Her credits include Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1986), The Rachel Papers (1989), Naked (1993), Priest (1994), The Moonstone (1996), Great Expectations (1999), Daylight Robbery (1999), Clocking Off (2000–2001), From Hell (2001), Vera Drake (2004), Afterlife (2005–2006), Scott & Bailey (2011-2016), This Cop Life (2022), and The Full Monty (TV series) (2023).

Further film appearances included supporting roles in The Rachel Papers (1989),[4] and Stephen Poliakoff's Close My Eyes, with Clive Owen and Alan Rickman.

[5] Further film roles in From Hell, starring Johnny Depp, and Cheeky (1993), which was directed by Naked co-star David Thewlis, preceded another television drama written by Russell T. Davies.

[2] After a ten-year break from stagework, in October 2005 Sharp returned to the theatre as Emma in Sam Shepard's The God of Hell at the Donmar Warehouse.

[1] Sharp starred in a 2009 revival of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice at the Vaudeville Theatre with Marc Warren and Diana Vickers,[7] which ran from October to the following January.

[8] In 2015, Sharp played the part of Mary, the daughter of Petunia Howe, in the three-part BBC series Capital based on John Lanchester's novel of the same name.