shortly after by a cameo in Alas Smith and Jones with Mel Smith. In 1995, Phillips played the role of a reporter in the unbroadcast pilot of Chris Morris's spoof series Brass Eye, which at that point was called Torque TV, but she did not appear in the series itself. In Six Pairs Of Pants, six actors produced a number of regular sketches, which developed as the series progressed. As well as Phillips, the show featured Jessica Hynes, Simon Pegg, Neil Mullarkey, Katy Carmichael and Simon Schatzberger, and was written in part by Pegg, Hynes, Mullarkey and Phillips. Regular sketches included two New Zealand characters who had moved to the UK and worked behind various bars, the whole group as "Flatmates" and various spoof horror trailers. Phillips had a role as a "Travel Tavern" receptionist in I'm Alan Partridge (1997), and as Laura in Holding the Baby. She played radio DJ Gemma White in the TV series In the Red. Phillips had a starring role in the short-lived 1999 British comedy series Hippies with Simon Pegg and Julian Rhind-Tutt, and also co-created and wrote Smack the Pony, a double Emmy Award-winning comedy show, for which she was nominated for best female newcomer at the 1999 British Comedy Awards. Phillips also featured in Eddie Izzard's sitcom Cows. In 2001, she took the starring role in the David Nicholls series Rescue Me for BBC1. She also played cameo roles in Mean Machine, Birthday Girl and Born Romantic and wrote episodes for the animation Bob and Margaret. In 2003, she was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. She appeared in Bridget Jones's Diary as Shazza, having previously auditioned for Bridget; the character was based upon the film's director, Sharon Maguire. In 2004, she took the title role in the BBC radio sitcom Clare in the Community which ended after 74 episodes in 2019. In August 2005, she returned to the stage after a long absence, in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest at the Oxford Playhouse. In 2006, she appeared in the Australian comedy feature BoyTown; on television, she appeared as Clare Winchester in the BBC2 science fiction comedy Hyperdrive. In the second series of Green Wing, Phillips played the character of Holly, whose appearance threatens the blossoming relationship between Mac (Julian Rhind-Tutt) and Caroline (Tamsin Greig). Between 2006 and 2009, she had a