Tanya Franks
Encyclopedia
Tanya Christine Franks is an English
-based actress, writer and producer, who is most known for starring roles on television in Family Affairs
, The Bill
, Pulling and the role of Rainie Cross
in EastEnders
. Franks is also the founder of Stock-pot Productions, a theatre and media production company. She returned to EastEnders
in 2011 as a regular.
Family Affairs
as "Karen Ellis". Franks continued in the soap opera for three years, with storylines including a cancer
scare, infertility
, surrogacy
, and a child custody
battle, before leaving the series in 2003. In 2004, Franks was cast as "DI Rowanne Morell" in the long-running ITV1
police serial-drama The Bill
. Franks stayed with the serial for over a year, with her character investigating various murders of police officers and police corruption
.
In 2005, Franks had a small role in the ensemble film Chromophobia, and also appeared in an episode of the BBC1 medical serial-drama Holby City
. In 2006, Franks appeared in an episode of the BBC1 drama series Doctors.
In 2006, Franks starred opposite Sharon Horgan
and Rebekah Staton
in the BBC Three
comedy
series Pulling. Franks was cast as Karen, a promiscuous, raunchy, aggressive primary school teacher, who drinks heavily and is not suited to her job. The sitcom ran for two series and a special feature episode, and gained a BAFTA nomination for best comedy series.
In July 2007, it was announced that Franks would play the role of Tanya Branning
's sister, "Rainie Cross
" in the BBC One
soap opera
EastEnders
for a week-long stint from 2 August 2007. Franks returned to EastEnders as Rainie in January 2008, and again in August 2010. She returned again in April 2011, and is currently a series regular.
In 2008, Franks starred as Sandra Farrell in the BBC Two
mocumentary The Cup
. In 2009, Franks appeared in an episode of the E4 teen drama
Skins
. In 2010, she appeared in an episode of the BBC1 time-travelling drama
Ashes to Ashes
. From September 2010 to August 2011, Franks starred as a series regular in the CBBC
comedy serial Hotel Trubble
.
In addition to her television work, Franks has also appeared in a number of theatre roles, including starring in the premier run of Really Old, Like Forty Five
at the Royal National Theatre
in 2010.
as well as Toby Stephens
in a small part.
In May 2008, Stock-pot Productions, Franks' company, announced it was producing a feature-length film, Fly Me, to be written by Franks and directed (as was One Day) by James Barriscale. Toby Stephens
is to have a lead role, and the film will also co-star Tim McInnerny
.
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...
-based actress, writer and producer, who is most known for starring roles on television in Family Affairs
Family Affairs
Family Affairs was a British soap opera broadcast on Five, from 1997 to 2005. It was the second programme to be broadcast on the channel on 30 March 1997, the channel's launch night...
, 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...
, Pulling and the role of Rainie Cross
Rainie Cross
Lorraine "Rainie" Cross is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera EastEnders, played by Tanya Franks. Rainie was introduced as the drug-addicted sister of Tanya Branning . After having three separate guest stints in 2007 , 2008 and 2010 , she returned on 12 April 2011 as a...
in 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...
. Franks is also the founder of Stock-pot Productions, a theatre and media production company. She returned to 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...
in 2011 as a regular.
Career
Franks first rose to prominence in 2000, after being cast in the Channel Five soap operaSoap 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,...
Family Affairs
Family Affairs
Family Affairs was a British soap opera broadcast on Five, from 1997 to 2005. It was the second programme to be broadcast on the channel on 30 March 1997, the channel's launch night...
as "Karen Ellis". Franks continued in the soap opera for three years, with storylines including a cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
scare, infertility
Infertility
Infertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a person to contribute to conception. Infertility may also refer to the state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term...
, surrogacy
Surrogacy
Surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman carries and delivers a child for another couple or person. This woman may be the child's genetic mother , or she may carry the pregnancy to delivery after having an embryo, to which she has no genetic relationship whatsoever, transferred to her uterus...
, and a child custody
Child custody
Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.Following ratification of the United...
battle, before leaving the series in 2003. In 2004, Franks was cast as "DI Rowanne Morell" in the long-running ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
police serial-drama 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...
. Franks stayed with the serial for over a year, with her character investigating various murders of police officers and police corruption
Police corruption
Police corruption is a specific form of police misconduct designed to obtain financial benefits, other personal gain, or career advancement for a police officer or officers in exchange for not pursuing, or selectively pursuing, an investigation or arrest....
.
In 2005, Franks had a small role in the ensemble film Chromophobia, and also appeared in an episode of the BBC1 medical serial-drama Holby City
Holby City
Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
. In 2006, Franks appeared in an episode of the BBC1 drama series Doctors.
