Sarah Quintrell (born in Lambeth, London) is a BAFTA nominated writer, producer and actress, best known for her work on The Power[1] (2023) and His Dark Materials.[citation needed] (Season 2, co-writing alongside Jack Thorne). Sarah's writing debut was the multi-award winning single drama Ellen[2] (Channel 4, 2016), which she followed up with five-part crime drama The Trial: A Murder In The Family (Channel 4, 2017).
In 2017, Sarah was named a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit.[3]
As an actor, Sarah has had an extensive career on stage as well as appearing in television such as Rillington Place (BBC), Call the Midwife (BBC) and Doctor Who (BBC).
Career
Quintrell's writing debut, Ellen, was broadcast on Channel 4.[4] Directed by Mahalia Belo and starring Jessica Barden, Yasmin Monet Prince, Jaime Winstone, Joe Dempsie and Charlie Creed-Miles. Ellen won the Broadcast Television Award Best Single Drama, Writers' Guild Great Britain Best Short Form Drama, BAFTA Cymru Feature/Television Film and the Prix Italia TV Drama. Quintrell was nominated for the BAFTA Breakthrough Talent Award at the 2017 BAFTA Craft Awards.
The Trial: A Murder In The Family was broadcast on Channel 4 Directed by Kath Mattock and Nick Holt, starring Michael Gould, Emma Lowndes and Laura Elphinstone. In 2018 it was nominated for Best Original Programme at the Broadcast Awards. Sarah wrote on Season 2 of His Dark Materials for BBC/HBO, starring Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson and Lin-Manuel Miranda. She went on to develop, write and co-executive produce The Power (Amazon Prime, 2023), starring Ria Zmitrowicz, Halle Bush, Eddie Marsan, Toheeb Jimoh, Heather Agyepong, Zrinka Cvitesic, John Leguizamo and Toni Colette.
Sarah had an extensive career on stage and was the original Bobbie in Mike Kenny's The Railway Children at York Theatre Royal.[5] She transferred with the production to London Waterloo Station, where it won the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment (2011).[6] She has also played Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion (2005).[7][8]
Other theatre includes As You Like It, Forty Years On and an assortment of new writing including AgeSexLocation, Bloodtide and playing Natalie in James Phillips's City Stories, which had a residency in 15 at St James Theatre, London, (now The Other Palace). She transferred with the production to 59East59 Theater in New York as part of Brits Off Broadway (2016) and reprised the role at Crazy Coqs, Brasserie Zedel, London, in 2018.[9]
Sarah Quintrell started her career playing Sinéad in the BBC TV sitcom Carrie and Barry. She has gone on to appear in Rillington Place (BBC), Call the Midwife (BBC), Doctor Who (BBC), Lewis (ITV), The Watcher (UFA), The Last Trace (UFA), The Marchioness Disaster (Granada Yorkshire), Doctors (BBC) and Island at War (Granada).
In October 2024, the BBC commissioned The Other Bennet Sister based on the novel of the same name by Janice Hadlow. The ten-part drama is written by Sarah Quintrell.[10]