She also appeared in Coronation Street, The Bill, Trevor's World of Sport, A Touch of Frost, the BBC's 'Fairytales' series, and the films Channelling Baby and The Ferryman.

After filming 30 Days of Night with Josh Hartnett in South Africa, Sainsbury left acting in 2007 to found the African-based arts charity Dramatic Need, of which she is a trustee.

Sainsbury invited Academy Award-winning film director Danny Boyle as well as the Shakespearian actor Sir Antony Sher to join the board of trustees.

Notable supporters of the charity include the bands Coldplay and Supergrass, actors Hartnett and David Walliams, and supermodel and photographer Helena Christensen.

On 10 September 2011, Sainsbury married filmmaker Jamie Campbell on the island of Paxos in Greece.