Sally Anne Wainwright OBE (born 1963) is an English television writer, producer, and director. She is known for her dramas, which are often set in West Yorkshire, where she originates from, and feature "strong female characters". Wainwright has been praised for the quality of her dialogue. Wainwright began her career as a scriptwriter on the long-running radio serial drama The Archers, and worked on the television soap operas Emmerdale and Coronation Street in the 1990s. Her first original drama, At Home with the Braithwaites, aired between 2000 and 2003. After two self-described "flops" in the mid-2000s, Wainwright found success with Unforgiven (2009), for which she won the Royal Television Society's Writer of the Year Award. Her work since includes Scott & Bailey (2011–2016), Last Tango in Halifax (2012–2020), Happy Valley (2014–2023), and Gentleman Jack (2019–2022). Last Tango in Halifax won the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2013, and Happy Valley won the same award in both 2015 and 2017.
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Biography from TMDB.
- January 1, 1963 (63)
- Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England, UK
- Writer, producer and director
- 14 on MovieCove · 29 credits in all
What are Sally Wainwright's films like?
Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 0 · Earnest 3
A split, not a type: Light 1 · Serious 1 · Dark 2
Grounded 3 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
Gentle 0 · Charged 3 · Intense 1
Steady 1 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 2
Resolved 2 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet6
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Sally Wainwright's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 13 of their 14 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on BritBox (7).
- BritBox
Subscription and free streaming for Sally Wainwright's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
29 credits, 14 with a MovieCove page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Riot Women(2025)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows
Renegade Nell(2024)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all shows
Son Nefesime Kadar (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
The Unforgivable(2021)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Gentleman Jack(2019)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows
The Detail (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Happy Valley(2014)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
The Last Witch(2013)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films
Last Tango in Halifax(2012)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows
Scott & Bailey(2011)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows
Unforgiven(2009)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all shows
Bonkers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
The Amazing Mrs Pritchard (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Jane Hall (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
The Taming of the Shrew (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
ShakespeaRe-Told(2005)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all shows
Canterbury Tales (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Sparkhouse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all shows
Bad Girls (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Playing the Field (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Castles (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
Revelations (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
The House of Windsor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
Children's Ward (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Emmerdale (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Coronation Street(1960)
Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all shows
Career shape
A full career of 29 titles from 1960 to 2025.
Biggest box office
The Unforgivable (2021)
Highest rated
Riot Women (2025)
Most popular right now
Renegade Nell (2024)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
4 BAFTA Awards from 12 major nominations, 2002–2024.
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Drama Series
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Writer, Drama
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Drama Series
- BAFTA Award, won · Best Drama Series
- BAFTA Award, won · Best Writer: Drama
- BAFTA Award, won · Best Drama Series
- BAFTA Award, won · Best Writer: Drama
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Drama Series
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Drama Series
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Drama Serial
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Single Drama
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Drama Series
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Sally Wainwright's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 73rd percentile, the median of all 4; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 66th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up9
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
6 of their 14 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved4
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser6
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the dialogue 53/100 and the plot and story 49/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Sally Wainwright's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Sally Wainwright work with?
People who share at least 2 of Sally Wainwright's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Nicola Shindler shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Amanda BrotchieShared titles: Riot Women (2025), Renegade Nell (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Amanda Brotchie
Actors
- Suranne JonesShared titles: Unforgiven (2009), Dead Clever: The Life and Crimes of Julie Bottomley (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Suranne Jones
Composers
- Ben FosterShared titles: Riot Women (2025), The Last Witch (2013)See all 2 shared titles with Ben Foster
Producers
- Nicola ShindlerShared titles: The Unforgivable (2021), The Last Witch (2013), Unforgiven (2009)See all 3 shared titles with Nicola Shindler
- Karen LewisShared titles: To Walk Invisible: The Brontë Sisters (2016), The Last Witch (2013), Unforgiven (2009)See all 3 shared titles with Karen Lewis
- Jonathan LeatherShared titles: To Walk Invisible: The Brontë Sisters (2016), The Last Witch (2013)See all 2 shared titles with Jonathan Leather