SANDY RATCLIFF

(2 October 1948 - 7 April 2019)

The British actress Sandy Ratcliff, who has died from cancer at the age of 70, made an instant impression in her first film, Ken Loach’s Family Life (1971), playing a teenage girl having a breakdown. Her next film was the science fiction film The Final Programme, from the Michael Moorcock novel. Her television work included Crossroads, Crown Court, Couples, Touch and Go, Danger UXB, Shoestring, Minder, Shelley and over 260 episodes of EastEnders, in which she played café owner Sue Osman. Other films included Yesterday’s Hero, written by Jackie Collins, Chris Petit’s Radio On, Hussy with Helen Mirren, Doll’s Eye and several TV movies, the last in 1994, after which she retired from acting. In 1991 she had appeared in court when her then-boyfriend was accused of murder, her last public appearance. She was married to the photographer Peter Wright from 1968 to 1973, and bore a son, William, whose father was ex-boyfriend, theatre director Terence Palmer. In her time, Sandy Ratcliff played bass guitar in the bands Tropical Appetite and Escalator. Following drug addiction and nervous breakdowns, she became a counsellor and ambulance driver.

MICHAEL DARVELL