Sally Phillips On Partridge, Marriage Proposals & The Kindness Of People

Sally Phillips has no problem keeping a smile on her face and she loves escaping to the supermarket, finds Lucinda Baring.

The Rurbanist: Sally Phillips

What’s bringing you joy at the moment? 

Pablo Neruda’s Ode to My Socks and my children’s successes. My son Olly has just landed his first job: he is filming Mixmups, the animation series by the very cool Rebecca Atkinson for Channel 5. I’m incredibly proud of him and it’s a great programme they’re making. He will be doing the Makaton signing. 

What’s annoying you most right now? 

The fact my youngest has regressed to collecting Pokémon cards again – an incredible waste of money and cause of fights –  and also Elon Musk. He signals the death of democracy. 

Advice you’d give to your 15-year-old self? 

Don’t hold raw Dettol on your spots: it will burn your face off. I did that before my first date. The other one is don’t worry, it won’t always be like this: your friends are waiting for you at university, which you will love. 

What keeps you awake at night? 

Worrying about my kids. I have three neurodiverse children and that comes with a lot of paperwork, which is my nemesis. 

What could you have been arrested for? 

Impersonating someone else. Until I was about 26 and I decided to have a truth amnesty, I’d spend every train journey being a different person from a different country, age, profession, whatever. It was something to do with acting and walking in other people’s shoes, trying them on for size. I lived abroad as a child and in lots of different countries, so I guess I was a bit fractured identity-wise. 

Best life hack you can share with us? 

You don’t need to be super attractive, or young, or to wear expensive underwear or pretend not to have opinions or want jewellery – what men really want is women who can throw wobbly things over distance into containers. After I threw some jelly into a bucket on Taskmaster, I was inundated with marriage proposals. 

A moment that changed everything? 

I have had a life full of pivots. Career-wise I owe a lot to Armando Iannucci: he gave me Partridge at the beginning of my career; and then he cast me in Veep just as I’d had my third child and was fat and breastfeeding. Having Olly was a really profound moment. He was diagnosed with Down syndrome 10 days after the birth and it still makes me cry; it’s not a tragedy at all, but that moment is fucking horrible. I had privately planned to be a hothouse mum; I came home and saw all this genius-making kit I’d bought and realised he needed all those things more than a child who doesn’t have his neurodiversity. On paper, the story is ‘my life is ruined’ – but although our relationship was forged in the fire, we are much closer as a result. It’s also been far from boring: I’ve learned sign language; about psychology; and I have met the best people in the world. The disability club is one you never want to join, but when you do, you realise all the best people in the world are in it with you. I have met extraordinary parents who are on a trajectory to improve the world for other people. People are also really kind. Harry Enfield turned up on my doorstep with this hospital-grade breast-milk expresser that he had hired. I didn’t really know him. I was in my dressing gown, trying to get this baby to feed, and Harry arrived with this transformative piece of weaponry. And Dawn [French] and Jen [Saunders] gave me a job, just because they’re kind. 

Where do you go to escape? 

The supermarket. I’ll amble very slowly round the aisles. I also love bookshops and walking my dogs in Richmond Park. Nothing lifts the spirits like those little dogs’ arses wagging.

Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) & Shazzer (Sally Phillips) in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. (© Universal Studios)

What’s the best way to put a smile on your face? 

I have the opposite problem. After a career in comedy, the smile is stuck. I have just done a job with Jennifer Saunders and I notice she has the same problem. The Victorians called it a giggle mug.

You wouldn’t know it but… 

Ronnie Ancona and I presented the Palm Dog Award to Quentin Tarantino at the Cannes Film Festival on behalf of Brandy, the dog from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. 

What does sustainability mean to you? 

How do we adapt our lifestyle to stay within the limits of what our planet can give us? It is down to us and I get anxious and  cross with the ‘no energy’ that only exists to sew doubt and create a reason to do nothing. Another facet is: how do I sustain a career in the media when my face is collapsing around my shoulders? 

How can we save the world? 

The fact that you’re asking comedians shows how desperate things are.  

Your greatest failure? 

My marriage. 

Your greatest triumph? 

My children. 

Your epitaph would read… 

Found humour in unexpected places. 

What does a life in balance mean to you? 

Something completely unattainable. 

Sally Phillips’ Quick Fire Favourites

Scent… Hermes Un Jardin sur la Toi 

Box set… Ted Lasso 

Chocolate… Red Lindor Balls 

Song… Kate Rusby’s The Village Green Preservation Society 

Dish… Spaghetti Aglio e Olio 

Gadget… The toaster 

Restaurant… Ekstedt at the Yard. Expensive but unbelievable 

Holiday… A bucket and spade with all the cousins 

WATCH

Sally Phillips stars in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, in cinemas from 13 February 2025. Find Tickets