Susan Tully

Tully's father was a watch-case maker and her mother a housewife. Tully was brought up on a London council estate.

While at school in Barnsbury, Islington, Tully took up acting as a hobby and attended the Anna Scher children's theatre, which began a fast track into television work.

Acting

Aged nine, Tully hosted the television children's programme Our Show and later worked on The Saturday Banana with Bill Oddie.

Tully was cast in the BBC children's television serial Grange Hill. She played schoolgirl Suzanne Ross for three years (1981-1984). At the age of 17, Tully secured a major role in the BBC's new soap opera EastEnders. She played Michelle Fowler from the show's inception in 1985 until 1995. During her time on the show, her character became pregnant aged 16 after having an affair with the 39-year-old adulterer Den Watts. In December 2016, EastEnders recast the role of Michelle Fowler to actress Jenna Russell after Tully repeatedly turned down offers to return. The show's executive producer at the time, Sean O'Connor, has said that Tully gave her blessing for the recast to take place.

Directing and producing

In the late 1990s, Tully began concentrating on directing for television (credited as Sue Tully).

Tully is a supporter of the Meningitis Trust and she has also been involved in the Comic Relief fundraising event. She is a close friend of Letitia Dean, who played her best friend Sharon Watts in EastEnders. Tully was a bridesmaid at Dean's wedding to Jason Pethers in 2002.