Happy Valley’s Sarah Lancashire makes very rare public appearance with husband of 23 years at posh awards ceremony

SARAH Lancashire made a very rare pulic appearance at the Royal Television Society Awards last night with her husband Peter Salmon.

The acclaimed actress accepted the Drama Series prize for her role in Happy Valley at the industry bash.

Her portrayal of copper Catherine Cawood in Happy Valley is considered one of her career best.

And her husband of 23 years was by her side to celebrate her win in a star-studded ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel.

Sarah, 59, and the 67-year-old producer left the red carpet event hand-in-hand, in a sweet display of their love.

She was dressed in an elegant black gown which she teamed with a black dinner coat that featured satin lapels.

Peter, who is the chief creative officer at Endemol Shine, the company behind Big Brother, Black Mirror, Benidorm, Broadchurch, Deal or No Deal, and Masterchef, looked dapper in a black suit and tie.

Sarah wed her second in August 2001

The mum-of-three, whose dad Geoffrey Lancashire wrote for Coronation Street and mum Hilda worked as his personal assistant, began dating when she was 36 and he was 44, and estranged from his wife of 20 years, Penny Watt.

Sarah and Peter welcomed a child together in 2003.

She has described their relationship as “precious” but has kept their family life under wraps.

“I guard it because it’s very precious.

“It’s not a piece of drama. It is real life, my normal life.

“And I value my normality,” she said.

But she views motherhood as her most important job.

“The older that I get, the harder it is to be away from home,” she added.

“I love being at home. I’m very much a mum when I go home – the mums among us know it’s a full-time job.”

Sarah’s first 10-year marriage to Gary Hargreaves, with whom she shares two sons, was a “loveless” affair, and she has admitted she only tied the knot because she was pregnant.

The star has also battled depression on and off since her teens.

She said: “I have my good and my bad patches, my fantastic and my debilitating patches.”

She has a raft of Baftas and an OBE, but shuns red carpet events and parties to live a quiet in London with Peter and their blended family.