Sarah Manners (born 25 August 1975) is a British actress and businessowner, known for her roles as

Joanna Helm Joanna Helm is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''Doctors (2000 TV series), Doctors'', portrayed by Sarah Manners. Joanna was introduced by series creator Mal Young as one of the nine original regular characters on the soap. She wo ...

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 ...

soap opera ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

'', Bex Reynolds in the BBC medical drama ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'' and Kirsty Knight in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

procedural drama ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

''. Manners competed in the second series of ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

'' in 2004, where she finished in sixth place, and has gone on to develop a Pilates app, Pilates On Tap.

Early and personal life

Manners was born on 25 August 1975 and grew up in

Harborne Harborne is an affluent area sited south-west of Birmingham, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is a Birmingham City Council ward (politics), ward in the Government of Birmingham, England#Districts, formal district and ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. Her father was a classic car dealer, whilst her mother was a headmistress of a school in Handsworth. She was educated at

King Edward VI Handsworth King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls is a grammar school for girls aged 11–18 located in Handsworth, West Midlands, Handsworth, Birmingham, England. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI. The school was founded in ...

, where she obtained 10

GCSEs The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

and four

A-level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

s. She later studied at the

Royal Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for ...

. She married computer salesman Ben O'Sullivan in 2003 in

Lickey Lickey is a "linear development" in the north of Worcestershire, England approximately south west from the centre of Birmingham. It lies in Bromsgrove District and is situated on the Lickey Ridge, amongst the Lickey Hills, its proximity to coun ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

. Manners revealed in an interview that the two had divorced in 2009. She said: "we spent 10 years together and are still close. He's a lovely man".

Career

Manners began her career in 1997, appearing in an episode of the

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

''. In 2000, Manners was cast in the role of

in the BBC medical soap opera ''

''. She was one of the original nine regulars cast for the soap. Of her role, she said: "I got the best storylines in the world in ''Doctors'', my nan died of a brain tumour then it came out I killed her. I went mad and was addicted to anti-depressants, forged signatures and tried to kill myself". She later went on to appear as K.C. Gregory in

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

's ''

Mile High ''Mile High'' is a British television drama based on the lives of the cabin crew members of Fresh!, a budget airline based in London. The name of the show is a reference to the Mile High Club. The show was broadcast on Sky1 from 2003 to 2 ...

'' and Bex Reynolds in the BBC medical drama ''

''. In 2004, it was announced that Manners was to participate in the second series of the BBC's ''

''. She was paired with dancer

Brendan Cole Brendan Cole (born 23 April 1976) is a New Zealand ballroom dancer, specialising in Latin American dancing. He is most famous for appearing as a professional dancer on the BBC One show, ''Strictly Come Dancing'' from 2004 to 2017. From 2005 to ...

and the pair finished in sixth place. Manners appeared in

's ''

'' as Kirsty Knight. After six months on-screen, it was announced that the show was to be cancelled. Of this, she said: "I’m heartbroken. Not just for myself, but for everyone on the show. It’s a real loss for the industry. Everyone is really upset about it. All the big wigs came down to break the news to us at a meeting. We knew straight away when we saw the look on their faces. But what can you do? C’est la vie! I’ve had a fabulous time and we’re trying to remain positive. We’ve enjoyed every last minute of filming and had a laugh. I'm proud to be part of the last cast of ''The Bill''". Of her time on the show, she said, "I loved all the action and the stunts on ''The Bill'', and the subject matter – it’s a lot more serious than some of the TV I’ve done. In ''Casualty'' I had a rape storyline, but mainly I’ve been the light relief, so this has been a nice change". Manners qualified as a Pilates instructor in 2014, and in 2022, she designed and launched a Pilates app, Pilates On Tap. She was named an "Inspirational Woman In Tech" by We Are Tech Women in December 2022.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manners, Sarah 1975 births Living people 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses 21st-century English businesswomen 21st-century British businesspeople Actresses from Birmingham, West Midlands Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Businesspeople from Birmingham, West Midlands British soap opera actresses British television actresses People educated at King Edward VI Handsworth People from Harborne Pilates instructors