Lancashire's final role under her ITV contract was Gertrude Morel in an adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's 1913 novel "Sons and Lovers", airing in January 2003. The portrayal –her first of a mother with adult children– followed Gertrude's transformation from a young bride into a fifty-something woman ravaged by her life experiences of poverty and domestic abuse. Lancashire re-read the novel several times prior to filming, and identified with the themes of filial and marital relationships she had been unable to appreciate as a GCSE student. The miniseries gave her a sense of conviction in her career path, stating ahead of the broadcast in 2002: "whatever the reason I do what I do, I felt I had come to a point where I could stop searching after this". Reviewing the serial Paul Hoggart of "The Times" wrote that Lancashire "steals the show" with a "performance of immense subtlety and quiet strength, proof, if we still needed it, that she has matured into a terrific actress." Conversely Andrew Billen, writing in "New Statesman", wrote that "Sarah Lancashire was no revelation at all", purely because she had "long since proved herself a formidable actress".