Suzy Branning
| Suzy Branning | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Maggie O'Neill as Suzy in 2008. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1996, 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 29 April 1996 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Corinne Hollingworth (1996) Diederick Santer (2008) | ||||||||||||||||||
| File:Branning, Sue.JPG Julie Christian-Young as Sue in 1996. | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Suzanne 'Suzy' Branning was a fictional character in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders. She was played by Maggie O'Neill,[1] but was played by Julie Christian-Young for a brief appearance in 1996. O'Neill began filming in May 2008, and she made her first on-screen appearance on 8 July 2008.[2]. Suzy will leave EastEnders in late 2008 but will then return in early spring, as Maggie signed for a pantomime before taking on the role of Suzy.
Character creation
The character, then referred to as Sue, was seen at the wedding of her sister, April (Debbie Arnold) in 1996, appearing in two episodes, played by Julie Christian-Young.
It was announced on 23 April 2008 that the character would be returning to the serial, played by actress Maggie O'Neill. O'Neill has said of the role: "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." EastEnders executive producer, Diederick Santer commented: "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."[2] He has also teased that "viewers will soon notice that Suzy Branning is never far from her large pink handbag - but what exactly does it contain?"[3]
The character was described as "a glamorous, independent woman, who knows how to get her man."[4] She is a love interest for Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden). An EastEnders source sommented: "Phil is Suzy’s kind of guy – he’s handy, tough and has money. Phil has no idea what to make of Suzy, but Shirley Carter immediately gets the measure of her."[1]
Background
Suzy, who was referred to as Sue in her younger days, was born to Jim and Reenie Branning, in England, in 1966. She was their fourth child, with April, Derek and Carol being her older siblings. Until brothers Max and Jack came along, she was the centre of attention, with Jim calling her his 'little treasure'. He made her her own dollhouse, and he used to hide a coin in it, letting her to search for it. He would then go to the pub, and when he'd return, she'd still be looking for it. He would then reveal that it had been behind his ear the entire time.
Storylines
Sue was the sister of Carol Jackson and April Branning, who was seen in 1996 for April's wedding to her fiancé Nikos, along with her children Rebecca and Kevin. Nikos jilted April at the altar, so Carol and her boyfriend Alan Jackson used the church to get married instead. After the wedding, Sue wasn't heard of until October 2007, when it was revealed she would be unable to attend her nephew Bradley's wedding to Stacey Slater.
In July 2008, Suzy's brother, Max received a series of calls from Suzy asking for financial help. Max then arranged for his friend Phil Mitchell to take some money to Suzy at her salon Tantasy. Suzy presumed that Phil had been sent by her ex, and knocked him out by hitting him around the head with a figurine. After some heavies turned up at the salon, Phil later took her back to The Queen Vic and she thanked him for saving her by sleeping with him.
She turned up at The Vic to see Phil on August 1 2008, during Roxy's wedding reception. Phil was delighted to see her, and she and Phil shared a kiss, much to Shirley's jealousy, Phil then said she could stay the night. On August 5 Suzy came across Max, asking him whether she could stay with him in the B&B, he said no, but later said after they had a meal that she could. She was later seen burying something in the allotments. The following day, Patrick Trueman accused her of stealing the potatoes he was growing at the allotment but Suzy assured him she didn't, despite looking suspicious.
On August 7, 2008, Suzy took the spare room at Dot Branning's after Clare Bates had departed. She decided to look after Booty as Tanya's employee Gaynor couldn't cope on her own because Tanya was away with Jack and her three children in Barbados.
Upon arriving in Walford, Suzy went to the allotments where she appeared to bury something in the ground. On the 19th August, Suzy asked Phil to help her dig up something, Phil repeatedly asked what is was and Suzy said it was her husbands dead body, jokingly of-course. It was then revealed that Suzy was in possession of a bar of gold.
On September 8, 2008, Suzy and Max moved into the newly-renovated 27 Albert Square, which once belonged to the Miller family, before May Wright blew it up in 2008.
On October 23, 2008, Suzy offered Phil a place to stay when she thought he needed to stand on his own two feet as he still lives with his mother Peggy in his 40s. But Phil disagreed and turned down the offer, but later decided that Suzy was right and decided to move out. When she assumed he wanted to move in with her, Suzy gives him his set of keys to her house, but however Phil wanted to find a house of his own with his son Ben. However, he later changed his mind and decided to move in with her after all, but Ben took a dislike to her.
Since July 2008, Suzy has been a love rival for Phil; against Shirley Carter.
On November 10, 2008, Suzy and Phil had been burgled. It was revealed that the culprit was Sean Slater, Phil's cousin Roxy's husband. When Roxy discovered this, she persuaded him to hand it all back in the house without Phil and Suzy finding out.
On her 42nd Birthday on November 25 2008 Phil bought her a dog which she named Prince. Then, on November 28, Phil slept with Shirley but accidentally left his watch in her bedroom which was later found by Vinnie Monks when Shirley was preparing to leave with Vinnie.
Then on December 1 Vinnie's son, Callum revealed to a crowded pub that he had left his watch in Shirley's bedroom. Suzy looks in in anger. Then the next day on December 2, Suzy reveals to Phil that she is pregnant [5]. But however, it will be revealed that this was a lie to con Phil for his money as she was told to owe some money back to her ex boyfriend Ahmet and that she also had lied previously about her pregnancy with him. 2 weeks later, Phil proposed to Suzy, she accepted but Ben was uncomfortable with it and wishes it was Shirley instead.
Suzy later revealed that she didnt want any more kids because she had already had them to which Phil was shocked.
On 22nd December 2008, Suzy was asked by Peggy to spend the day together and get to know each other a bit better, unknown to her that, on the 19th December, Shirley and Heather had discovered evidence of her not being pregnant: Her buying tampons. Later that day Suzy became suispicous of Shirley as she was pressuring her to sing karoke infront of a wide screen TV. Discovering a disc that could contain incriminating evidence, Suzy switched it for one of Ben and confronted Shirley, laughing off her threats of telling Phil of her fake pregnancy. When Phil questioned her pregnancy on the 23rd December, after finding a tampon in her bag, Suzy lied, claiming she had had a miscarriage.
On Christmas day, 25th December 2008, Suzy revealed she was lying to Phil. The two broke up and Suzy left the DNA results in a christmas cracker for Sean Slater, which he later opens. Suzy leaves the Queen Vic before Sean finds the results. The next day, Phil had noticed that £10,000 was missing. Right away, he blamed Suzy. Him and Shirley went to her and Phil's house where Suzy hid. Phil had then left, but Shirley stayed and took the £10,000 without Suzy realising. Suzy went to the Vic where Shirley had Prince. Shirley had told Suzy to come and grab him, but Shirley moved out of the way and tripped Suzy. She then fell and banged her head of the table knocking herself out. When she woke up, Shirley had put all the money in a bin, pouring brandy all over it and putting a match to it. Suzy then left the Square for good.
References
- ^ a b "Maggie wants her Mitchell". The Sun. 2008-04-23. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b "'Shameless' actress joins 'EastEnders'", Digital Spy. URL last accessed 2008-04-23.
- ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Diederick Santer (Executive Producer, 'EastEnders'), Digital Spy. URL last accessed 2008-06-14.
- ^ "New Shameless Branning", BBC. URL last accessed 2008-04-23
- ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a136270/suzy-tells-phil-shes-pregnant.html