Suzy Branning (originally known as Sue) is a fictional character from the
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...
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'', played by Julie Christian-Young for a brief appearance in 1996, and Maggie O'Neill in 2008, who began filming in May that year, and she appeared from 8 July to 26 December 2008.
Storylines
Suzy first appears in 1996 for her sister April's wedding to her fiancé Nikos (Yorgos Glastras), along with her children, Rebecca (Alice Dawnay) and Kevin (Jamie Dispirito). Nikos jilts April at the altar, so Suzy's other sister Carol Jackson ( Lindsey Coulson) and her boyfriend
Alan Jackson
Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as " neotraditional country"), as well as penning man ...
( Howard Antony) marry instead. After the wedding, Suzy is not heard of until October 2007, when it is revealed she is unable to attend her nephew Bradley Branning's ( Charlie Clements) wedding to
Stacey Slater
Stacey Slater (also Branning and Fowler) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', portrayed by Lacey Turner. She first appears in episode 2826, originally broadcast on 1 November 2004. The character is introduced as a ...
(
Lacey Turner
Lacey Amelia Turner (born 28 March 1988) is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Stacey Slater on the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' (2004–2010, 2014–present), for which she has won over thirty awards, including fou ...
). In July 2008, her brother Max Branning ( Jake Wood) receives a series of calls from Suzy, asking for financial help. Max arranges for his friend Phil Mitchell ( Steve McFadden) to take some money to Suzy at the salon she’s looking after for a friend, Tantasy. Suzy presumes that Phil has been sent by her ex-partner, and knocks him out by hitting him around the head with a figurine. After some heavies turn up at the salon, Phil takes her to his home, The Queen Victoria public house, and she thanks him for saving her by sleeping with him. She later returns to see Phil, during Roxy Slater's ( Rita Simons) wedding reception. Phil is delighted to see her, and they share a kiss. Phil says she can stay the night. Suzy meets Max, asking him if she can stay with him. She buries something in the allotments and the following day,
Patrick Trueman
Patrick Trueman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Rudolph Walker. He made his first appearance on 13 September 2001. His storylines include being the possible father of Denise Fox ( Diane Parish), to wh ...
(
Rudolph Walker
Rudolph Malcolm Walker (born 28 September 1939) is a Trinidadian-British actor, known for his sitcom roles as Bill Reynolds in '' Love Thy Neighbour'' (1972–76) and Constable Frank Gladstone in '' The Thin Blue Line'' (1995–96). Since 200 ...
) accuses her of stealing the potatoes he was growing. She assures him she did not, despite looking suspicious.
Suzy takes the spare room at Dot Branning's (
June Brown
June Muriel Brown (16 February 1927 – 3 April 2022) was an English actress and author. She was best known for her role as Dot Cotton on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1985–1993; 1997–2020). In 2005, she won Best Actress at the '' ...
) house and looks after Tanya Branning's ( Jo Joyner) salon while she is away. She later asks Phil to dig something up for her, revealed to be a bar of gold. Phil then moves in with Suzy, but his son Ben ( Charlie Jones) takes a disliking to her. Phil cheats on Suzy with Shirley Carter ( Linda Henry), which Suzy discovers. She tells Phil she is pregnant but it is a lie and she plans to con him out of his money to pay her ex-boyfriend Ahmet ( Tamer Hassan). Phil proposes to Suzy who accepts. Shirley and her friend Heather Trott (
Cheryl Fergison
Cheryl Fergison (born 27 August 1965) is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Heather Trott in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' a role in which she starred in from 2007 until 2012.
Career
After training at Rose Brufo ...
) discover that Suzy is still buying tampons and realise she is not pregnant. She lies to Phil that she had a miscarriage. When she reveals that she lied to Phil, they break up. However, Archie Mitchell (
Larry Lamb
Lawrence Douglas Lamb (born 1 October 1947) is an English actor and radio presenter. He played Archie Mitchell in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', Mick Shipman in the BBC comedy series '' Gavin & Stacey'' and Ted Case in the final series ...
) uses Suzy to plant DNA results in a Christmas cracker, showing that Sean Slater ( Robert Kazinsky) is not the father of Roxy's baby. Suzy leaves after insulting the entire Mitchell family, before Sean finds the results. Phil discovers that £10,000 is missing and blames Suzy so he and Shirley go to find her. In the Queen Victoria, Shirley trips Suzy and she is knocked out. Shirley takes the money back and when Suzy comes around, she burns it, telling Suzy to get out. Suzy then leaves Walford.
Suzy writes to Phil’s mother Peggy (
Barbara Windsor
Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera, ''EastEnders''.Danielle Jones ( Lauren Crace), Archie is able to dispose of it before Peggy receives it. Following her father Jim’s ( John Bardon) death in 2015, Max declared during his eulogy that his sisters hated Jim so much they did not make any effort to attend his funeral. Max leaves the Square in early 2018 in order to stay with Suzy following the death of his daughter Abi Branning (
Lorna Fitzgerald
Lorna Katie Fitzgerald (born 17 April 1996) is a British actress from Northampton. Her most notable role to date is that of Abi Branning in the BBC soap opera, '' EastEnders''. Since leaving ''EastEnders'' in January 2018, Fitzgerald has devel ...
).
Creation and development
The character, then referred to as Sue, was seen at the wedding of her sister,
April
April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. It is the first of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the second of five months to have a length of less than 31 days.
April is commonly associated with ...
( Debbie Arnold) in 1996, appearing in two episodes, played by Julie Christian-Young. On 23 April 2008, it was announced Suzy will be returning to ''EastEnders''. Maggie O'Neill was cast in the role, taking over from Julie Christian-Young. Suzy was re-introduced as a love interest for established character Phil Mitchell ( Steve McFadden) and makes a strong love rival of Shirley Carter ( Linda Henry). Of her casting, O'Neill commented: "The Brannings are a great family and I am really excited to become one of them. Suzy is a woman to be reckoned with and I'm looking forward to playing her."Diederick Santer added: "I've long-admired Maggie's work from her outstanding performance in Take Me Home to her hilarious and moving Sheila in Shameless. She's yet another top drawer addition to our wonderful cast." O’Neill made her first appearance as Suzy on 8 July 2008. In an interview with ''
Digital Spy
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
'', Santer said that viewers will soon notice that Suzy Branning is never far from her large pink handbag and viewers will always be unsure of its contents.