Sally Lindsay is best known for her role as Shelley Unwin in Coronation Street. But the 50-year-old actor from Manchester is set to make waves with her new Channel 5 drama, Love Rat.
The new series was described as a "horrific" tale by Sally. She plays a divorced woman who believes she's found love again.
But the supposed man of her dreams has actually manipulated her, swindling her out of thousands of pounds in a particularly nasty case of romance fraud. It's a far cry from her parts in Mount Pleasant and Still Open All Hours.
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Born in Stockport, Sally's first TV appearance was at the age of seven on BBC's Top of the Pops. She was in the St Winifred's School Choir which released There's No One Quite Like Grandma - a saccharine oldie-pleaser - which reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in 1980.
In November 2009, 14 of the original choir members reunited to record a new version of the hit song to raise money for the Age Concern charity.
Speaking to the Stockport Express back in 2000 about her time in the choir Sally said: "I loved being in the choir. I was one of the first to join because I was a big show off so I started when I was in the infants - a year earlier than normal. It is quite funny to look back."
Her TV appearances include Fat Friends in 2000 and roles in The Royle Family and Phoenix Nights before finally ending up on the cobbles. But for soap fans, Sally is unmistakable thanks to her five-year stint as Shelley Unwin in Coronation Street.
She starred as the barmaid from 2001 to 2006 and appeared in 759 episodes of the ITV soap. Some of her most notable storylines included a bigamous marriage to Peter Barlow and an abusive and controlling relationship with Charlie Stubbs, who later left her pregnant.
When Sally was 24, she met and became friends with comedian Peter Kay. She landed the role of Tracey Burns in his immensely popular Phoenix Nights series.
She was also seen in the video for the Comic Relief single Is This the Way to Amarillo? with her old mate Pete, and he joined her in Coronation Street as the scene-stealing Eric. His appearance in the show saw Eric and Shelley go on a disastrous dinner date.
Since leaving Coronation Street in 2006 Sally has been a popular face on TV, but she isn't just in front of the camera. The ITV detective series Scott & Bailey, which began airing in 2011, was developed from an idea conceived by Lindsay and fellow Coronation Street actress Suranne Jones.
The friends dreamt up the idea of a show about a female detective duo on a night out, because they both felt that there needed to be more TV roles detailing the lives of professional women in high-powered jobs.
Sally had originally been set to portray the character Janet Scott but, due to the birth of twin sons, was not able to commit to this role. Instead she appeared as the sister of Suranne's character throughout the show's run.
From 2011 to 2018, she also appeared in the Sky 1 comedy series Mount Pleasant as Lisa, described as a "real woman in a real marriage living in a real part of Manchester". She was in Still Open All Hours in 2013 and voiced Piella Bakewell in Wallace and Gromit's A Matter of Loaf and Death.
As well as acting, she has turned her hand to presenting. Sally was previously on Channel 5 in Sally and Nigel’s Posh Hotel with Nigel Havers.
She did a stint on ITV quiz show Tenable and was one of the guest presenters to take over Richard Osman's role on Pointless. Three years ago she brought a ratings winner to Channel 5 with drama series The Madame Blanc Mysteries.
Sally also had a stint as a guest panelist on daytime show Loose Women, appearing 53 times between 2011 and 2014.
Sally is married to Steve White, who is the former drummer of The Style Council. The couple have twin sons Louie and Victor.
Speaking to the Press Association in 2019, Sally said: "I’ve got to say, since I’ve had the boys, I’ve never been so lucky in work and been given so many amazing opportunities.
“I seriously think it’s because I don’t care anymore. They are my absolute priority and I think when you’re in this business and you give an attitude of ‘Yeah whatever’, it almost comes to you!
“You get these lovely things and think, ‘Ah yeah I’ll do that’, whereas I used to be like, ‘I’ve got to be at this party’ ‘I’ve got to speak to this producer’ ‘I’ve got to do this meeting’,” she recalls. “I don’t do any of that anymore; it’s terrible!”
Love Rat is a four-part drama series coming to Channel 5 from today (March 11) until Thursday (March 14) at 9pm.
Sally plays the part of newly-divorced Emma who heads to Cyprus to get away from it all, where she meets a hotel proprietor, and she falls in love with him. But then he cons her out of her life's savings.
Sally told the Radio Times: "I think what was tough about this is she offers him money. He doesn't ask for it. It looks like they've just fallen for each other, it's completely believable. And it's only unbelievable when she analyses it afterwards.
"The way it's filmed, it's like a fantasy, really, like a Shirley Valentine fantasy. This fantastic thing has happened to her, this lovely man.
"But it's awful, the manipulation. It's horrific because it's one thing stealing your money, but stealing your heart is pretty unforgivable."
Love Rat is on Channel 5 on Monday to Thursday this week at 9pm and on My5
