Tanya Franks
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Tanya Christine Franks (born 16 August 1967) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Rainie Cross in the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
, ''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
''.


Career


1986–2006

Franks worked for 14 years in theatre both in the UK and abroad. Her roles included the title role in ''Tess'' at The Kings Head Theatre in London in 1989 which was Time Out's Critics Choice, and Sylv in Steven Berkoff's 25th Anniversary production of ''
East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...
'' at the Vaudeville Theatre in London's West End and on tour. Tanya then rose to prominence when her TV career began in 2000, after being cast in the Channel 5 soap opera ''
Family Affairs ''Family Affairs'' is a British soap opera that aired on Channel 5. It debuted on 30 March 1997, the day of the launch of said channel and was the first programme broadcast on the channel. It was screened as five thirty-minute episodes per w ...
'' as Karen Ellis. Franks continued in the soap opera for three years, with storylines including a cancer scare,
infertility In biology, infertility is the inability of a male and female organism to Sexual reproduction, reproduce. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy organism that has reached sexual maturity, so children who have not undergone puberty, whi ...
,
surrogacy Surrogacy is an arrangement whereby a woman gets pregnant and gives birth on behalf of another person or couple who will become the child's legal parents after birth. People pursue surrogacy for a variety of reasons such as infertility, danger ...
, and a
child custody Child custody is a legal term regarding '' guardianship'' which is used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent or guardian and a child in that person's care. Child custody consists of ''legal custody'', which is the ri ...
battle, before leaving the series in 2003. In 2004, Franks was cast as DI Rowanne Morell in the long-running
ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 ...
police serial-drama ''
The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...
''. Franks stayed with the serial for over a year, with her character investigating various murders of police officers and
police corruption Police corruption is a form of police misconduct in which a law enforcement officer breaks their political contract and abuses their power for personal gain. A corrupt officer may act alone or as part of a group. Corrupt acts include taking ...
. In 2006, Franks starred opposite Sharon Horgan and Rebekah Staton in the
BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...
comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...
series '' Pulling''. Franks was cast as Karen, a promiscuous, raunchy, aggressive primary school teacher, who drinks heavily and is not suited to her job, for which she was nominated at The British Comedy Awards in 2009. The sitcom ran for two series and a special feature episode, and gained a
BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
nomination for best comedy series and won The South Bank Show award for Best Comedy.


