Susan Tully (born 20 October 1967) is an English actress, television producer, and television director. Her most prominent television acting roles were those of rebellious teenager Suzanne Ross in '' Grange Hill'' and single mother Michelle Fowler in the BBC

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'' EastEnders''. Tully played one of the original ''EastEnders'' characters, appearing in the first episode on 19 February 1985 and remaining central to the series until 1995. She then gave up acting in favour of working behind the camera, and since then has directed and produced British television programmes.

Early life

Tully's father was a watch-case maker, and her mother a housewife. Tully was brought up on a London council estate.After 10 years as TV's most famous single mother, Susan Tully now craves an escape from soap megastardom – and a bit of adventure
, ''The Independent''. 29 October 1995. Accessed 14 March 2007. While at school in

Barnsbury Barnsbury is an area of north London in the London Borough of Islington, within the N1 and N7 postal districts. The name is a syncopated form of ''Bernersbury'' (1274), being so called after the Berners family: powerful medieval manorial ...

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ...

, she took up acting as a hobby and attended the Anna Scher children's theatre, which began a fast track into television work.

Career

Acting

At the age of nine Tully hosted the live television children's programme ''Our Show'' and later worked on ''

The Saturday Banana ''The Saturday Banana'' is a Saturday morning children's television show produced by Southern Television for ITV and presented by '' Goodies'' star Bill Oddie. Oddie also wrote and sang the theme tune. The series began on 8 July 1978, running ...

'' with

Bill Oddie William Edgar Oddie (born 7 July 1941) is an English writer, comedian, songwriter, musician, artist, birder, conservationist, television presenter and actor. He was a member of comedy trio The Goodies. A birder since his childhood in Quinton ...

. She was cast in the BBC children's television serial '' Grange Hill''. She played schoolgirl Suzanne Ross for three years (1981–1984). At the age of 17, Tully secured a major role in the BBC's new soap opera '' EastEnders''. She played Michelle Fowler from the show's inception in 1985 to 1995. During her time on the show, her character became pregnant at the age of 16 after having an affair with the 39-year-old adulterer Den Watts. In December 2016, ''EastEnders'' recast the role of Michelle Fowler to actress Jenna Russell after Tully repeatedly turned down offers to return. The show's executive producer at the time, Sean O'Connor, has said that Tully gave her blessing for the recast to take place.

Directing and producing

In the late 1990s, Tully began concentrating on directing for television (credited as "Sue Tully").

Personal life

Tully is a supporter of the Meningitis Trust and she has also been involved in the

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

fundraising event. She is a close friend of

Letitia Dean Letitia Jane Dean (born 14 November 1967) is an English actress. She is known for her portrayal of Sharon Watts in the BBC soap opera, '' EastEnders''. An original cast member from 1985 to 1995, she reprised the role from 2001 to 2006, and again ...

, who played her best friend

Sharon Watts Sharon Watts (also Rickman, Mitchell and Beale) is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Letitia Dean. Sharon is one of ''EastEnders'' original characters conceptualised by creators Tony Holland and Julia ...

in ''EastEnders''. Tully was a bridesmaid at Dean's wedding to Jason Pethers in 2002.EastEnd Letitia's diamond geezer
, ''Sunday Mirror''. URL last accessed on 18 September 2006.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tully, Susan 1967 births Living people Actresses from London Alumni of the Anna Scher Theatre School English television actresses English soap opera actresses English television directors British women television directors People from Highgate English child actresses