Susan Hanson (born 11 February 1943, in

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...

) is an English actress who played the part of Diane Lawton (later Parker and Hunter) in the long-running British

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 ...

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

'' from 1965–87, when her character was controversially killed off. She also had a brief role in the film ''

Catch Us If You Can "Catch Us If You Can" is a 1965 song from The Dave Clark Five, written by group's drummer Dave Clark and guitarist Lenny Davidson. It was the title song for the film of the same name, which was retitled ''Having a Wild Weekend'' in the United ...

'' (1965) starring

The Dave Clark Five The Dave Clark Five, also known as the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London. Drummer Dave Clark served as the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964 they had their first UK top ten sin ...

. After a short-lived marriage to BBC Radio 1 DJ

Tommy Vance Richard Anthony Crispian Francis Prew Hope-Weston (11 July 1940 – 6 March 2005), known professionally as Tommy Vance, was an English radio broadcaster. He was an important factor in the rise of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM), al ...

in the 1960s, Hanson married musician

Carl Wayne Carl Wayne (born Colin David Tooley; 18 August 1943 – 31 August 2004) was an English singer and actor. He is best remembered as the lead singer of The Move in the 1960s. Early days Wayne was born in Winson Green, Birmingham, and grew up in ...

in 1974; they had a son, Jack. After leaving ''Crossroads'' she appeared in the film '' Out of Order'' (1987), and then remained out of the limelight until her husband died of cancer in 2004. A few years later, she returned to British TV screens in the role of the mother of

Todd Carty Todd Carty also known as Todd John Jennings (born Todd Robert Carty; 31 August 1963) is an English actor and director who has grown up on television screens in a variety of roles. His stage appearances have ranged from pantomime to serious dram ...

's character in an episode of ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama ''Casualty'', and pr ...

'', whilst also appearing in ''That's What I Call Television'', alongside former colleagues

Jane Rossington Jane Rossington (born 5 March 1943) is a British actress, best known for her role as Jill Richardson in the soap opera '' Crossroads''. Biography Born in Derby, Rossington's family moved to Sutton Coldfield when she was four years of age. Th ...

(Jill Chance),

Tony Adams Tony Alexander Adams (born 10 October 1966) is an English former football manager and player. Adams played for Arsenal and England, captaining both teams. He spent his entire playing career of 19 years as a centre back at Arsenal, making 672 ...

(Adam Chance) and Paul Henry (Benny Hawkins). In November 2009, Hanson made appearances on both ''

The Alan Titchmarsh Show ''The Alan Titchmarsh Show'' is a British daytime chat show presented by Alan Titchmarsh. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2007 until 14 November 2014 and aired on weekday afternoons. The show's main focus is the "Best of British" the ...

'' and ''

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (previously known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV1 weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about ...

'', with each interview giving her the chance to promote Network DVD's new boxset marking ''Crossroads 45th anniversary. In August 2012, it was announced that Hanson had joined the cast of long-running soap opera ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

.'' Her character, Penny Thornley , began the chain of events leading to the departure of Lewis Archer (

Nigel Havers Nigel Allan Havers (born 6 November 1951) is an English actor. His film roles include Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film ''Chariots of Fire'', which earned him a BAFTA nomination; as Dr. Rawlins in the 1987 Steven Spielberg war drama ...

). Hanson played most of her scenes opposite

Sue Nicholls Susan Frances Harmar Nicholls (born 23 November 1943) is an English actress, known for her roles on British television in ''Crossroads'' (1964–1968), ''The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin'' (1976–1979) and, ''Rentaghost'' (1981–1984), a ...

(Audrey Roberts), who had previously appeared with Hanson in ''Crossroads'' during the mid-1960s as the character Marilyn Gates.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanson, Susan 1943 births Living people Actors from Preston, Lancashire English soap opera actresses