All you need to know about Sarah Lancashire's famous father

Sarah Lancashire's performance as Sergeant Catherine Cawood never ceases to amaze us. The BAFTA-winning actress has been rightly praised for her turn as the iconic detective in the latest series of the BBC drama, but Sarah was already a household name prior to starring in Happy Valley.

It's perhaps unsurprising that the star ended up in a career in the arts after her father's very successful career in television. Here's all you need to know about Sarah Lancashire's father.

WATCH: Catherine Cawood visits Mr Hepworth in Happy Valley 

Sarah's father was Geoffrey Lancashire who worked as a television scriptwriter. The writer began his career as a journalist for the Oldham Evening Chronicle before turning his hand to scriptwriting.

After joining Granada Television as a continuity scriptwriter back in 1956, he would then go on to write over 170 episodes of Coronation Street – a show which would later launch the career of his daughter Sarah.

MORE: Who is Happy Valley star Sarah Lancashire's famous husband? Meet her family here

MORE: 6 Sarah Lancashire shows to watch if you love Happy Valley

Sarah is adored for her role in Happy Valley

But it wasn't just Corrie that Geoffrey worked on, the writer penned scripts for other popular shows such as The Cuckoo Waltz, Foxy Lady and All Creatures Great and Small. In 2004, Sarah's father sadly passed away aged 71 after suffering a series of strokes in later life. Elsewhere in Sarah's family, she has three brothers, one elder, one younger and a twin.

Sarah, who portrayed Raquel Watts in Corrie, met her husband, Peter Salmon, through the soap when he was working for Grenada Studios. The pair developed a romantic relationship and later got engaged in 2001. Later that year, they married in a small ceremony in Nottinghamshire.

Sarah Lancashire's parents at her wedding

Prior to meeting her husband Peter, Sarah was first married to music lecturer Gary Hargreaves. They welcomed two sons, Thomas in 1987, and Matthew in 1988, before separating in 1995 and divorcing soon after.

Sarah also shares a son, Joseph, born in 2003, with her current husband Peter. She is a step-mum to Peter's three sons from his previous marriage to Penny Watt.

Like this story? Sign up to our What to Watch newsletter and get the heads-up on the shows and films everyone’s talking about.