Sheridan Smith from Cilla to The Moorside: The star's greatest ever roles

(Image credit: ITV)

Sheridan Smith is one of our most beloved actresses. Here we reveal her six greatest parts including Cilla of course!

Sheridan Smith - Her Greatest Roles...

Jonathan Creek (2009-2013)

Jonathan Creek Sheridan Smith — (Image credit: BBC)

Sheridan starred alongside Alan Davies in three special seasonal episodes of BBC1’s quirky detective drama as Creek’s gung-ho sidekick Joey Ross. "Creek and Joey had a big brother-little sister style of banter, which was like Alan and me in real life," she laughed. "Although Alan wasn’t as horrible to me!"

Mrs Biggs (2012)

Mrs Biggs Sheridan Smith — (Image credit: ITV)

Sheridan won a Best Actress BAFTA for her portrayal of train robber Ronnie Biggs’ wife Charmian in this ITV drama. "I’d mainly done comedy before this, but it was good to step out of my comfort zone," she said. "When I got the call, I cried because it really was a dream part."

Cilla (2014)

Cilla Sheridan Smith — (Image credit: ITV)

Sheridan showcased her vocal talents in this ITV biopic based on the early career of much-loved singer and entertainer Cilla Black. "It’s terrifying taking on someone who’s so well known, but Cilla was lovely and gave me her number in case I needed to ask anything," she recalled. "But I was too shy to ring!"

The C Word (2015)

C Word Sheridan Smith — (Image credit: BBC/Stuart Wood)

Sheridan shaved her head to play real-life cancer patient Lisa Lynch in this BBC1 film based on Lisa’s bestselling book. "This was a complete passion project and it changed my life," she said. "I just hope I did Lisa and her family justice."

Black Work (2015)

Black Work Sheridan Smith — (Image credit: itv)

This pacy ITV thriller saw Sheridan play a police detective, Jo Gillespie, hell-bent on finding her husband’s killer. "Initially I thought Black Work wouldn’t be as hard as Cilla or The C Word because it was fictional, but it was harder! I had to go to some dark places… It was so different to anything else I’d done before."

The Moorside (2016)

A grim true story becomes a gripping drama starring Sheridan Smith — (Image credit: Stuart Wood/ITV/BBC)

Based on the disappearance of nine-year-old Shannon Matthews in 2008, this BBC1 drama saw Sheridan take on the role of Julie Bushby, a close friend and neighbour of Shannon’s mother Karen. "I have such admiration for Julie, who refused to give up despite adversity," she said. "The community’s efforts, and how much they cared about that little girl, seemed to get lost in all the headlines at the time."

Pics: ITV, BBC

David is the What To Watch Editor and has over 20 years of experience in television journalism. He is currently writing about the latest television and film news for What To Watch.

Before working for What To Watch, David spent many years working for TV Times magazine, interviewing some of television's most famous stars including Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, singer Lionel Richie and wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough.

David started out as a writer for TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. During his time on TV Times, David also helped run the annual TV Times Awards. David is a huge Death in Paradise fan, although he's still failed to solve a case before the show's detective! He also loves James Bond and controversially thinks that Timothy Dalton was an excellent 007.

Other than watching and writing about telly, David loves playing cricket, going to the cinema, trying to improve his tennis and chasing about after his kids!