2007–present

In July 2007, it was announced that Franks would play the role of
Tanya Branning Tanya Branning (also Cross and Jessop) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Jo Joyner. She made her first appearance on 27 June 2006. Joyner left the show temporarily on 25 December 2009 for maternity le ...
's ( Jo Joyner) sister, Rainie Cross in the
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
soap opera ''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
'' for a week-long stint from 2 August 2007. Franks returned to ''EastEnders'' as Rainie in January 2008, and again in August 2010. She returned again in April 2011, before departing once more later that year. She made a surprise return to the show on 16 June 2014 and departed on 15 February 2015. ''EastEnders'' announced on 18 January 2018 that Franks would make a guest appearance the following day and return on a permanent basis later in the year. Franks made her full-time return on 24 April 2018. It was announced in June 2022 that Franks had left the role of Rainie. Her final scenes aired on 29 June 2022. She returned for a brief stint on 23 August until 25 August 2022. In 2008, Franks starred as Sandra Farrell in the
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
mocumentary '' The Cup''. In 2010, Franks appeared in an episode of the E4
teen drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...
'' Skins''.Tanya Franks – IMDb
/ref> Also in 2010, she appeared in an episode of the BBC1 time-travelling drama '' Ashes to Ashes''. From September 2010 to August 2011, Franks starred as a series regular in the
CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...
comedy serial '' Hotel Trubble''. Franks also appears in Episode 7, Series 9 of ''
New Tricks ''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural comedy drama, created by Nigel McCrery and Roy Mitchell, produced primarily by Wall to Wall (until its final year, when it was handled by Headstrong Pictures), and broadcast on BBC On ...
'' as literary agent Roxanne Guthrie. In 2013, she was a guest lead in an episode of " Pramface" as Fiona. Tanya plays
Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...
's wife, Sybil, in the 2012 made-for-television film '' Liz & Dick''. Also in 2013, Tanya played Lucy Stevens, sister to Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller played by
Olivia Colman Sarah Caroline Sinclair ( Colman; born 30 January 1974), known professionally as Olivia Colman, is an English actress. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, four BAFTA Awards, two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Award ...
, in the series ''
Broadchurch ''Broadchurch'' is a British crime drama television series broadcast on ITV for three series between 2013 and 2017. It was created by Chris Chibnall, who acted as an executive producer and wrote all 24 episodes; it was produced by Kudos in a ...
''. She also played Mandy in the E4 sitcom ''
Chewing Gum Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its tex ...
'' in 2015 and earlier in 2016 and 2018 she played Carol in the hit BBC comedy series '' Mum''. In 2018, Franks appeared in an episode of '' Inside No 9''. In addition to her television work, Franks has also appeared in further theatre roles, including starring as Sylv in
Steven Berkoff Steven Berkoff (born Leslie Steven Berks; 3 August 1937) is an English actor, author, playwright, theatre practitioner and theatre director. As a theatre maker he is recognised for staging work with a heightened performance style known as "Be ...
’s 25th anniversary production of "East" at the Vaudeville Theatre in London’s West End, leading roles at the
Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...
in "Sing Yer Heart Out For The Lads" by Roy Williams in 2004, "The Black Album" by Hanif Kureishi in 2009, and in the premier run of '' Really Old, Like Forty Five'' in 2010. In 2013 she toured as Irene Adler in the new mystery "Sherlock Holmes: The Best Kept Secret", and played the title role in
Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...
's " The Good Person of Sichuan" at the Mercury Theatre in Colchester. In 2016 Tanya co-starred at The Menier Chocolate Factory in ''The Truth'' written by
Florian Zeller Florian Zeller (; born 28 June 1979Extrait de naissance /1979LES GENS DU CINEMA ©/ref>) is a French novelist, playwright, theatre director, screenwriter, and film director. He has written over a dozen plays, that have been staged worldwide and h ...
and adapted by Oscar winning playwright
Christopher Hampton Sir Christopher James Hampton (born 26 January 1946) is a British playwright, screenwriter, translator and film director. He is best known for his play Les Liaisons Dangereuses (play), ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' based on the Les Liaisons da ...
. Following its sell-out run the production transferred to the
Wyndham's Theatre Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by actor/manager Charles Wyndham (the other is the Criterion Theatre). Located on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, it was designed c. 1898 by W. G. R. Sprague, the arch ...
in London's West End and was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. In 2022, Tanya starred as Emilia at The Royal National Theatre’s production of ''
Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...
'' by
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. In 2023, she starred in the national tour of the newly rewritten production of
Gary Barlow Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, having writ ...
and Tim Firth’s “Calendar Girls the Musical” as the lead role of Annie. Following that, in 2024, Tanya played Dean Amy Katz, a Harvard University professor, in the UK premier of “The Power Of Sail” at the Menier Chocolate Factory, written by Paul Grellong.


Stock-pot Productions


1993–present

Franks founded Stock-pot Productions in 1993. Theatre credits included ''Scenes of Shaw'' at London's Theatre Museum starring
Les Dennis Leslie Dennis Heseltine (born 12 October 1953) is an English television presenter, actor and comedian. He presented '' Family Fortunes'' from 1987 to 2002. Early life Dennis was born as Leslie Dennis Heseltine on 12 October 1953 in the Liv ...
and the late Paul Eddington; ''Deckchairs'' at London's Kings Head Theatre in which Tanya also co-starred. Co-productions included the national tour of ''You Don't Kiss'' and ''All Fall Away'' which the ''Guardian'' named Pick of the Week with Tanya playing the lead role at the Latchmere Theatre (now Theatre 503). The company has made three short films, the last of which Franks wrote, produced, and starred in, entitled ''One Day''. It was officially selected at several national and international film festivals and was Kodak best short film finalist. In addition to Franks, the film starred Tim McInnerny as well as Toby Stephens in a small part.


Personal life

Franks has been in a relationship with recruitment consultant Scott Mitchell, the widower of Dame Barbara Windsor, since July 2023.


Filmography


Accolades


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Franks, Tanya 1967 births Living people 21st-century English writers Alumni of the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts English television actresses English women television producers English soap opera actresses Television producers from London English businesspeople English women writers Actresses from London Actors from the Royal Borough of Greenwich People from Plumstead