In 2006, Franks starred opposite Sharon Horgan
Sharon Horgan
Sharon Horgan is an Irish actress, writer and comedienne.Horgan was born in London and moved to Dublin at age seven. She grew up in Bellewstown, Co. Meath, Ireland. She went to school in the Sacred Heart Secondary School in Drogheda. Later she went on to an English degree at Brunel University...
and Rebekah Staton
Rebekah Staton
Rebekah Staton is a British actress who was raised in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. She attended Wolgarston High School and trained at RADA....
in the BBC Three
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
comedy
British comedy
British comedy, in film, radio and television, is known for its consistently quirky characters, plots and settings, and has produced some of the most famous and memorable comic actors and characters in the last fifty years.-Film comedy:...
series Pulling. Franks was cast as Karen, a promiscuous, raunchy, aggressive primary school teacher, who drinks heavily and is not suited to her job. The sitcom ran for two series and a special feature episode, and gained a BAFTA nomination for best comedy series.
In July 2007, it was announced that Franks would play the role of Tanya Branning
Tanya Branning
Tanya Lauren Jessop is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jo Joyner. She made her first appearance on 27 June 2006. She left the show temporarily on 25 December 2009 for maternity leave and returned for one episode on 23 June 2010. She made her full-time return on...
's sister, "Rainie Cross
Rainie Cross
Lorraine "Rainie" Cross is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera EastEnders, played by Tanya Franks. Rainie was introduced as the drug-addicted sister of Tanya Branning . After having three separate guest stints in 2007 , 2008 and 2010 , she returned on 12 April 2011 as a...
" in the BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
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...
for a week-long stint from 2 August 2007. Franks returned to EastEnders as Rainie in January 2008, and again in August 2010. She returned again in April 2011, and is currently a series regular.
In 2008, Franks starred as Sandra Farrell in the BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
mocumentary The Cup
The Cup (TV series)
The Cup is a British television programme starring Steve Edge, Pal Aron and Jennifer Hennessy. It is based on the Canadian TV series The Tournament...
. In 2009, Franks appeared in an episode of the E4 teen drama
Teen drama
A teen drama is a dramatic television series with a major focus on teenage characters. The genre was relatively non-existent for the first 45 years of television; it came into prominence in the early 1990s...
Skins
Skins (TV series)
Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
. In 2010, she appeared in an episode of the BBC1 time-travelling drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
Ashes to Ashes
Ashes to Ashes (TV series)
Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009...
. From September 2010 to August 2011, Franks starred as a series regular in the CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
comedy serial Hotel Trubble
Hotel Trubble
Hotel Trubble is a children's comedy drama made by the BBC and broadcast on its television channels CBBC and BBC One. It stars Dominique Moore as Sally, the receptionist; Gary Damer as Lenny; Sam Phillips as Jamie, the bellboy; and Tanya Franks as Dolly and Sheila Bernette as Mrs. Poshington, a...
.
In addition to her television work, Franks has also appeared in a number of theatre roles, including starring in the premier run of Really Old, Like Forty Five
Really Old, Like Forty Five
Really Old, Like Forty Five is a play by Tamsin Oglesby. It received its world premiere at the Royal National's Cottesloe Theatre on 3 February 2010, following previews from 27 January 2010...
at the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in 2010.
Stock-pot Productions
In 2006, Franks founded Stock-pot Productions Ltd, a theatre, television, radio and film production company. In the company's first production, Franks wrote, produced, and starred in One Day, a short film shown at several international film festivals. In addition to Franks, the film starred Tim McInnernyTim McInnerny
Tim McInnerny is an English actor. He is known for his role as Percy in Blackadder and Blackadder II, and as Captain Darling in Blackadder Goes Forth...
as well as Toby Stephens
Toby Stephens
Toby Stephens is an English stage, television and film actor who has appeared in films in both Hollywood and Bollywood. He is best known for playing megavillain Gustav Graves in the James Bond film Die Another Day , Edward Fairfax Rochester in the BBC television adaptation of Jane Eyre and Philip...
in a small part.
In May 2008, Stock-pot Productions, Franks' company, announced it was producing a feature-length film, Fly Me, to be written by Franks and directed (as was One Day) by James Barriscale. Toby Stephens
Toby Stephens
Toby Stephens is an English stage, television and film actor who has appeared in films in both Hollywood and Bollywood. He is best known for playing megavillain Gustav Graves in the James Bond film Die Another Day , Edward Fairfax Rochester in the BBC television adaptation of Jane Eyre and Philip...
is to have a lead role, and the film will also co-star Tim McInnerny
Tim McInnerny
Tim McInnerny is an English actor. He is known for his role as Percy in Blackadder and Blackadder II, and as Captain Darling in Blackadder Goes Forth...
.