Sarah was born in London. Her parents were DIY expert Harry Greene and actress Marjie Lawrence. Her younger sister is Laura, a former TV presenter.
Sarah graduated with a degree in drama from the University of Hull. She then pursued acting roles in Birmingham, Manchester and London.
In January 1980, Sarah had a role on the daytime drama Together (Southern TV).
She first appeared on Blue Peter on 17th April 1980, with other cast members, promoting BBC TV’s Sunday classic series, The Swish of the Curtain.
Blue Peter editor Biddy Baxter was impressed with her natural ability in front of the camera and asked if she would audition as a replacement for the outgoing Tina Heath.
She was chosen as the 11th Blue Peter presenter (19th May 1980 – 27th June 1983 and 17th September 1984).
At the time, Sarah was the youngest ever presenter of the programme, aged 22. Within two weeks of being chosen, Sarah was out filming in Cornwall for the programme.
One of Sarah’s most memorable assignments was a dive to the wreck of the Mary Rose.
In October 2018, Sarah joined fellow presenters for Blue Peter’s 60th anniversary celebrations.
On 18th February 1983, Sarah co-presented Jubilee! (BBC One) – a diamond jubilee party celebrating the 60th anniversary of BBC Children’s programmes.
After leaving Blue Peter, she co-presented the Saturday morning series Saturday Superstore (1983 – 1987) and later Going Live! along with Phillip Schofield (1987 – 1993).
During her time on Going Live! she won the Best Female on TV (SOS) award three years running.
She famously chaired the phone-in where pop group Five Star were asked “why are you so f**king crap?”
Other CBBC credits:
- Eureka! (BBC Two, 1983);
- Debut (BBC Two, 1985);
- SOS Star Awards (1987 and 1990);
- Saturday Starts Here! (1987);
- Antiques Roadshow Going Live! (26th December 1991);
- Take Two (25th October 1991 – 29th March 1993).
In August 1985, Sarah co-presented the regional news programme, London Plus with Jeremy Paxman.
She appeared in the television commercials for Nescafé coffee.
She was a storyteller on Jackanory (BBC One, 1986).
She fronted daytime antiques programme Collectors’ Lot (Channel 4), co-presented Life on One (BBC One, 1990) and Hospital Watch (BBC One, 1991).
On 10th September 1988, she and partner Mike Smith, the television and radio presenter, were seriously injured in a helicopter accident in Gloucestershire.
The couple spent a number of weeks in hospital before Greene returned to present Going Live! whilst still in plaster.
She presented magazine programmes such as BBC One’s Pebble Mill (1995 – 1996) and Good Morning Summer.
Sarah also acted in the Doctor Who serial Attack of the Cybermen (1985), Casualty (2004), French and Saunders (1988) and Hotel Babylon (2008).
In 1992, she combined her acting and presenting talents in a hoax paranormal programme called Ghostwatch alongside husband Mike Smith and chatshow host Michael Parkinson.
Sarah was the first presenter alongside Lenny Henry on The Red Nose Awards (1993). She presented All About Us (1993) – highlights from the All About Me segments shown within Going Live!
Another acting role in 1997, this time in the film The Man Who Knew Too Little, starring Bill Murray. They played presenters of The Theatre of Life, a fictional English TV show which promised the participant a role in a crime drama.
In 1996, Sarah began a four-year partnership with the Food Network, hosting a daily news, debate and magazine programme.
She appeared in the ITV programme Have I Been Here Before? and was a guest presenter on the daytime magazine programme This Morning (2005).
She presented Discovery Home and Health’s Weddings Live, an annual six-hour broadcast that showcased several weddings live (2005 – 2007).
Partnered with Fred Palascak, she competed in the Dancing on Ice skating competition (ITV, 2008).
Sarah took part in Coming Home (BBC Wales, 22nd December 2010). The programme traced her family back to 17th-century Wales. Her mother died a year before filming, but her 87-year-old father participated in the programme.
Sarah appeared on an edition of Pointless (BBC One, December 2012), alongside her husband Mike Smith.
Mike died on 1st August 2014 as a result of complications after major heart surgery.
Sarah guest-presented on This Morning on a number of occasions during 2017: April, July, 4th August and 18th August.
She was a panellist on Would I Lie to You? (BBC One, 30th March 2023).
From August 2023, she co-presented with Roman Kemp a new quiz programme, The Finish Line (BBC One).
From 1985, Greene and her husband Mike Smith were directors of Flying TV Ltd, an aviation video company operating helicopters based at Denham Aerodrome, Denham, Buckinghamshire.
Since Mike’s death in 2014, Sarah has remained director of the company.
In 2012, Sarah became an ambassador for ovarian cancer charity, Target Ovarian Cancer.
Personal information
Clips of Sarah on The TV Room
Sarah may be featured in video/audio clips on our other websites. Click the links below to display a listing (a 404 error will appear if no clips are found):
Online presence
Acknowledgements
PICTURED: Sarah Greene. COPYRIGHT: Sarah Greene.
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