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 network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
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
''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British 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 Ea ...
'', played by Julie Christian-Young for a brief appearance in 1996, and
Maggie O'Neill
Margaret "Maggie" O'Neill (born 15 November 1962) is an English actress. She is known for her television roles in ''Peak Practice'' (2000–2002), '' Shameless'' (2004–2007) and ''EastEnders'' (2008). In 1986 she appeared in the music video f ...
in 2008, who began filming in May that year, and she appeared from 8 July to 26 December 2008.
Carol Jackson
Carol Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Lindsey Coulson. The character was introduced in 1993 as the mother of the Jackson family. Coulson decided to quit the role in 1997, but she returned tem ...
(
Lindsey Coulson
Lindsey Coulson (born 13 April 1960) is an English actress, known for her role as Carol Jackson in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. For this role, she won the 2000 British Soap Award for Best Dramatic Performance. Coulson is also well kno ...
) 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 many o ...
(
Howard Antony
Howard Antony (born 19 April 1963) is a British actor, best known for playing the role of Alan Jackson, in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 1993 to 1997 and briefly again in 2010. He left ''EastEnders'' and went on to become a drama teacher ...
) 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
Bradley Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Charlie Clements. He made his first appearance on screen on 24 January 2006 and last appeared on 22 February 2010 after he was killed off in the show's ...
's (
Charlie Clements
Charlie Clements (born 5 June 1987) is an English actor known for the role of Bradley Branning in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' from January 2006 to February 2010. He has won several soap and magazine awards for his performance.
Biograph ...
) 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 fe ...
(
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 four ...
). In July 2008, her brother
Max Branning
Max Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Jake Wood. He made his first appearance on 27 June 2006. Wood took a four-month break from the show in 2011 and the character was absent between August and No ...
(
Jake Wood
Jake Dylan Wood (born 12 July 1972) is an English actor and podcaster, known for his role as Max Branning in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. He has also made guest appearances in series including ''Only Fools and Horses'' and '' Red Dwarf'' ...
) receives a series of calls from Suzy, asking for financial help. Max arranges for his friend
Phil Mitchell
Phil Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Steve McFadden. He was introduced to the soap opera on 20 February 1990 and was followed by his brother Grant Mitchell (EastEnders), Grant (Ross Kemp), s ...
( 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
The Queen Victoria (more often referred to as The Queen Vic or The Vic) is the Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20.
Appearance and developmen ...
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
Rita Joanne Simons (born 10 March 1977) is an English actress and singer from London. She is best known for playing Roxy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2007 to 2017, when her character was killed-off, alongside her on screen ...
) 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 w ...
(
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 2001 ...
) 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
Dorothy "Dot" Branning (also Cotton) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders'', played by June Brown. In a special episode entitled ''EastEnders: Dot's Story'' (2003) a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in fl ...
'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
Tanya Cross (also Branning 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 lea ...
's (
Jo Joyner
Joanne Mary Joyner (born 24 May 1977) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Tanya Branning in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' and Mandy Carter in Channel 4 drama ''Ackley Bridge''. Since 2018, she has starred as Luella Shake ...
) 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
Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right.
Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, ...
(
Charlie Jones Charles, Charlie, Charley or Chuck Jones may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Chuck Jones (1912–2002), American animator, director, and producer
* Charles Jones (c. 1889–1942), American actor better known as Buck Jones
* Charles Jones (pho ...
) takes a disliking to her. Phil cheats on Suzy with
Shirley Carter
Shirley Carter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Linda Henry. She first appeared on 7 December 2006, during episodes set in Dorset. This is Henry's second role in ''EastEnders'', as she previously playe ...
), 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
Ahmad ( ar, Ø£Øمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet.
Etymology
The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...
(
Tamer Hassan
Tamer Hassan (born 18 March 1968) is a British actor. He is best known for his role as the leader of the Millwall firm, opposite Danny Dyer, in '' The Football Factory''. Hassan has also appeared in ''Batman Begins'', Declan O'Brien's '' Wrong ...
). Phil proposes to Suzy who accepts. Shirley and her friend
Heather Trott
Heather Trott (also Peterson) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Cheryl Fergison. She made her first appearance on 26 June 2007. The character was introduced as a guest character, but later became a regula ...
(
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 Bruford ...
) 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
Archibald Lionel "Archie" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Larry Lamb. He first appeared on 8 July 2008 as a newest member of the Mitchell family—who had first appeared on the soap in 1990â ...
(
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
Sean Slater is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Robert Kazinsky who made his first appearance on 22 August 2006. Sean's existence was revealed on 9 December 2005 when his sister Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner ...
(
Robert Kazinsky
Robert John Appleby (born 18 November 1983), known professionally as Robert Kazinsky, is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Casper Rose in the Sky One drama ''Dream Team'', the Don in '' Captain Marvel'', Sean Slater in the BBC soa ...
) 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
Lauren Rose Crace (born 25 May 1986) is an English actress and radio presenter, known for her portrayal of Danielle Jones in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2008 to 2009.
Early life
The daughter of contemporary writer Jim Crace and Pa ...
), Archie is able to dispose of it before Peggy receives it. Following her father
Jim
Jim or JIM may refer to:
* Jim (given name), a given name
* Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James
* Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy
* OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism
* ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring
* ''Jim ...
’s (
John Bardon
John Bardon (born John Michael Jones, 25 August 1939 – 12 September 2014) was an English stage and screen actor. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 1988 (1987 season) for '' Kiss Me, Kate'', sharing the aw ...
) 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
Abi Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Lorna Fitzgerald. She was introduced by executive producer Kate Harwood on 3 July 2006 as an extension to the Branning family, along with father Max (J ...
(
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 develo ...
).
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
Debbie Arnold (born 14 June 1955) is an English actress, producer and voice artist. She is known for her portrayal of April Branning in BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' between 1995 and 1996. Arnold has portrayed regular characters in ''EastEnder ...
) 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
Margaret "Maggie" O'Neill (born 15 November 1962) is an English actress. She is known for her television roles in ''Peak Practice'' (2000–2002), '' Shameless'' (2004–2007) and ''EastEnders'' (2008). In 1986 she appeared in the music video f ...
was cast in the role, taking over from Julie Christian-Young. Suzy was re-introduced as a love interest for established character
Phil Mitchell
Phil Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Steve McFadden. He was introduced to the soap opera on 20 February 1990 and was followed by his brother Grant Mitchell (EastEnders), Grant (Ross Kemp), s ...
Shirley Carter
Shirley Carter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Linda Henry. She first appeared on 7 December 2006, during episodes set in Dorset. This is Henry's second role in ''EastEnders'', as she previously playe ...
). 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
Diederick Santer (born 3 July 1969) is a British television producer and is best known for his work on the popular BBC television soap opera ''EastEnders'', a post which he assumed on 23 October 2006 and left on 1 March 2010. He was Chief Exec ...
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.