Portrait of the artist: Sarah Lancashire, actor

'My advice to a young actor? Keep your clothes on'
sarah lancashire
Sarah Lancashire: 'Bad plays don't get people on seats; good plays do'. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the Guardian Linda Nylind/Guardian

What got you started?

My father was a TV scriptwriter. He would perform his dialogue out loud, while my mum transcribed it at the typewriter. So I grew up thinking that plucking characters out of the air was an extremely normal way to behave.

Who or what have you sacrificed for your art?

A career as an artist. My art mistress at school was a wonderful woman called Jean Stevenson. She wasn't quite Jean Brodie, but she had the same embracing personality. She directed me towards art school, which I would have loved. But she did write to me once to congratulate me on my acting.

What's the greatest threat to theatre today?

Complacency. It's too easy to underestimate your audience. But it's not rocket science: bad plays don't get people on seats; good plays do. Oh, and you need a lot of toilets for the interval.

Have you ever had an embarrassing moment on stage?

During a performance of Blood Brothers in 1990, I forgot to sing. I was so moved by what my co-star Kiki Dee was doing, that I completely missed my cue. And I once performed Educating Rita in Hornchurch to an audience of seven.

What advice would you give a young actor?

Keep your clothes on. It's not necessary to take them off.

What's the biggest myth about actors?

That it's a glamorous profession, that we're all rich, and that we've got so many scripts falling through our front doors that we can't get to the kitchen in the morning.

What song would be the soundtrack to your life?

The orchestration would be by Nelson Riddle, and the lyrics would have the insight and wisdom of Stephen Sondheim, Ira Gershwin or Cole Porter.

What's your favourite museum?

The Barbara Hepworth museum in St Ives is fascinating. Her achievements were astonishing.

Is there an art form you don't relate to?

Many pieces of contemporary art. I'm going to put this in print, because I'm 46 and I don't care: what is the Tate Modern about? I want to take every artist on display there and walk them around the National Gallery, and say: "Look, that's art!" Somebody filling an ashtray with cigarette ends, dangling a piece of string from it, and it selling for £25,000? I don't get it. It's a mystery.

In short

Born: Oldham, 1964.

Career: Best known for playing Raquel Watts in Coronation Street. Currently appearing in Betty Blue Eyes at the Novello Theatre, London WC2 (0844 482 5170), until 28 January 2012.

High point: "Just being in work."

Low point: "Periods out of work. People think you're working 52 weeks a year because they see you on TV three times in a row. But that might have only taken you four weeks."