Sarah Lancashire's Boss Peter Salmon Left His Wife of 20 Years for Her - inside Their Blended Family with 6 Boys

People do all kinds of things for love, including divorcing their longtime partners to be with who they believe is "the one." Sarah Lancashire and Peter Salmon know it firsthand.

British actress Sarah Lancashire showed up on the entertainment industry scene in the late 1980s, but she shot to stardom in the 1990s by appearing in "Coronation Street" and "Where the Heart Is."

Although the actress' career has been outstanding, her relationship with her husband is extraordinary. Before they fell in love, he was her boss (and already had a family).

Sarah Lancashire's husband is Peter Salmon. In Burnley, he grew up with his mill worker mother, Doreen, and window cleaner father, Patrick.

Salmon graduated from St. Theodore's RC High School before studying at Warwick University. He then joined the BBC through its graduate trainee program and eventually worked on "Newsnight" and "Blue Peter."

His dedication paid off as he started as an assistant producer in 1984's "Crimewatch UK" but was promoted to producer. In 1997, Salmon became the Controller of BBC1, but he left that position in 2000 and is now the Chief Creative Officer of Endemol Shine Group.

Peter Salmon and Sarah Lancashire met in 1995 when she portrayed Raquel in "Coronation Street," and he was one of the top executives at Granada Studios (the company that produced the soap opera).

Then, nothing romantic happened because they were both married – Lancashire to her first husband, Gary Hargreaves, and Salmon to his first wife, Penny Watt.

In autumn 2000, Lancashire and Salmon made their relationship public. It was particularly shocking because he had just divorced Watt after 20 years of marriage.

Salmon explained his packed schedule made him and Watt gradually drift apart. Moving out of the family home and staying away from his and Watt's kids was challenging, but it was better than living a lie.

Salmon and Lancashire tied the knot in August 2001. Shortly after, she took a break from acting and settled down in Richmond, London. In March 2003, she welcomed her and Salmon's first child together, Joseph.

Lancashire loved it so much that she ended her hiatus.

With Hargreaves, Lancashire had two sons: Thomas and Michael. On the other hand, Salmon had three children with Watt, and they all became Lancashire's sons after their wedding.

In 2004, Lancashire admitted she had not slept properly in 14 months. Still, she said being a new mom was "amazing," and she enjoyed every moment she spent with the baby and the rest of her kids.

Lancashire also knows that she is a celebrity, but she has never craved people's attention. She even admitted she prefers to be an "ordinary mom."

Now, Lancashire is playing chef Julia Child in the TV series "Julia." Child is considered America's first celebrity chef, and people credit her for making French cuisine accessible in the States.

However, the actress almost didn't get the part. She told her agent at the end of 2019 that she would take a year off from acting for personal reasons.

A while later, her agent asked her to read the script for "Julia." Lancashire loved it so much that she ended her hiatus and flew to Los Angeles for auditions.

Sarah Lancashire confessed she learned who Child was when she was not working to give a more accurate performance. The actress added that she hoped the show depicted the qualities that made Child so loved.