Sue Holderness | |
---|---|
Born | Susan Joan Holderness 28 May 1949 Hampstead, London, England |
Other names | Susan Holderness |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1967–present |
Spouse | Mark Piper (m. 1989) |
Children | 2 |
Susan Joan Holderness (born 28 May 1949) is an English actress on both stage and screen having had appearances in Bless This House (1974), The New Avengers (1977), Canned Laughter (1979), The Sandbaggers (1980), The Cleopatras and It Takes a Worried Man (1983), The Brief and Minder (1984), Doctors (2004-2014), Still Open All Hours (2018–2019) EastEnders and The Madame Blanc Mysteries (2021). However, she is best known for her role as Marlene Boyce in Only Fools and Horses from 1985 to 2003, and its spin-off The Green Green Grass from 2005 to 2009.
Holderness was born on 28 May 1949, in Hampstead, London. [1] After taking her A-levels, she trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. [1] [2]
She began her acting career with the Manchester 69 Theatre Company in A Midsummer Night's Dream , [3] Peer Gynt and as Desdemona in Catch My Soul (Jack Good's rock-musical version of Othello). She has worked consistently in theatre, radio, film and television. West End plays include The Female Odd Couple , Why Not Stay for Breakfast, The Male of the Species and the highly acclaimed one-woman play Our Kid (based on Myra Hindley). [3]
Holderness regularly appeared in The Vagina Monologues [3] and she was in the cast of the touring play Seven Deadly Sins Four Deadly Sinners . She has toured the country in numerous plays and worked in several repertory companies. Much of her career has been spent performing in Alan Ayckbourn plays, three of which (Relatively Speaking, Time and Time Again, and How the Other Half Loves ) [4] she toured with John Challis.
Holderness played the role of Annie in the 2010 & 2011 UK Tours of Calendar Girls. [4] She played Celia in the 2012 tour (Jan – May) and went back to playing Annie in the Autumn 2012 tour (Sep – December). [4]
Television roles include Marianne in The Sandbaggers (two series), Bless This House , as Pamela Huntley-Johnson in the episode The Bells Are Ringing (1974), as Liz in It Takes a Worried Man (two series), Jo in The Brief, Cleopatra IV in The Cleopatras ; [5] as Laura Doolan, a wife of serial bigamist "Confident" Clive Cosgrove in the Minder episode "A Number of Old Wives Tales" (1984); episodes of The New Avengers , [2] Thriller , Sob Sisters, Growing Pains, Doctors, [4] Lime Street with Robert Wagner, and Murder in Suburbia.
She played a prominent role as Marlene, wife to Boycie (played by John Challis) in Only Fools And Horses [4] and the spin-off series The Green, Green Grass, which ran from 2005 – 2009, [4] including four series and three Christmas Specials. [6]
She played Rowan Atkinson's love interest, Lorraine, in Canned Laughter , and did numerous impersonations in two series of End of Part One. She played Maggie in Dear John, by John Sullivan, Joan Forrester (Oscar Blaketon's former wife) in Heartbeat for YTV, Joan Travis in Revelations, and Rachel's mother in Cold Feet , [4] also for Granada. In April 2021, she made a guest appearance in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Estelle. [7]
Films include That'll Be the Day (1973) and It Could Happen to You (aka Intimate Teenage Secrets) (1976). She also appeared in the low budget feature Meat Draw and Out of Sight for Granada. [4]
Holderness regularly appears in pantomime. [8] including All You Need for Christmas at Fareham, Hampshire in 2009. [8]
In 2014, Holderness appeared in the BBC One medical drama Casualty as Alice Sweeney. [4] In 2018-2019 she appeared as Mrs Rossi in series five and six of the sitcom Still Open All Hours . [4]
Holderness is married to Mark Piper, former executive director of the Theatre Royal, Windsor. [1] Her children are Harriet, a yoga instructor, and Freddie, head of history at a school in West Sussex. [1] She has one grandchild (2018), Max. [1] Sue is a strong supporter and ambassador for Thames Hospice.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1973 | That'll Be The Day | Shirley | |
1976 | It Could Happen to You | Christine | |
1998 | The Meat Draw | Carmen |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1971 | Lollipop | Receptionist | Episode: "Doctor Fruit Cake" |
1972 | Tightrope | Joanna | 5 episodes |
1972 | Fly Into Danger | Sarah Davenport | All 7 episodes |
1972 | Harriet's Back in Town | Jennifer Grant | 2 episodes |
1974 | Bless This House | Pamela Huntley-Johnson | Episode: "The Bells Are Ringing" |
1975 | Thriller | Betty | Episode: "If It's a Man, Hang Up" |
1976 | 4 Idle Hands | Miss Pemberton | Episode: "Out of the Frying Pan" |
1977 | The New Avengers | Victoria Stanton | Episode: "Medium Rare" |
