Although Sharp has appeared in a variety of films throughout her career, she is probably best known by television audiences. By the late 1990s, she was being offered lead roles in numerous well-written drama series. "Common As Muck" (1997) was followed by "Playing the Field" (1998–2002), a drama about a female football team which ran for five series. Sharp had supporting parts in "Great Expectations" (1999), as Mrs Joe, and in "Nature Boy" (2000), as Martha Tyler, before landing the role of Trudy Graham in Paul Abbott's BAFTA-award-winning "Clocking Off" (2000–2003), which lasted four series. Russell T. Davies then cast her opposite Alan Davies in "Bob & Rose", which resulted in a BAFTA nomination for Sharp. Further film roles in "From Hell", starring Johnny Depp, and "Cheeky" (1993), which was directed by "Naked" co-star David Thewlis, preceded another television drama written by Russell T. Davies. In "The Second Coming" (2003) She was "the woman who killed God" in the form of Stephen Baxter, as played by Christopher Eccleston.