Julia Sawalha (born 9 September 1968) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Saffron "Saffy" Monsoon in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992–2012). Her other television roles include as Lynda Day in '' Press Gang'' (1989–1993), as Hannah Greyshott in '' Second Thoughts'' (1991–1994) and its sequel series, '' Faith in the Future'' (1995–1998), Lydia Bennet in the television miniseries of

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

's ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is the second published novel (but third to be written) by English author Jane Austen, written when she was age 20-21, and later published in 1813. A novel of manners, it follows the character development of Elizabe ...

'' (1995), Georgina and Kid's vocal effects in '' Sheeep'' (2000–2001), Carla Borrego in ''

Jonathan Creek ''Jonathan Creek'' is a long-running British mystery fiction, mystery crime drama series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. It stars Alan Davies as the title character, who works as a creative consultant to a stage magician whi ...

'' (2001–2004) and Dorcas Lane in the BBC's costume drama '' Lark Rise to Candleford'' (2008–2011). Her film credits include '' Buddy's Song'' (1991), ''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and get ...

'' (1996), ''

Chicken Run ''Chicken Run'' is a 2000 animated adventure comedy film directed by Peter Lord and Nick Park and written by Karey Kirkpatrick from an original story by Lord and Park. Produced by Pathé and Aardman Features in partnership with DreamWork ...

'' (2000) and '' Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie'' (2016).

Early life and education

Sawalha was born in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

, London, on 9 September 1968, and is the daughter of Roberta Lane and actor Nadim Sawalha. Her father was born in

Madaba Madaba (; Biblical Hebrew: ''Mēḏəḇāʾ''; ) is the capital city of Madaba Governorate in central Jordan, with a population of about 60,000. It is best known for its Byzantine art, Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics, especially a large Byz ...

, Jordan. She was named after her paternal grandmother, a businesswoman who had received an award from Queen Noor for enterprise. She is of Jordanian, English and French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

ancestry. Sawalha was educated at the Theatre Arts School, a fee-paying

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

which is part of the

Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, also known simply as Italia Conti, is a drama school based in Woking, Woking, England. It was founded by the English actress Italia Conti in 1911. Italia Conti offers courses in acting, musical theatre, ...

, based at the time in

Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...

in south London, which she left at the age of fifteen.

Career

Sawalha made her debut in the 1982

miniseries '' Fame Is the Spur'', and in 1988 played a small role in ''

Inspector Morse Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. On television he was portrayed by John ...

'', on the episode "Last Seen Wearing". She first gained attention for her starring role in the

Bafta The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

award-winning ITV teenage comedy-drama '' Press Gang'', which ran from 1989 to 1993. In 1992, she appeared in episode "Parade" (S2 E4) of '' Bottom'' as Veronica Head, a beautiful young barmaid at the Lamb and Flag, whom Richie tries to woo by boasting falsely of his adventures in the

Falklands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Du ...

. From 1991 to 1994, she starred in the ITV family comedy '' Second Thoughts'' and continued with her character, Hannah (

Lynda Bellingham Lynda Bellingham ( ; 31 May 194819 October 2014) was an English actress, broadcaster and author. She acted in television series such as ''All Creatures Great and Small (1978 TV series), All Creatures Great and Small'', ''Doctor Who'', ''Second Tho ...

's daughter), in the British Comedy Award-winning '' Faith in the Future'' (1995–1998). In 1994, she played Mercy (Merry) Pecksniff in the BBC production of ''

Martin Chuzzlewit ''The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit'' (commonly known as ''Martin Chuzzlewit'') is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, considered the last of his picaresque novels. It was originally serialised between January 1843 and July 1 ...

''. From 1989 to 1993, she starred in the TV series '' Press Gang'', the story of some kids who start a newspaper for young people. From 1992 to 2012, Sawalha played strait-laced daughter Saffron "Saffy" Monsoon in the BBC sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous'', alongside

Jennifer Saunders Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer, and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School ...

and

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an Indian-born British actress, presenter, author, television producer, activist and former model. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulo ...

. She appeared in the 1995 BBC adaptation of

's ''

'' as Lydia Bennet, with Jennifer Ehle and

Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Colin Firth, several accolades, including an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA Aw ...

