Susan Tully
Encyclopedia
Susan Tully is an English
television producer
, director
and former actress.
Her most prominent television roles to date have been those of single mother Michelle Fowler
in the BBC
soap opera
EastEnders
and her pivotal part in early Grange Hill
. Tully played one of EastEnders' original characters, appearing in the first episode on 19 February 1985 and remaining central to the series until 1995. Tully then gave up acting to work behind the camera and has directed and produced various British television programmes.
council estate.
Sue attended school in Barnsbury
, Islington
. While at school she took up acting as a hobby and attended the Anna Scher children's theatre
, which turned out to be a fast track into television work.
with Bill Oddie
.
She was then cast in the BBC
children's television serial, Grange Hill. She played schoolgirl Suzanne Ross for three years (1981–1984). She had left Grange Hill and was about to go to sixth form college when she got her next big acting break.
At the age of 16, Tully secured a major role in the BBC's
new soap opera EastEnders. She played Michelle Fowler
from the show's inception in 1985 to 1995. During her time on the show, her character was famously made pregnant at the age of 16 after an affair she had with the 39-year-old adulterer, Den Watts
. Since quitting the soap in 1995, Tully has allegedly been made several offers to return, but has so far turned each offer down, including the latest offer to return for her on-screen mother Pauline
's funeral in early 2007.
In the late 1990s Tully began concentrating on directing
for television (credited as "Sue Tully"). Shows she has directed episodes for include EastEnders
, London's Burning
, 55 Degrees North
(2004), The Bill
(1999–2004), Funland
(2005), Secret Diary of a Call Girl
(2007), Lark Rise to Candleford
(2009), and Silent Witness
(2010).
, who played her best friend Sharon Watts in EastEnders. Tully was a bridesmaid at Dean's wedding to Jason Pethers in 2002.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
and former actress.
Her most prominent television roles to date have been those of single mother Michelle Fowler
Michelle Fowler
Michelle Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actress Susan Tully.Although she was one of the brighter people in Walford, that didn't stop Michelle making some huge mistakes during her time in Albert Square...
in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
and her pivotal part in early Grange Hill
Grange Hill
Grange Hill is a British television drama series originally made by the BBC. The show began in 1978 on BBC1 and was one of the longest running programmes on British television...
. Tully played one of EastEnders' original characters, appearing in the first episode on 19 February 1985 and remaining central to the series until 1995. Tully then gave up acting to work behind the camera and has directed and produced various British television programmes.
Early life
Tully's father was a watch-case maker, her mother a housewife and she was brought up on a LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
council estate.
Sue attended school in Barnsbury
Barnsbury
Barnsbury is an area of north London in the London Borough of Islington, in the N1 postal districts.The name is a corruption of villa de Iseldon Berners , being so called after the Berners family: powerful medieval manorial lords who gained ownership of a large part of Islington after the Norman...
, Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
. While at school she took up acting as a hobby and attended the Anna Scher children's theatre
Anna Scher Theatre
The Anna Scher Theatre is a community-based theatre school based in Islington, North London. The school turns out some of London's best child and adult actors.-Anna Scher:...
, which turned out to be a fast track into television work.
Career
At the age of nine Tully hosted the live television children's programme, Our Show, and she later went on to work on The Saturday BananaSaturday Banana
The Saturday Banana was a Saturday morning children's television show produced by Southern Television for ITV and presented by Goodies star Bill Oddie. Oddie also wrote and sang the theme tune...
with Bill Oddie
Bill Oddie
William "Bill" Edgar Oddie OBE is an English author, actor, comedian, artist, naturalist and musician, who became famous as one of The Goodies....
.
She was then cast in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
children's television serial, Grange Hill. She played schoolgirl Suzanne Ross for three years (1981–1984). She had left Grange Hill and was about to go to sixth form college when she got her next big acting break.
At the age of 16, Tully secured a major role in the BBC's
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
new soap opera EastEnders. She played Michelle Fowler
Michelle Fowler
Michelle Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actress Susan Tully.Although she was one of the brighter people in Walford, that didn't stop Michelle making some huge mistakes during her time in Albert Square...
from the show's inception in 1985 to 1995. During her time on the show, her character was famously made pregnant at the age of 16 after an affair she had with the 39-year-old adulterer, Den Watts
Den Watts
Dennis Alan "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den"....
. Since quitting the soap in 1995, Tully has allegedly been made several offers to return, but has so far turned each offer down, including the latest offer to return for her on-screen mother Pauline
Pauline Fowler
Pauline Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a long-running serial drama about working class life in the fictional London borough of Walford. She was played by actress Wendy Richard between 1985 and 2006. Pauline was created by scriptwriter Tony Holland and producer...
's funeral in early 2007.
In the late 1990s Tully began concentrating on directing
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
for television (credited as "Sue Tully"). Shows she has directed episodes for include EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, London's Burning
London's Burning
London's Burning was a British television drama programme produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV network that focused on the lives of members of the London Fire Brigade, principally those of the Blue Watch at a fictional fire station called Blackwall.It was broadcast between 1986 and...
, 55 Degrees North
55 Degrees North
55 Degrees North is a BBC television drama series starring Don Gilet as DS Nicky Cole, a London detective relocated to Newcastle upon Tyne after exposing police corruption. Dervla Kirwan co-stars as Claire Maxwell, an ambitious solicitor....
(2004), The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
(1999–2004), Funland
Funland
Funland is a comedy / thriller serial, produced by the BBC that was first screened from Sunday 23 October 2005 to Monday 7 November 2005 , on the digital channel BBC Three...
(2005), Secret Diary of a Call Girl
Secret Diary of a Call Girl
Secret Diary of a Call Girl is a British television drama broadcast on ITV2 from 2007-2011 based on the blog and books by the pseudonymous "Belle de Jour," starring Billie Piper as Belle, a high-class London call girl. The series was written by Lucy Prebble, who is also known as the author of The...
(2007), Lark Rise to Candleford
Lark Rise to Candleford
Lark Rise to Candleford is a trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels about the countryside of north-east Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, England, at the end of the 19th century. They were written by Flora Thompson and first published together in 1945...
(2009), and Silent Witness
Silent Witness
Silent Witness is a BBC crime thriller series focusing on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in February 1996, the series is still airing to the present day, with a fifteenth series expected to air in January 2012. The series was...
(2010).
Personal life
Tully is a supporter of The Meningitis Trust and she has also been involved in the Comic Relief fundraising event. She is close friends with Letitia DeanLetitia Dean
Letitia Dean is an English actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Sharon Watts in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, who was one of the serial's original characters. Dean was part of the original cast in 1985 and remained in the series until 1995...
, who played her best friend Sharon Watts in EastEnders. Tully was a bridesmaid at Dean's wedding to Jason Pethers in 2002.