Sarah Lancashire's blended family of six kids with Peter Salmon

Happy Valley actress Sarah Lancashire is notoriously private about her home life, deciding not to have social media accounts unlike many celebrities.

Away from cameras, she is a mum-of-three as well as being step-mum to her husband's three children. Sarah, 59, is married to TV producer and executive, Peter Salmon, 67, a well-known TV producer and executive.

Find out more about former Coronation Street star Sarah's children below, and the large age gap between her sons.

Sarah Lancashire's sons from first marriage

Sarah married Gary Hargreaves – a music lecturer 11 years her senior - at the age of 22 and they welcomed two sons together, Thomas in 1987, and Matthew in 1988, before separating in 1995 and divorcing soon after.

© ITV/Shutterstock

Sarah previously revealed she got married to Gary as she fell pregnant, later telling The Mirror: "Im a very traditional girl and was horrified at the thought of having a child out of wedlock.

"I didn’t want a child of mine to be different or have fingers pointed at them. The marriage lasted for 10 years which was 10 years longer than it should have done."

Sarah Lancashire's son from second marriage

Sarah also shares a son, Joseph, born in 2003, with her current husband Peter Salmon. Joseph is 16 years younger than her eldest son, Thomas.

© Shutterstock

Sarah and Peter have been married for 22 years and live together with their children in Twickenham, South West London. The couple met when Sarah starred in Coronation Street and Peter worked for the show's producers at Granada Studios. They got engaged during a 2001 trip to New York.

In 2011, Sarah appeared in a rare photo (below) with two of her sons at the afterparty following the press night of Betty Blue Eyes in London.

Sarah Lancashire's step-children

The TV star is a step-mum to Peter's three sons from his previous marriage to Penny Watt, however little is known about Sarah's step-children.

© Ben Blackall

The Sun reported how Sarah said of her home life: "I guard it because it’s very precious. It’s not a piece of drama. It is real life, my normal life. And I value my normality."