Happy Valley had a phenomenal night at the National Television Awards last night, scooping three awards – but it’s Sarah Lancashire’s accent that’s had the internet talking overnight.
The star, who is originally from Oldham, is perhaps best-known for her portrayal of Catherine Cawood in Happy Valley, as well as for her time as barmaid Raquel Wolstenhulme at the Rover’s Return on Coronation Street.
In Happy Valley, she sports a strong – and very authentic – Yorkshire accent, fitting with the setting around the Calder Valley.
So when Sarah Lancashire went to collect her various awards at the NTAs last night (Returning Drama, Drama Performance, and the Special Recognition Award), audiences were shocked to hear that her accent isn’t very northern at all.
In fact, fans have gone so far as to say she is ‘posh’, and that her real accent sounds ‘jarring’ compared to the Yorkshire tones we’ve all got used to in recent years.
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The 58-year-old took to the stage last night, wiping away tears, to tell the crowd (who were chanting her name): “You have no idea what it’s like to have so many lovely things said about you by so many people that you love and admire.”
Sarah added: “I have been so very fortunate to spend my working life doing a job that I love, made possible by brilliantly talented people – producers, directors, writers, actors – and I am exceptionally lucky to have enjoyed every moment of it.”
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Sarah Lancashire in Happy Valley as fans are stunned by her ‘real accent’ at the NTAs. Credit: ITV
Many have been sad to hear that her years of theatre training seem to have dulled down her native Oldham accent, with most surprised that she doesn’t ‘sound Northern’.
Which makes her performance in Happy Valley, where she chats away about brews and stews and swear like a true Yorkshireman, all the more impressive.
One person said: “Sarah Lancashire is that good an actress that it’s a shock when she doesn’t speak in a Yorkshire accent.”
Someone else posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Sarah Lancashire speaking that posh just took me by surprise!! Her Yorkshire accent is spot on in happy valley!”
The National Television Awards 2023 (NTAs) winners in full
Special Recognition Award – Sarah Lancashire
Serial Drama – Eastenders
Talent Show – Strictly Come Dancing
New Drama – Wednesday
Reality Competition – The Traitors
Authored Documentary – Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now
Returning Drama – Happy Valley
TV Presenter – Ant & Dec
Factual – Paul O’Grady: For The Love Of Dogs
Drama Performance – Sarah Lancashire
The Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award – Gogglebox
TV Interview – The Graham Norton Show
Serial Drama Performance – Danielle Harold
Quiz Game Show – The 1% Club
Rising Star – Bobby Brazier
Daytime – The Repair Shop
Comedy – Young Sheldon
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TV & Showbiz
Beloved Manc butty shop Bada Bing set for a sensational return to the city centre
Danny Jones
Sandwich lovers rejoice because one of the finest butty shops to ever grace Manchester is returning: that’s right, Bada Bing is bada-back!
The Sopranos-inspired deli and sandwich shop that took its name from one of the central locations featured in the iconic US drama (yes, the strip club), was a huge success when it first opened in Manchester a few short years ago, so it was a huge blow when it closed in February 2022.
Starting out by serving sandwiches out of a window at The B Lounge pub on Paton Street near Piccadilly, before moving to a small kitchen on Radium Street and eventually setting up their stall inside Ancoats General Store, they would regularly have lines around the block every lunchtime.
These Italian-American sarnies were so popular you’d often struggle to get your claws on one – and believe us, they really are a two-handed task – as they’d sell out on what felt like most days. But now, whether you were a regular or someone who missed out, there is hope once again:
Announcing their sensational return to a new site over in the Northern Quarter, which will now mark the fourth premises they’ve popped up at, Bada Bing is back with a bang and, as you can, they dropped the news with one of the best reveal videos we’ve ever seen.
If you know, you know…
Set to take over 125 Oldham Street, owners Sam Gormally and Meg Lingenfelter haven’t yet graced us with an opening date but the new unit should hopefully be open sooner rather than later.
The duo, who previously worked at fellow NQ favourite Another Heart to Feed, came up with the concept during lockdown and it didn’t take long for the idea to take off, nor for them to earn their spot amongst the very best sandwich places in Manchester.
Seriously, these things were so big and unwieldy (in the best way possible) that they even used to come with eating instructions: both hands and the trademark Tony Soprano hunch recommended, though the slightly stained wife-beater, boxer shorts and open dressing gown look is optional.
From slices of provolone cheese, all the thinly sliced Italian meats you could think of and the closest thing to actual ‘gabagool‘ as you’ll find in Greater Manchester, the menu was fitting of being served up to the iconic characters that once sat outside Satriale’s and a big approving grin from the man himself.
Simply put, we cannot wait and we will certainly keep you posted when we find out exactly when Bada Bing confirms their official reopening date.
Will Mellor’s new BBC documentary about real-life Post Office scandal victims airs tonight
Emily Sergeant
A new BBC documentary about real-life victims from the Post Office scandal fronted by Will Mellor is hitting TV screens tonight.
As the country finally starts to wake up to the full scale of the Post Office scandal – which involved the British postal service pursuing thousands of innocent subpostmasters for apparent financial shortfalls caused by faults in an accounting software system between 1999 and 2015 – actor Will Mellor is on a mission to find out what happened to the real-life sub-postmasters in this new BBC documentary.
The Stockport-born actor famously played the part of Lee Castleton in the ITV drama, Mr Bates vs the Post Office, and says he feels a “real affinity” will the families he spoke to for the programme.
For the new documentary and accompanying five-part BBC Sounds podcast series – which is titled Surviving the Post Office – Will actually speaks to Mr Castleton himself, as well as four other affected people and their families whose lives have been “torn apart”.
Will Mellor has fronted a new BBC documentary about real-life Post Office scandal victims / Credit: ITV
Surviving the Post Office ventures to all four corners of England, including East Yorkshire, County Durham, Lincolnshire, West Sussex, and Cornwall, as Will discovers that many of the sub-postmasters want to “take back control of their lives”.
According to the BBC, for some facing the past, that proves to be a “troubling experience”, while for others, it ends up being a “liberating” step forwards.
As well as exploring the financial losses for many, including the people featured in the documentary and podcast series, Will also gets to find out how they are coping with their emotions, trying to move on from the whole ordeal, and how the victims are finding support in unexpected ways.
📢 Actor Will Mellor meets the real-life victims of the Post Office scandal in a brand new documentary from BBC Local
Surviving The Post Office is coming to @BBCOne and @BBCiPlayer tonight at 8.30pm. The podcast series is on @BBCSounds now
“I feel a real affinity with these families, so it was a privilege to hear their stories for this documentary and podcast,” Will said ahead of the documentary airing on BBC One.
“What shocked me the most after meeting so many sub-postmasters is just how far the impact and trauma has spread – the effect it’s had on people’s health, their children, and their whole communities has been massive.”