Sarah Parish wants more TV shows starring older women
Piglets actress Sarah Parish is puzzled by TV executives being "obsessed with youth" as women between the ages of 50 and 70 are the most likely to be watching shows on the small screen.
Sarah Parish has called for greater representation of older women on TV.
The 57-year-old actress is frustrated that small screen executives are "obsessed with youth" when women between the ages of 50 and 70 are the most likely demographic to be watching television.
Sarah – who has starred in shows such as Cutting It and Mistresses – told The Times newspaper: "What I'd like to see on TV is more programmes about people like me. That's why we watch TV, isn't it? We want to see a slightly heightened version of ourselves.
"And because the biggest demographic of people watching TV is women between the ages of 50 and 70, I would hope that there would be more on TV for us to watch."
She continued: "I want to see women of my age having sex. I want to see them thinking about things that we're not allowed to talk about. As you come into your fifties, a big part of ageing is, especially for a woman, you become slightly invisible.
"I think there is definitely a place out there at the moment, a place for something like Mistresses, just something that's quite fun, a little bit glossy but still based in reality, looking at all of those different difficulties women have in their fifties and sixties when they're still working, still attractive, still want to be attractive, still want romance, still want adventure. But a lot of the time they're put out to pasture.
"And it's sexy. I think 50 and 60 is sexy. It's great. And we need to embrace it as a human race. We're so obsessed with youth."
Sarah will reprise her role as Superintendent Julie Spry in the second series of the ITV sitcom Piglets and admits that the comedy about new police recruits is divisive after it was panned by critics when the first run aired in 2024.
She said: "Well, it's the Marmite of sitcoms, isn't, really?
"Comedy is a very personal thing. If you don't like slapstick, stupid, in-your-face, on-crack comedy, this isn't for you. If you want to watch W1A, which is very naturalistic and almost a mockumentary, then Piglets is not going to be for you. But as actors, we want to do everything."