. From 1999 to 2000, she voiced Mouse in the

HIT Entertainment HIT Entertainment Limited (stylised as HiT) was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of The Jim Henson Company, by Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and Sophie Turn ...

/Grand Slamm Children's Films/

CITV CITV is a British children's morning programming block on ITV2 and formerly a free-to-air channel owned by ITV plc. CITV, then Children's ITV, launched on 3 January 1983 as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged ...

TV series '' Kipper''. She voiced Ginger in DreamWorks/

Aardman Animations Aardman Animations Limited, known simply as Aardman, is a British animation studio based in Bristol, England, United Kingdom. It is known for films and television series made using stop motion and clay animation techniques, particularly those fe ...

' ''

'' (2000). From 2000 to 2001, she voiced Georgina and provided Kid's vocal effects in the

/Grand Slamm Children's Films/

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

TV series '' Sheeep''. She also played "Dawn the Wise Man" in ''The Flint Street Nativity'' on Christmas Eve. In 2000, she appeared as Janet, the Australian barmaid in the first series of the British sitcom '' Time Gentlemen Please''. She also played the much put-upon PA to "Zak" in Argos TV adverts during 2002–2004, along with Richard E. Grant. She joined actor Ioan Gruffudd in the TV adaptations, of C. S. Forester's ''

Horatio Hornblower Horatio Hornblower is a fictional officer in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, the protagonist of a series of novels and stories by C. S. Forester. He later became the subject of films and radio and television programmes, and ...

'' novels, as the captain's wife Maria. The following year, she became Alan Davies's co-star in ''

'' after Caroline Quentin left, appearing in a Christmas Special ("Satan's Chimney"). She returned for a series between 2003 and 2004. In 2006, she participated in the third series of the

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

documentary series '' Who Do You Think You Are?'' tracing her family's roots, which are Jordanian

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

on her father's side and

French Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

on her mother's. She also appeared in the pilot of BBC 1's ''A Taste of My Life'' presented by Nigel Slater. After a two-year break, she was back on screen in May 2007, competing in the BBC dog training celebrity reality show '' The Underdog Show.'' She then returned to acting in two successive BBC costume dramas: as Jessie Brown in 2007 series '' Cranford'', followed by '' Lark Rise to Candleford'' from 2008 to 2011. She provided the voice acting for Sister Hannah (also known as "Hammer"), a main character in the 2008

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

video game ''

Fable II ''Fable II'' is a 2008 action role-playing video game developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360. The game is the second installment in the ''Fable'' game series, and the sequel to 2004's ''Fable''. The ...

''. In autumn 2014, Sawalha played the part of Jan Ward in

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

's thriller miniseries '' Remember Me''. On 9 May 2015, she read the account of a member of the Women's Land Army at '' VE Day 70: A Party to Remember'' in

Horse Guards Parade Horse Guards Parade is a large Military parade, parade ground off Whitehall in central London (at British national grid reference system, grid reference ). It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the K ...

, London, which was broadcast live on BBC1. In 2016, she appeared in an episode of ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...

'', and reprised her role as Saffy Monsoon in '' Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie''. In July 2020, she made a statement revealing

intended to recast her character of Ginger in the upcoming

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to ''Chicken Run,'' stating that she is now considered to sound too old, and commented "I have officially been plucked, stuffed & roasted". The decision was met with widespread criticism with some finding the decision ageist. She even released video clips online, dubbing over her original voice lines to prove her voice still sounded the same. In January 2024, Sawalha participated in the fifth series of '' The Masked Singer'' as the character "Bubble Tea". She was eliminated and unmasked in the fourth episode.

Personal life

On 1 January 2004, tabloid newspapers reported that she had married Alan Davies, with whom she co-starred in the television series ''

''. Both she and Davies, who avoided discussing their private lives in public, denied this, and took legal action against the reports.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Julia Sawalha
on '' Who Do You Think You Are?'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Sawalha, Julia 1968 births Living people 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actors from the London Borough of Wandsworth Alumni of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts English child actresses English film actresses English people of French descent English people of Jordanian descent English stage actresses English television actresses English video game actresses English voice actresses People from Wandsworth