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Sandy Ratcliff

Sandy Ratcliff

Acting

Biography

Born on October 2, 1950 in London, England, Sandy Ratcliff originally worked as a model and was touted by photographer Lord Snowden as 'The Face of the 70s' before she turned her attention to acting. She took the lead role in Ken Loach's 1971 film Family Life, and later appeared in the 1979 film Radio On, but she was best known for being one of the original cast members in the BBC soap EastEnders. As Sue Osman, Ratcliff appeared in the very first episode in 1985 and played the part of the cafe owner until 1989 when she was sacked due to her addiction to heroin. Ill health and personal problems dogged Ratcliff ever since she left the soap, including battling cancer and hitting the headlines for providing a false alibi for her boyfriend Michael Shorey, who was subsequently sentenced to two life sentences for the murder of two women. At some stage, Ratcliff retrained as a counsellor but had retired by 2010. In her final years she lived in sheltered accommodation and it was here that her body was found on the morning of 7th April, 2019. She was 70 years old.

Known For

EastEnders
4.2

The everyday lives of working-class residents of Albert Square, a traditional Victorian square of terrace houses surrounding a park in the East End of London's Walford borough.

EastEnders

1985
Minder
7.1

Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.

Minder

1979
Playhouse
7.0

A one-hour anthology television series of one-off contemporary and classic dramas produced by the BBC.

Playhouse

1974
The Sweeney
8.0

Jack Regan, an unethical officer of the Flying Squad, uses unorthodox methods to pursue criminals with the help of his partner, George Carter.

The Sweeney

1975
Shoestring
7.4

Shoestring is a BBC detective drana set in Bristol and starring Trevor Eve as private detective Eddie Shoestring, who operatee his own show on Radio West, the local radio station. The programme ran between 30 September 1979 and 21 December 1980, in two series with 21 hour-long episodes. Eve opted not to return after two series, as he wanted to diversify into theatre, so the production team changed the setting to Jersey and created Bergerac, also following a detective returning to work after a bad period in his life.

Shoestring

1979
Centre Play
7.0

Anthology series of half hour plays produced in BBC's Television Centre's studios.

Centre Play

1973
Target
7.0

A crime drama set in Southampton following a team of detectives and the cases they solve.

Target

1977
Danger UXB
8.0

Danger UXB is a 1979 British television series developed by John Hawkesworth and starring Anthony Andrews as Lieutenant Brian Ash, an officer in the Royal Engineers. The programme is titled and partly based on the memoirs of Major A. B. Hartley, M.B.E, RE, Unexploded Bomb - The Story of Bomb Disposal, with episodes written by Hawkesworth and four screenwriters. The series chronicles the exploits of the fictional 97 Tunnelling Company which, as a result of thousands of unexploded bombs in London during the Blitz, has become a bomb disposal unit. As with all his fellow officers, Ash must for the most part learn the techniques and procedures of disarming and destroying the UXBs through experience, repeatedly confronted with more cunning and deadlier technological advances in aerial bomb fusing. The storylines were primarily military, with a romantic thread between Ash and an inventor's married daughter, and other human interest vignettes.

Danger UXB

1979
Hazell
5.2

Hazell is a British television drama based on the novel series by Terry Venables and Gordon Williams (collectively known as P.B. Yuill), and starring Nicholas Bell as James Hazell, a 'smart parody' of Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade. The programme ran for two series, from January 1978 to July 1979.

Hazell

1978
Hussy
4.9

Beaty, a prostitute, and Emory, a lighting/sound technician, fall in love while working at the same London cabaret, but their relationship isn't easy.

Hussy

1980
The Final Programme
5.2

Returning from Lapland, where he buried his father, a renowned scientist, Jerry Cornelius comes back to London with the firm intention of taking revenge on his brother Frank and snatching his beloved sister Catherine from his clutches. Since the recent gigantic global conflagration, things have changed considerably. If he wanted to, Jerry could easily get hold of napalm to blow up Frank's hideout. But he prefers to join forces with the disturbing Mrs Brunner, who, with the help of three scientists, Smiles, Lucas and Powys, is trying to recover a mysterious microfilm left to Frank by his father...

The Final Programme

1973
Family Life
7.3

A young woman, Janice, is living with her restrictive and conservative parents, who lead a dull working-class life and consider their daughter to be “misbehaving” whenever she’s trying to find her own way in life.

Family Life

1971
Men of the Month
7.0

Tracey, a hyperactive, inarticulate bicycle courier who unsuccessfully woos his girlfriend, watches Star Trek videos and delivers packages for a women's erotic magazine, "Bad and Beautiful". As the female staff produce their new issue, they are watched by builders restoring their crumbling office block - each of them with an interest in the women within.

Men of the Month

1994
Yesterday's Hero
4.8

Successful soccer player Rod Turner spirals into drunken self-pity until he develops a friendship with an inspirational orphan and a beautiful singer. Learning from them what truly matters in life, Rod regroups and returns to form.

Yesterday's Hero

1979
Radio On
5.8

A London radio DJ receives news of his brother's suicide and travels west to Bristol to find out more.

Radio On

1979
The After Dinner Joke
7.5

A comic extravaganza about a young woman's adventures in the world of big business charity.

The After Dinner Joke

1978
Story Without a Hero
N/A

When Hell's Angels hit Muriel's seaside town she grabs daughter Karen and follows. Years ago her husband rode away on his bike and left her, but it's always possible that she might find him - or someone! As it happens both mother and daughter have unexpected encounters

Story Without a Hero

1979
No image
8.0

A disillusioned husband and wife take a trip across the Channel, hoping to find themselves. In fact they find the French are not what they expected.

Cork and Bottle

1977
The Workshop
N/A

It is 1945 - just a year since the allied troops entered Paris - and Simone arrives for her first day of work at M. Leon's tailoring workshop.

The Workshop

1982
Play Things
N/A

A young man volunteers to work with a children's play group in a deprived London area. Adapted by Peter Prince from his own novel.

Play Things

1976