Sarah Jessica Parker forced to miss Olivier Awards

Sarah Jessica Parker has missed the Olivier Awards despite receiving a nod for her West End debut.

The Sex and the City star was up for Best Actress at the awards show for her role in Plaza Suite.

She starred opposite her real-life husband, Matthew Broderick, in the romantic comedy at London’s Savoy Theatre.

The play's run was extended, with its final show taking place on Saturday night.

Parker was forced to miss the Olivier Awards on Sunday as she had to fly straight back to the States to start work on And Just Like That.

A representative for Parker told The Daily Mail that the actress had to leave immediately as she was already late to start work on the Sex and the City spin-off.

They added that she had let the Oliviers board know beforehand that she would be unable to attend the ceremony.

Sarah was up against some stiff competition in her category, with Sarah Snook, Laura Donnelly, Sophie Okonedo and Sheridan Smith also nominated.

The prize went to Snook for her one-woman performance in a production of Oscar Wilde's The Picture Of Dorian Gray.

The prestigious theatre awards saw appearances from a host of famous faces, including Nicole Scherzinger, Michael Sheen, Cara Delevingne, David Tennant and James Norton.

Parker has appeared in numerous theatre productions since the mid-1980s, including Sylvia for Manhattan Theatre Club (1995), Wonder of the World (2001) and The Commons of Pensacola (2013).