Sally Phillips

Sally Phillips is a celebrated comedian, actress, writer and presenter, best known for co-creating the award-winning sketch show Smack the Pony and for her roles across film, television and radio. With a career spanning more than three decades, Sally brings humour, warmth and insight to audiences as both a performer and an engaging keynote speaker.

Sally achieved international recognition with Smack the Pony, the groundbreaking female-led sketch show she developed and co-wrote alongside Doon Mackichan, Fiona Allen, Sarah Alexander and Darren Boyd, produced by Caroline Leddy and Victoria Pile. Broadcast between 1998 and 2002, the show became a comedy classic and won numerous awards, including two International Emmy Awards.

Since then, Sally has remained a familiar face on British television, appearing in leading roles in series including Rescue Me, Tourist Trap and Parents. Her many television credits also include Green Wing, Galavant, Vanity Fair, Year of the Rabbit, Zapped, Henry IX (winner of the Golden Rose of Montreux), Friday Night Dinner, Breeders, Jerk and Pennyworth. Her most recent television projects include Channel 4’s Big Mood, Disney/Hulu’s Queenie, and the BBC comedy We Might Regret This.

Alongside her television work, Sally has enjoyed a successful film career. She is widely recognised for her role as Shazzer in the hugely popular Bridget Jones film series. Other notable film appearances include How to Please a Woman, Off the Rails, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, The More You Ignore Me, Love at First Sight, Blinded by the Light, You, Me and Him, Burn Burn Burn, The Fence and Birthday Girl. She has also lent her voice to animated productions, including Ferdinand.

Sally is also a familiar presence on panel and factual programmes. She is a regular guest on QI and the popular podcast No Such Thing As a Fish, and in 2017 became one of the curators of BBC Radio 4’s The Museum of Curiosity. She has occasionally presented The One Show and hosted My Life at Christmas for the BBC in 2023. During the Covid-19 lockdowns, she co-presented BBC One’s Sunday Morning Live alongside Sean Fletcher.

Beyond entertainment, Sally is a passionate advocate for neurodiversity and disability inclusion. She is the mother of three neurodivergent children, including her son Olly, who has Down syndrome and autism and is becoming a self-advocate for people with Down syndrome. In 2016, Sally and Olly presented the acclaimed BBC documentary A World Without Down’s Syndrome?, directed by Clare Richards. The film explored the ethical implications of prenatal screening policies and won the Radio Times Readers’ Award and the Sandford St Martin Award for Best Single Documentary. It continues to be shown internationally and is widely used in schools and universities to teach medical ethics.

Sally has contributed to the Nuffield Council on Bioethics report on the Down syndrome prenatal screening pathway and regularly speaks at universities, conferences, medical forums and government events. She is joint patron of the Down’s Syndrome Association alongside her son Olly, as well as patron of The Brentford Penguins, Brentford FC’s Down syndrome football team, and Josephine and Jack, a charity providing relationship and sex education for adults with learning disabilities.

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