Susan Lorna Tully (born 20 October 1967) is a British actress, television producer and television director from London.
Tully's most prominent television acting roles have been those of rebellious teenager Suzanne Ross in Grange Hill and single mother Michelle Fowler in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Tully played one of the original EastEnders characters, appearing in the first episode on 19 February 1985 and remaining central to the series until 26 October 1995.
Tully later gave up acting in favour of working behind the camera and since then has directed and produced British television programmes.
Early life Tully's father was a watch-case maker and her mother a housewife. Tully was brought up on a London council estate."After 10 years as TV's most famous single mother, Susan Tully now craves an escape from soap megastardom – and a bit of adventure", The Independent. 29 October 1995. Accessed 14 March 2007.
While at school in Barnsbury, Islington, Tully took up acting as a hobby and attended the Anna Scher children's theatre, which began a fast track into television work.
Career Acting Aged nine, Tully hosted the television children's programme Our Show and later worked on The Saturday Banana with Bill Oddie.
Tully was cast in the BBC children's television serial Grange Hill. She played schoolgirl Suzanne Ross for three years (1981–1984). At the age of 17, Tully secured a major role in the BBC's new soap opera EastEnders. She played Michelle Fowler from the show's inception in 1985 until 1995. During her time on the show, her character became pregnant aged 16 after having an affair with the 39-year-old adulterer Den Watts. In December 2016, EastEnders recast the role of Michelle Fowler to actress Jenna Russell after Tully repeatedly turned down offers to return. The show's executive producer at the time, Sean O'Connor, has said that Tully gave her blessing for the recast to take place.
Directing and producing In the late 1990s, Tully began concentrating on directing for television (credited as Sue Tully). YearTitleNotes1998–1999EastEnders15 episodes1999–2004The Bill14 episodes. Also credited as producer on episodes 93, 94, 99, 100, 106, 1072000Black Cab5 episodes2000–2001London's Burning4 episodes2002The Story of Tracy Beaker13 episodes2003M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team1 episode: Lambs to the Slaughter200455 Degrees North2 episodes2005Twisted Tales3 episodes2005Funland4 episodes2006Drop Dead Gorgeous3 episodes2006Goldplated2 episodes2006–2007The Chase5 episodes2007Secret Diary of a Call Girl4 episodes2008–2011Silent Witness6 episodes2009Theatre Live!1 episode: Too Many Cooks2009Blue Murder2 episodes2009–2011Lark Rise to Candleford9 episodes2012Stella4 episodes2012Good Cop2 episodes2012The Paradise2 episodes2012Getting On6 episodes2013Truckers2 episodes2014The Mill2 episodes2014Puppy Love6 episodes2015Crossing Lines4 episodes2016The Musketeers2 episodes2016–2017The A Word4 episodes2018Britannia1 episode: Honor and Betrayals2019Tin Star2 episodes2019Line of Duty2 episodes2020Strike: Lethal White4 episodes2021Too Close3 episodes2022Strike: Troubled Blood4 episodes2023Maryland2024Strike: The Ink Black Heart4 episodes
Personal life Tully is a supporter of the Meningitis Trust and she has also been involved in the Comic Relief fundraising event. She is a close friend of Letitia Dean, who played her best friend Sharon Watts in EastEnders. Tully was a bridesmaid at Dean's wedding to Jason Pethers in 2002.
References
External links