'I was on Strictly and soap filmed in Birmingham - but now I have normal job'

Birmingham-born Sarah Manners, 49, made the decision as she didn't want to be 'shipped off all over the country acting' anymore

An actress who appeared on a soap filmed in Birmingham and Strictly Come Dancing has left the entertainment industry to pursue a normal job. Birmingham-born Sarah Manners made the decision as she didn't want to be 'shipped off all over the country acting' anymore.

The 49-year-old, from Harborne, shot to fame and popularity in BBC soap Doctors. She played receptionist Joanna Helm and was one of the soap's original nine regulars having made her debut in 2000.

She previously told how "I got the best storylines in the world in Doctors." She then left to join Holby City and later starred in The Bill on ITV.

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She also appeared on the second series of BBC's Strictly Come Dancing in 2004. Sarah finished fifth overall with professional dance partner Brendan Cole.

But a change was on the cards after revealing all in an interview in 2022. "If you want to settle down and have a family, it means long stretches away from them, and that wasn't something I wanted to do," she said.

Sarah then became "hooked" by Pilates and wanted to train as an instructor, the Echo reports. Having welcomed her daughter, the mum switched her energies.

"Having had my daughter, it was natural that I turned my focus to creating a Pilates product rather than be shipped off all over the country acting," she said.

She debuted her Pilates app, Pilates On Tap, in 2022. We Are Tech Women also acknowledged her as an 'Inspirational Woman In Tech.'

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