Sally Phillips and her family look back: ‘I wanted to be the kind of actress who plays Juliet at the RSC, but it turns out people don't take me seriously'

The Guardian

19-04-2025

Born in Hong Kong in 1970, Sally Phillips is a comedian, writer and actor. After graduating with a first-class degree in Italian and linguistics at Oxford University, she began working as an actor. In 1997 she was cast in I'm Alan Partridge, and two years later she co-wrote and starred in sketch comedy Smack the Pony, followed by roles in Big Train, Veep, Miranda and the Bridget Jones franchise. She has three children and currently lives between London and Australia. Sally stars in new comedy drama Austin on BBC One on Fridays.
My mum, dad, brother and I are outside our house in Hong Kong. Andrew and I are both in knitted ponchos, which I'm certain my mother was responsible for. My dad worked for British Airways, so we moved around a lot. If you have that kind of nomadic upbringing, you are naturally an outsider wherever you go. I spent a lot of my childhood observing, mainly the things that were funny and strange.
Our parents were quite tough on us growing up. My mother especially. She would claim her toughness is because of her Yorkshire roots, but I've been to Yorkshire and met lots of soft people. She would say: 'Well-behaved women rarely make history.' I wasn't allowed a Barbie and instead had an Action Girl with a jumpsuit and ginger hair. Mum nurtured us in subtle ways; the house was filled with costumes and art supplies.
When it comes to being funny, I believe there are two types of brains: one is a satirist who is good with words; the other is an idiot who walks into the wall. I was the latter; Andrew the former. He had a joke about a bulldozer that my mother still goes on about.
At first I wanted to be the kind of actress who plays Juliet at the RSC, but it turns out there's something about me that stops people taking me seriously. That was quite devastating for a while. At university I co-wrote a one-woman show – Benedetta, the Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy – based on the true story of Benedetta Carlini. It was a big, serious endeavour: an hour and a half of me doing 50 different characters, lots of accents and a significant amount of mime. My parents, unfortunately, found it hilarious.
When I graduated, they hoped I might work for Shell or Olivetti. Instead, I considered doing a PhD on the spaghetti western, which was not met with much approval. I then decided I would go to clown school, which they were also strongly opposed to. But I started to get work, and gradually the feedback evolved from 'What a ridiculous idea' to 'Well done'.
I realised if you could push against your parents' disapproval, you probably had the determination to work in this profession, as it can be quite a bruising industry. Even though I've been doing it for decades, it still is. Some doors I open and everyone goes, 'You're a genius!', and behind another they'll say, 'You're so yesterday. You're so old and fat and exactly not what we're looking for.'
When my son Olly was born with Down's syndrome, I moved closer to my parents, and they created a kind of crisis encampment. Dad said: 'We're going to operate a visa system, and you get to decide who is allowed into the flat and who isn't.' It was incredible, especially as my marriage didn't work out. Olly knows he can ring his uncle at any hour, day or night, and he'll answer, and probably take him to the pub.
There are probably families that are closer than ours – we do have a strong vein of eating crisps in different rooms while watching different TV shows – but I have totally lucked out. I don't think I could have managed the hand I've been dealt without my family's support.
Was Sally funny as a child? I always thought she laughed too much at her own jokes. But we got on. While I can't recall fighting much, we certainly would have clashed. Take our approach to Easter eggs. I was in the 'eat them all in one go' category. She was in the 'save it and have a little bit at a time' category. Naturally, when mine was finished, I'd go after hers.
When Smack the Pony was on billboards around London, I'd think: 'Jesus, that's my sister.' It was bizarre but then you get used to it. Although I do still find myself getting mildly freaked out if I hear her voice on TV.
Sally is a very supportive big sister. Very pro-family, very into keeping people together. She stays in touch with relatives who I can't even recall how I'm related to, and she does a Sunday roast for everyone whenever she can. All of which is quite amazing, especially bearing in mind how busy she generally is.
Sally is genuine, she's helpful and she can be hilarious. Not all the time. But sometimes.
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We are crouched in front of our little wall garden in Hong Kong. One day we had a 5ft snake in it.
Shortly after this was taken, I had a succession of postings: Zambia, Brunei, Lebanon, London, the Gulf, Australia, Italy, then back to London. It was a very interesting childhood for Sally, experiencing the different cultures.
Like most daddies would say about their daughters, Sally was absolutely delightful. Very smiley and so bright. You would read her a story and a week later she would remember the words. When we were in Bahrain, an opera singer came to our house. She overheard Sally singing, and said she had perfect pitch.
When Sally finished at Oxford with a first, I was so proud of her. I asked her what she was going to do next, and she said: 'I'm going to be an actress.' I said: 'Don't be so ridiculous. You'll be unemployed 99% of the time.' She replied: 'Somebody's got to succeed. Why not me?' She put me back in my box, and I was so impressed.
Since then she has had the pressure of being a working mother and managing Olly, but people rally around her because she is such a great friend to them. It hasn't been easy. But, like anyone who has met Sally will tell you, she's always good news.
Sally was absolutely beautiful when she was born. Actually, I take that back. Initially she had a big bump on her head as they pulled her out of me with a suction device. But in the end she was all right.
Sally was very good at keeping her brothers in order. She's the eldest of three. She was also excellent at occupying herself, making up games and putting on plays.
When Smack the Pony came out there were massive posters of the cast everywhere. It was lovely to see Sally get the credit she deserved. What I admired most was their approach to humour – it was for women, making fun of women. We hadn't seen that before on television.
Sally is perceptive and has good taste. Are we similar? Well, I wouldn't think so. She's much better.