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Sandy Ratcliff
Alexandra Ratcliff (2 October 1948 – 7 April 2019) was an English actress, model and counsellor. She made an impression as a model and film actress in the 1970s, but she became known for being one of the original cast members of the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in the 1980s. She portrayed the role of Sue Osman but left the role in 1989. In 2010, she revealed that she had retired from acting to train as a counsellor. Early life Ratcliff, the daughter of an insurance salesman, had a turbulent youth. After being expelled from school at age 12, within two years she was heavily smoking cannabis, and she later went on to serve time in prison for selling it. She had numerous jobs before she took up acting, including waitressing, disc-jockeying and performing as a guitarist in the rock groups Tropical Appetite and Escalator. Career Ratcliff's career changed direction at 23, when she made a big impression as a model and was cast as "The face of the '70s" by royal photographer Lord Sno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sue Osman
Sue Osman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Sandy Ratcliff. She is one of the serial's original characters, appearing in its first episode on 19 February 1985 and departing on-screen in May 1989. Created by Tony Holland and Julia Smith, Sue is portrayed as argumentative, insecure and tragic. A pivotal storyline in the character's narrative is the cot-death of her son, which was one of the show's first controversial plots. During her four years on-screen, the character contends with a phantom pregnancy, marital breakdown and finally insanity. Ratcliff left the role in 1989. Storylines Backstory Sue's parents had her late in life; they were not demonstrative towards each other or to her. In 1982, Sue married Ali Osman (Nejdet Salih), a Turkish Cypriot, and gave birth to their first baby Hassan in May 1984. Together they lease and run the Bridge street cafè in Walford and are the first known owners of the premises. 1985–1989 Sue is show ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chris Petit
Chris Petit (born 17 June 1949) is an English novelist and filmmaker. During the 1970s he was Film Editor for '' Time Out'' and wrote in ''Melody Maker''. His first film was the cult British road movie ''Radio On'', while his 1982 film ''An Unsuitable Job for a Woman'' was entered into the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival. His films often have a strong element of psychogeography, and he has worked frequently with the writer Iain Sinclair. He has also written a number of crime novels, including ''Robinson'' (1993). Fiction ''Robinson'' ''Robinson'' (1993) is a novel about a man initially working in London's Soho in a job vaguely connected with the film industry, who meets the enigmatic title character and becomes involved in alcoholic excess and pornographic film production. It was Petit's first novel coming from his earlier career as a filmmaker. Nicholas Lezard compares it to JG Ballard and Patrick Hamilton. Merlin Coverley notes that the character Cookie indicates a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nej Adamson
Nej Adamson (born 23 December 1958), also credited as Nejdet Salih, is a British actor. Career Born in London, Adamson is of Turkish Cypriot descent. He played Ali Osman in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders'', a role he played from the series' inception in 1985 until 1989. During his time on the show his character battled with the loss of a child, gambling addiction, the breakdown of his marriage to Sue (Sandy Ratcliff) and her subsequent mental health problems. During ''EastEnders'' he was credited as Nejdet Salih, but after his departure in 1989, he changed his name to Nej Adamson. Other television credits include ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'', ''Doctor Who'', ''Wall of Silence'' and in 2004 he appeared in the comedy sketch show ''Bo' Selecta!'', where he played his ''EastEnders'' alias, Ali Osman, in a spoof sketch. He also featured in the 1992 film ''Carry On Columbus'' and in 2003 he played a short sailor in the Disney film '' Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ali Osman
Ali Osman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Nejdet Salih. He was a member of the original ''EastEnders'' cast, appearing in the first episode on 19 February 1985. He remained with the show for nearly five years afterwards, making his last appearance on 10 October 1989. Ali was scripted as happy-go-lucky, which was in stark contrast to his highly strung wife, Sue (Sandy Ratcliff). Central to his storylines were his penchant for gambling, his tempestuous marriage, and the loss of his son to cot death, which was one of the first controversial storylines covered by the soap. He was created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland, the creators of ''EastEnders''. Storylines Ali, a Turkish Cypriot, runs Bridge Street Café in Walford with his wife, Sue Osman (Sandy Ratcliff), and also drives a taxicab. He is a gambler and frequently holds poker games in the café after closing time and wages bets at the bookies, which is a huge source of concern for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chorus Girls (musical)
''Chorus Girls'' was a 1981 musical written by The Kinks lead singer and songwriter Ray Davies, who collaborated with ''The Long Good Friday'' screenwriter Barrie Keeffe. It opened at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, London starring Marc Sinden and also had a supporting cast of Michael Elphick, Anita Dobson, Lesley Manville, Kate Williams, Sandy Ratcliff and Charlotte Cornwell. Directed by Adrian Shergold, the choreography was by Charles Augins and Jim Rodford of The Kinks played bass with the theatre's 'house band'. The plot was set around the story that Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ... (played by Sinden) was kidnapped by activists wanting to save the theatre building from demolition. Dobson played the girl who falls in love with him, and Elphi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm and blues and Merseybeat, and were briefly part of the British Invasion of the United States until their touring ban in 1965. Their third single, the Ray Davies-penned "You Really Got Me", became an international hit, topping the charts in the United Kingdom and reaching the Top 10 in the United States. The Kinks' music drew from a wide range of influences, including American R&B and rock and roll initially, and later adopting British music hall, folk, and country. The band gained a reputation for reflecting English culture and lifestyle, fuelled by Ray Davies' wittily observational writing style, and made apparent in albums such as '' Face to Face'' (1966), '' Something Else'' (1967), ''The Village Green Preservation Society'' (1968), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Davies
Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the rock band the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother Dave on lead guitar and backing vocals. He has also acted in, directed, and produced shows for theatre and television. Known for focusing his lyrics on English culture, nostalgia, and social satire, he is often referred to as the "Godfather of Britpop", though he disputes this title. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Kinks in 1990. After the dissolution of the Kinks in 1996, he embarked on a solo career. Early years Raymond Douglas Davies was born at 6 Denmark Terrace in the Fortis Green area of London on 21 June 1944. He is the seventh of eight children born to working-class parents, including six elder sisters and younger brother Dave Davies. His father, Frederick George Davies (1902–1975), was a slaughterhouse worker.London, Englan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shelley (TV Series)
''Shelley'' is a British sitcom made by Thames Television and originally broadcast on ITV from 12 July 1979 to 12 January 1984 and from 11 October 1988 to 1 September 1992. It stars Hywel Bennett as Dr James Shelley, 28 years old (at the outset, although 35 by the sixth series only 4 years later) and a sardonic, perpetually unemployed anti-establishment 'freelance layabout' with a doctoral degree. In the original run, Belinda Sinclair played Shelley's girlfriend Fran, and Josephine Tewson appeared regularly as his landlady, Edna Hawkins. The series was created by Peter Tilbury who also wrote the first three series. The scripts for subsequent episodes were by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, Colin Bostock-Smith, David Frith, Bernard McKenna and Barry Pilton. All 71 episodes were produced and directed by Anthony Parker. Series seven was titled on screen ''The Return of Shelley'', and was broadcast in 1988. This time around, Shelley is (still) separated from Fran, and lives on his own ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shoestring (TV Series)
''Shoestring'' is a British detective fiction drama series, set in an unnamed city in the West of England and filmed in Bristol, featuring the down-at-heel private detective Eddie Shoestring (Trevor Eve), who presents his own show on Radio West, a local radio station. Broadcast on BBC1, the programme lasted for two series, between 30 September 1979 and 21 December 1980, featuring a total of 21 episodes. After the second series was broadcast Eve decided not to return to the role, as he "wanted to diversify into theatre roles". Subsequently, the production team began taking popular elements of the series and revising them for a new series, '' Bergerac'', set in Jersey and first shown in 1981. BBC Books published two novels written by Paul Ableman, ''Shoestring'' (1979) and ''Shoestring's Finest Hour'' (1980). ''Shoestring'' was repeated on terrestrial television in January 2002, with 14 of the 21 episodes being shown airing back to back on daytime BBC One. However, due to schedulin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Sweeney
''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Inspector Jack Regan and Dennis Waterman as his partner, Detective Sergeant George Carter. It was produced by the Thames Television subsidiary Euston Films for broadcast on the ITV network in the UK between 2 January 1975 and 28 December 1978. The programme's title comes from the real-world Cockney rhyming slang nickname "Sweeney Todd" used to refer to the Flying Squad by London's criminal fraternity in the mid 20th Century. The popularity of the series in the UK led to two feature films, '' Sweeney!'' (1977) and ''Sweeney 2'' (1978), both starring Thaw and Waterman, and a later film, '' The Sweeney'' (2012), starring Ray Winstone as Regan and Ben Drew as Carter. Background ''The Sweeney'' was developed from a one-off TV drama entitled ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Target (UK TV Series)
''Target'' was a British police action drama series, which ran from 1977 to 1978, on BBC1. Set in Southampton, it starred Patrick Mower as Det. Supt. Steve Hackett, Brendan Price as Det. Sgt. Frank Bonney, Vivien Heilbron as Det. Sgt. Louise Colbert and Philip Madoc as Det. Chief Supt. Tate. Seventeen fifty-minute episodes were produced and the theme music was by Dudley Simpson. It was the BBC's response to ITV's successful series ''The Sweeney'', but received criticism for its levels of violence and lasted for just two seasons. Background ''Target'' was set in Southampton and involved the 13th Regional Crime Squad. The series was originally developed under the title ''Hackett'' by former ''Z-Cars'' script editor Graham Williams, but he was asked to swap roles with the outgoing producer of ''Doctor Who'', Philip Hinchcliffe. Hinchcliffe retitled the show ''Target''. He also persuaded the BBC to make the series entirely on film instead of the usual BBC production method at the t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Play For Today
''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were (with a few exceptions noted below) between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration. A handful of these plays, including '' Rumpole of the Bailey'', subsequently became television series in their own right. History The strand was a successor to ''The Wednesday Play'', the 1960s anthology series, the title being changed when the day of transmission moved to Thursday to make way for a sport programme. Some works, screened in anthology series' on BBC2, like Willy Russell's ''Our Day Out'' (1977), were repeated on BBC1 in the series. The producers of ''The Wednesday Play'', Graeme MacDonald and Irene Shubik, transferred to the new series. Shubik continued with the series until ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
