Hailing from England, Sawalha started out on the stage at the Newcastle Playhouse, where she appeared in three consecutive Christmas productions for director Ken Hill: "The Voyage of the Dawntreader," "The Silver Chair" and "Peter Pan." She also starred in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" at Stafford Castle, and in "The Illusion" at the Manchester Royal Exchange, for which she received a special mention at the Olivier Awards. She more recently starred in Shelagh Stephen’s "The Memory of Water" in London’s West End.

On the big screen, Sawalha next co-stars with Lynn Redgrave in "Venus & Mars." She has previously been seen in such films as Kenneth Branagh’s "In the Bleak Midwinter," Terry Jones’ "The Wind in the Willows" and Claude Whatham’s "Buddy’s Song."

Sawalha most recently completed work on "Mirrorball," a new comedy series that reunites the cast from "Absolutely Fabulous." Her many other television credits include the series "Press Gang" and "Second Thoughts," as well as "Pride & Prejudice" and "Martin Chuzzlewit." She has also guest starred on such shows as "Tales From the Crypt," "Lovejoy," "Bottom," "Casualty," "El Cid," "French and Saunders" and "Inspector Morse."