made an honorary Doctor of Letters by the University of Huddersfield. Following this, she reunited with director Coky Giedroyc, who had directed her in Oliver Twist, for a 2009 television adaptation of Emily Brontë's 1847 novel Wuthering Heights in which she played housekeeper Nelly Dean. In 2010, Lancashire portrayed Rosemary Nicholls, mother of a murder victim, in the three-part BBC drama Five Daughters; a depiction of the Ipswich serial murders from the perspective of the victims and their families. Though the pair never met, Lancashire felt it important to receive Nicholls consent before filming, and was later "humbled" and "relieved" to receive a feedback letter thanking her for her portrayal. Also in 2010, she guest-starred in the police drama series Inspector George Gently. In March 2011, Lancashire began starring in a new Cameron Mackintosh musical, Betty Blue Eyes, at the Novello Theatre. In the production, a loose adaptation of the 1984 film A Private Function, she starred as Joyce Chilvers, an aspirational housewife who Lancashire describes as "brittle" and "capricious". Despite positive reviews the musical closed in London on 24 September 2011, after a run of just six months. For her performance Lancashire was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. In 2012, she appeared as lady's maid Miss Whisset in the penultimate episode of the 2010 revival of Upstairs Downstairs. In September 2012, Lancashire began appearing as Head of Ladieswear Miss Audrey in the six-part series The Paradise set in a department store in Northern England in the late 19th century. Lancashire described her character as "a true archetypal spinster" who has long denied herself a romantic life and who begins to feel undermined by a younger colleague. 2012–present Between November 2012 and December 2016, Lancashire appeared opposite Anne Reid and Derek Jacobi in the BBC drama series Last Tango in Halifax. In the series, she plays Caroline, an Oxford-educated headmistress who feels that her mother's second marriage gives her "permission" to be herself. Caroline's same-sex relationship with a fellow teacher resulted in Lancashire receiving more fan mail than for any other role, largely from women telling her that the series had helped them to come out. Due to the under-representation of gay characters in television, Lancashire felt it particularly important that Caroline's experience would not be depicted inaccurately. In her portrayal, she opted to focus on the "humanity" of the character, rather than