Inside Ellis star Sharon D Clarke's life from racism experience and Doctor Who to famous wife

Sharon D Clarke is to star in Channel 5’s upcoming drama Ellis but what is there to know about the former Holby City actress?

Ellis is gearing up for its premiere, airing on Thursday, October 31, at 8pm on Channel 5, focussing on two detectives who are tasked with solving seemingly impossible cases.

Leading the cast as DCI Ellis is actress Sharon D Clarke but what is there to know about the 58-year-old actress?

Early life

Born in Enfield, north London, in 1966 , Sharon’s mum worked as a seamstress in places like Harrods and Selfridges, while her dad worked as a carpenter, having moved to London from Jamaica in the early 1950s.

Even from the age of six, she had a love for dancing and attended the Ivy Travers Dance School before moving onto the Anna Scher Theatre when she was 14.

Her parents, however, didn’t believe acting was a steady career and so Sharon studied to be a social worker but couldn’t let go of wanting to perform.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

After seeing an advert to audition for the Battersea Arts Centre, she applied and got the job, launching her career in theatre.

She has since gone on to win three Olivier Awards for Amen Corner at the National Theatre, Caroline Or Change at the Playhouse and Death Of A Salesman at the Young Vic.

Racism in the industry

As well as her on stage work, Sharon has been a fan-favourite on the TV, starring in Red, White and Royal Blue, Showtrial and most recently Mr Loverman on One.

Of course, to many of her fans she is best remembered for playing Lola Griffin in Holby City for a whopping 16 years.

However, it wasn’t always easy for the star as she saw racism within the entertainment business. When she attended her first Olivier Awards ceremony in 1996, she said that herself, actor Adrian Lester, as well as their families, were the only black people in the room.

She told the Guardian: “When I first started being seen for TV roles it was just endless nurses, because as far as society was concerned, that was what Black women did.”

The Ellis star added to the Radio TImes: "I stopped auditioning for telly for a while because I didn’t want to play a nurse simply because I’m black.”

But something was different about portraying surgeon Lola in Holby City, describing her as “opinionated” and “strong”.

She also puts emphasis on the change in attitude to ’s hit romantic drama Bridgerton.

“This shift has been a long while coming, and it’s a wonderful thing to see – especially when it comes to period pieces”, she said.

“Bridgerton has done so much to show that they can reflect our multicultural society – and it took an American to do it, because they don’t have the same reverence towards these stories.

“But I have to see it continue. I don’t want to be in a situation where I get all excited about a couple of years where we had all this new Black work come in and then it all disappeared.”

Doctor Who criticism

Sharon also had a stint on the iconic as Grace but wasn’t oblivious to the scrutiny that came with actress Jodie Whittaker playing the Time Lord.

She commented: “To have those different generations of women in the TARDIS was glorious.

“A black woman, a white woman and a brown woman.

"The flack that Jodie [Whittaker] took for being the first female Doctor was ridiculous.

“Someone said little boys no longer had a role model! What the hell!

“And now Ncuti Gatwa is a funky, funny, charming, cheeky, sexy black Doctor.

“We’re on the frontier of time, right here, right now, and we should always be pushing those boundaries."

Love life

The actress’ other half is also in the limelight with Sharon married to director Susie McKenna. They met on a production of Cinderella back in 1999 and went on to tie the knot at The Hackney Empire stage in 2008.

When asked about her experience of homophobia, the star replied: "I didn’t come out till I’d talked to my late parents, and after that I wasn’t afraid to talk about it at all.

“I’m very out! Everyone in the industry knows I’m married to Susie. I’ve been very, very lucky in that respect.

"It’s important for me that shows like Lost Boys and Mr Loverman exist to help everyone understand that it’s OK for some people to come out and not so easy for others. You have to let people do their own thing."

Ellis premieres on Thursday, October 31, at 8pm on Channel 5.