lie With Me – Another soap legend jets off to Australia, this time its EastEnders alum Charlie Brooks who takes as a married woman trying to saving her marriage by moving halfway around the world after her husband had an affair. However it’s far from plain sailing, as a young and attractive live-in nanny comes to work with the Fallmont family, and tensions soon build and eventually, someone ends up dead.
- The Drowning – Jill Halfpenny plays Jodie, a woman whose life is shattered following the disappearance of her beloved four-year-old son, Daniel. However, ten years later, the grieving mother thinks she’s finally found her missing child, and embarks on a journey to discover the truth about him. But has she really just found the son she has been missing for so long?
Sharon stars in Channel 5’s Ellis where she plays DCI Ellis, a determined black female police officer who is known for cracking unsolved crimes.
It started on Thursday and it is set to rival the beloved ITV drama Vera, which is coming to an end.
Ellis is available to watch on Channel 5.