Happy Valley star Sarah Lancashire might be in breach of BBC tips after ‘mimicking’ character in new TV advert
As the star of the hit BBC crime drama Happy Valley, Sarah Lancashire was ruthless in her determination to bring the bad guys to book.
But now the actress may herself be in breach of BBC guidelines by ‘mimicking’ her most famous character in a new TV advert.
Lancashire, 60, who played police officer Catherine Cawood in three series of the Bafta winning Happy Valley is starring in a new campaign for the popular brand, Yorkshire Tea.
In the advert, which launched last week, the star plays a no-nonsense security guard trying to solve what appears to be a mini-crime wave in the company’s offices.
The commercial has proved a huge hit with the star’s fan base, not least because of the obvious physical and vocal similarities between the security guard and Cawood.
One fan wrote: ‘Sarah stars in new Yorkshire TV advert solving office crimes as… Catherine Cawood. Amazing.’
Another said: ‘Love Sarah Lancashire and love Yorkshire Tea for this. Wasn’t going to be long before Catherine Cawood was back in uniform.’
Even the Radio Times, the UK’s biggest selling TV and radio listings magazine, couldn’t help notice a connection.
In an article about the new campaign, it wrote: ‘It’s been close to two years since Sarah Lancashire mesmerised audiences once again with her performance as Catherine Cawood in the third and final season of Happy Valley – but it looks like she’s not quite got the character out of her system yet.’

Happy Valley star Sarah Lancashire (pictured) could be in breach of BBC guidelines after ‘mimicking’ her character in a new TV advert

Lancashire, 60, plays police officer Catherine Cawood in three series of the Bafta winning Happy Valley

But the actress may herself be in breach of BBC guidelines by ‘mimicking’ the character (Stock image)
And the Grocer magazine noted: ‘It’s a fun surprise to see a version of Sarah Lancashire’s Catherine Cawood popping up in a Yorkshire Tea ad.’
But these similarities could prove to be a headache for the BBC.
The Corporation has strict guidelines to prevent third parties exploiting its programmes, brands and characters.
A section of the guidelines headed Actors and Artists Replicating Their BBC Roles in Other Output states: ‘Actors and artists who perform in BBC output should not appear in promotional work, including advertisements, in a way which mimics or replicates their on-air roles for the BBC.’
The Mail on Sunday has been unable to establish whether Yorkshire Tea or Lancashire approached the BBC to seek permission for the commercial.
The commercial begins with the apparent theft of a packet of biscuits.
Lancashire’s security guard immediately launches her own investigation, declaring: ‘They didn’t just walk off on their own’.
The mystery is solved when it turns out the absent-minded owner of the biscuits realises she ate them herself.
The ad ends with Lancashire turning her attention to another missing item.

The actress, 60, took on a role reminiscent of her famous character – police officer Catherine Cawood

In the minute clip she is tasked with working out which employee is responsible for the theft of some biscuits at Yorkshire Tea headquarters

After discovering the crime , Sarah makes her way around the office to interrogate each person to find out the truth

Her no-nonsense interrogation style unsurprisingly leads to her solving the case, before a voice-over says: ‘Yorkshire Tea, where everything’s done properly’
She says: ‘All eyes on a red stapler, I repeat a red stapler.’
Lancashire is the latest big name to appear in a commercial for the popular tea drink.
But unlike some of her predecessors, such as Sir Patrick Stewart and Kaiser Chiefs front man Ricky Wilson, she was born in Greater Manchester rather than Yorkshire.
Happy Valley, however, is set in West Yorkshire.
A Yorkshire Tea spokesperson said: ‘At Yorkshire Tea we are really proud of our ‘Where Everything’s Done Proper’ adverts which feature top talent taking up roles in our office alongside our staff in a humorous way. We are delighted to welcome Sarah Lancashire as our Head of Security; she is a national icon known for many roles including most recently as a spy in Black Doves.’
A spokesperson for the BBC last night declined to comment.