1978 | The One and Only Phyllis Dixey | Mildred Challenger | TV film |
1979 | Canned Laughter | Lorraine | TV film |
1979–1980 | End of Part One | Various | All 14 episodes |
1980 | The Sandbaggers | Marianne Straker | 8 episodes |
1983 | The Cleopatras | Cleopatra IV | 2 episodes |
1983 | It Takes a Worried Man | Liz | 13 episodes |
1984 | The Brief | Jo Gould | All 13 episodes |
1984 | Minder | Laura | Episode: "A Number of Old Wives Tales" |
1985–2003 | Only Fools and Horses | Marlene Boyce | 20 episodes |
1986–1987 | Dear John | Maggie | 3 episodes |
1989 | Sob Sisters | Marion | Episode: "I Don't Think We're in Kansas Anymore" |
1989 | Young, Gifted and Broke | Diane | Episode: #1.7 |
1992 | Growing Pains | Various | Episode: "The Lady and the Tramp" |
1993 | You, Me and It | Sonia | Episode: #1.2 |
1993 | Heartbeat | Joan Forrester | 2 episodes |
1996 | Revelations | Joan | 11 episodes |
1998 | Out of Sight | Bride's Mother | Episode: "Photo Finish" |
1998 | Colour Blind | Mrs. Barton | Episode: #1.2 |
2000,2003 | Cold Feet | Mary Bradley | 2 episodes |
2004 | Murder in Suburbia | Penny Gregson | Episode: "Sanctuary" |
2004 | Doctors | Sheila Kelly | Episode: "Watching Myself Die" |
2005–2009 | The Green Green Grass | Marlene Boyce | All 32 episodes |
2011 | Doctors | Beryl Mellor | Episode: "Light Blue Touch Paper" |
2012 | Crime Stories | Hazel Wood | Episode: #1.11 |
2013 | Casualty | Alice Sweeney | Episode: "Between the Cracks" |
2014 | Doctors | Rose Day | Episode: "Scullery Boy" |
2018–2019 | Still Open All Hours | Mrs. Rossi | 10 episodes |
2020 | Holby City | Gloria Davidson | Episode: #22.10 |
2021 | EastEnders | Estelle Jones | 4 episodes |
2021–present | The Madame Blanc Mysteries | Judith | 10 episodes |
Only Fools and Horses.... is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas specials aired until the end of the show in 2003. Set in working-class Peckham in south-east London, it stars David Jason as ambitious market trader Derek "Del Boy" Trotter and Nicholas Lyndhurst as his younger half-brother Rodney Trotter, alongside a supporting cast. The series follows the Trotters' highs and lows in life, in particular their attempts to get rich. Critically and popularly acclaimed, the series received numerous awards, including recognition from BAFTA, the National Television Awards, and the Royal Television Society, as well as winning individual accolades for both Sullivan and Jason. It was voted Britain's Best Sitcom in a 2004 BBC poll.
Derek Edward Trotter, more commonly known as Del Boy, is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses and one of the main characters of its spinoff series, Rock & Chips. He was played by David Jason in the original series and was portrayed as a teenager by James Buckley in the prequel. Del Boy is often regarded as one of the greatest comedy characters in the history of British television, and is regarded as an iconic character in British culture. In a 2001 poll conducted by Channel 4 Del Boy was ranked fourth on their list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters.
Terrance Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, played by John Challis. His story is continued in the spin-off series The Green Green Grass in which Boycie and his family flee to the countryside to escape from the Driscoll Brothers. A younger Boycie also appears in the prequel series Rock & Chips. Along with Denzil, he is one of only two characters to appear in all three.
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The Green Green Grass is a BBC television sitcom, created and initially written by John Sullivan, and produced by BBC Studios Comedy Productions and Shazam Productions for the BBC. It is a sequel/spin-off of the long-running sitcom Only Fools and Horses and stars John Challis, Sue Holderness, and Jack Doolan. Four series and three Christmas specials were originally broadcast on BBC One between 2005 and 2009.
Susan Elizabeth Jenkins is an English actress. She is most widely known for her roles as Gloria Todd in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street (1985–1988) and as Jackie Corkhill in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside (1991–2001).
John Spurley Challis was an English actor. He had an extensive theatre and television career but is best known for portraying Herman Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce in the long-running BBC Television sitcom Only Fools and Horses (1981–2003) and its sequel/spin-off The Green Green Grass (2005–2009), as well as Monty Staines from the seventh series onwards in the ITV sitcom Benidorm (2015–2018). Challis was an established stage actor, making appearances for companies including the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre.
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