Melissa Suffield

Melissa Holly Suffield (born 24 December 1992) is a former English actress known for her role in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Lucy Beale. She appeared on the show from 2004 to 2010.

Early life Suffield was born in London in 1992 as Melissa Carter. She adopted the surname Suffield from her step-father. She attended Hatch End High School. Her first professional acting role was in an episode of the children's series Magic Grandad in March 2003. She appeared in one episode of Agatha Christie's Poirot (Five Little Pigs) In May 2010, it was announced that Suffield had been axed from EastEnders, after she allegedly ignored warnings about her "unruly" behaviour. On 14 November 2011, it was announced that the character would be returning to EastEnders in January 2012, with Hetti Bywater taking over the role.

Post-EastEnders In August 2009, Suffield took part in a documentary called 16: Too Young To Vote? as part of BBC Three's Adult Season, in which she journeys around the UK to find out whether sixteen year olds should get the right to vote. In September 2009, she reported for the BBC programme Watchdog about the dangers of sunbeds. She also exposed centres that were not following guidelines by checking peoples ages. In addition, Suffield took part in a celebrity version of Total Wipeout. She has also acted in Casualty. In March 2015, she played the title role in Norma Jeane, a musical about Marilyn Monroe. In December 2019, it was reported that she had acted and directed a pantomime at Swallows Leisure Centre in Sittingbourne.

Personal life Suffield is married to cruise director Robert Brendan; they have one child together (b. 2020). They currently live on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.

Filmography

Television Year Title Role Notes2003 Magic Grandad Melissa 1 episode Agatha Christie's Poirot Young Lucy 2004–2010 EastEnders Lucy Beale 317 episodes 2010 Little Crackers Alison Episode: "Julia Davis's Little Cracker: The Kiss" 2012 Casualty Alicia Dans 3 episodes

Film Year Title Role Notes 2011 Rough and Ready II Sammy Television movie 2012 The App TBA Short film

Theatre Year Title Role Notes 2010 Olly's Prison Sheila Touring 2011 Beauty and the Beast Belle 2015 Pinocchio Cat/Blue fairySecombe Theatre, Sutton