Sandy Ratcliff

Alexandra Margaret Ratcliff (2 October 1948 – 7 April 2019) was an English actress, model and counsellor. She made an impression as a model and film actress in the 1970s, but she became known for being one of the original cast members of the BBC soap opera EastEnders in the 1980s. She portrayed the role of Sue Osman but left the role in 1989. In 2010, she revealed that she had retired from acting to train as a counsellor.

Early life Alexandra Margaret Ratcliff was born on 2 October 1948 in Islington, London. The daughter of an insurance salesman, had a turbulent youth. After being expelled from school at the age of 12, within two years she was heavily smoking cannabis, and she later went on to serve time in prison for selling it. She had numerous jobs before she took up acting, including waitressing, disc-jockeying and performing as a guitarist in the rock groups Tropical Appetite and Escalator. This was followed by roles in slightly less well-received films including The Final Programme (1973), Yesterday's Hero (1979) and Hussy (1980) with Helen Mirren. She also appeared in Chris Petit's British road movie Radio On (1979).

Personal life Ratcliff married photographer Peter Wright in Kensington, London in 1968. They broke up and by 1973 she had her only son, William, by theatre director Terence Palmer. His court case was to be her last public appearance.

In later life, Ratcliff no longer used heroin and lived on a £70 a week disability allowance. She suffered three strokes and was diagnosed with cancer. In October 2019, the coroner's court attributed her death to taking an excessive amount of morphine due to a terminal lung condition.

Filmography