Sandy Ratcliff, one of EastEnders original cast members, has died at the age of 70.
The actress, who played Sue Osman from the very first episode in 1985 until 1989, died on Sunday.
She was admitted to a care home in Stamford Hill, North London after suffering from several strokes and being diagnosed with cancer.
Sandy had one of the BBC soap’s first hard-hitting storylines when she lost a baby to cot death, sparking a fight with mental health problems.
Last night Nejdet Salih, who played her on-screen hubby Ali, told The Sun: “It’s very sad. I remember the first time I auditioned for the show, we had this instant chemistry and banter.
“I was a young actor and she helped me develop so much.
“We had a lot of fun on the show and had some really good storylines.
“Obviously the cot death storyline was massive and really important. We wanted to do the best job we could.
“I remember going to her flat to rehearse lines and her son William and boyfriend Tony would be there.
“She was a great mum. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for William.
“She would try to take younger actors under her wing and had a great sense of humour.
“At the end of the show I think she had had enough, there was a lot of pressure on us back then. I think she just wanted to go.”
According to The Sun, June Brown, who still plays Dot Cotton in EastEnders, had continued to visit Sandy at her care home.
Sandy’s first acting job was playing a schizophrenic teenage girl in Ken Loach’s Family Life in 1971.
She went on to feature in several other films and TV shows as well as a stint as a model in the seventies, but it was EastEnders that made her a household name.