EASTENDERS star Sandy Ratcliff who played cafe owner Sue Osman has died aged 70 after years of alcohol and drug abuse.

Sandy appeared in the BBC1 soap from the first episode in 1985 until 1989 and was central to an early hard-hitting storyline when she lost a baby to cot death, sparking mental illness.

7 Sandy Ratcliff, who played Sue Osman in EastEnders in the 1980s, has passed away at the age of 70 Credit: Getty - Contributor

7 Sandy pictured for the 25th anniversary of EastEnders in 2010 - at the time she said 'I had a hard time when I left the show' Credit: Roger Crump - The Sun

7 Much-loved character Sue Osman with husband Ali and their baby

And Sandy had demons in real life too.

In September 1988 The Sun told how she had a boozy bust-up with her boyfriend on holiday in Tenerife.

The next year the mum-of-one was forced out of the soap by heroin addiction.

In 1991 she appeared at the Old Bailey trial of an ex and claimed they were making love at the time he was accused of strangling two young women in the basement they shared in North London.

Her story was shot down and Michael Shorey was jailed for life.



TEARS FOR WALFORD STAR SUE

Sandy went on to suffer strokes and was diagnosed with cancer, but a pal said: “She was still smoking 20 a day and had only just replaced her whisky with tea.”

Last night Nejdet Salih, who played her on-screen hubby Ali, said: “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.”

Last night a pal said Sandy had been clean of drugs for some years but poor health forced her to quit her flat in Stamford Hill, North London.

SOAP ORIGINAL'S FIGHT WITH HEROIN

They said she had three strokes in five years and had been forced to move out of her flat in and into sheltered housing nearby.

The friend said 92-year-old June Brown, who plays Dot Cotton in the soap and whose own health is failing, had continued to visit until recently.

They added: “Sandy had suffered three strokes in the space of about five years, and she had been diagnosed with cancer.

“She would just get on with it really. She would just say that everything was going to be fine even though she was getting worse.

“In the earlier days some of the old cast kept in touch with her, but June was the one who had seen her most recently.

“I met Sandy after she had got clean from the drugs and I just knew her as a really lovely, down-to-earth woman who loved baking and cooking.

“She didn’t have lots of people in her life but her son used to visit and took care of her with shopping and things.

“She moved into assisted living about two years ago because she couldn’t manage on her own anymore.

“It’s such sad news. She was such a lovely woman and will be badly missed.”

FALSE ALIBI FOR FELLA WHO KILLED 2

A neighbour at the sheltered accommodation block said last night they had been unware of Sandy’s famous past.

It is understood her body was discovered on Sunday morning having died overnight.

Her death has been referred to the coroner.

An ambulance spokesman said: “We sent two single responders in cars and an ambulance crew. Sadly, a person was found dead at the scene.”

Sandy started her acting career in Ken Loach’s Family Life in 1971 where she played a schizophrenic teenage girl.

She featured in a host of other films and TV shows and had a modelling career that at one pointed saw her hailed as “the face of the Seventies”. But it was EastEnders that made her a household name.

Speaking to The Sun during the 25th anniversary in 2010, Sandy revealed she had retrained as a counsellor before retiring.

Sue Osman played by Sandy Ratcliff with on-screen husband Ali in first ever EastEnders episode

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She added: “I had a hard time when I left the show. There were stories about my drug addiction, and I was quite an innocent, even in my thirties.

“But I recovered and moved on to other things. If you had asked me last year if I wanted to go back to acting I would have said no. I was working too hard then and I felt tired. Now, I would say yes. If anyone needs someone to play a bag lady, I could do that!”

Her son William was unavailable for comment.

7 The original cast of EastEnders pictured for the 30th anniversary of the soap

7 She gave evidence in the trial of her ex-boyfriend in 1991 when he was accused of killing two young women Credit: Alamy

7 Sandy pictured in 1971 - she had a modelling career and was dubbed 'the face of the seventies' before her stint on EastEnders Credit: Alamy

7 Sandy with Malcolm Tierney in Family Life (1971) directed by Ken Loach Credit: Alamy

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