Don't miss out on the biggest soaps gossip! Get a daily email direct to your inbox with our newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

EastEnders original Sandy Ratcliff has sadly died.

The actress starred in the BBC soap's first ever episode, as Sue Osman, the long-suffering wife of cafe owner Ali.

She was found dead on Sunday morning at the age of 70.

It's thought she died in her sleep at a care home in Stamford Hill, North London.

The soap is now more than 30 years old, having first hit TV screens in 1985.

But where are the rest of the original cast memebrs now?

And are any of them still in the show?

Here's a rundown of the original cast and where they are today...

Wendy, who played Pauline Fowler, was the show’s only star name, having already been in from Are You Being Served?

She died at age 65 after battling breast cancer in 2009, three years after leaving the show.

Anna Wing

(Image: FilmMagic)

Anna starred as Lou Beale.

She went on to appear in The Calcium Kid alongside Orlando Bloom in 2004 and 2007’s Son of Rambow.

She died in 2013, aged 98.

Linda Davidson

(Image: PA)

Linda played Mary Smith.

She left the soap to help Channel 4 launch T4 and 4music, but went back to Albert Square to reprise her role in a one-off appearance in 2019.

She's now the Director of Digital, Technology and Information for the Jamie Oliver Group.

Ross Davidson

(Image: Daily Mirror)

Ross starred as Andy O’Brien.

He was the first main character to be killed off. He went on to star in Brookside and Holly­oaks.

He died from cancer in 2006 at age 57.

Shirley Cheriton

(Image: WENN/ Daves)

Shirley starred in the soap as Debbie Wilkins.

She left her husband for co-star Ross Davidson but she ended the relationship when he cheated with an air hostess.

Her last known and credited TV role was in 2009 drama FM.

Bill Treacher

(Image: Melia / Retna)

Bill was Arthur Fowler.

After his time on the soap, he starred in George and the Dragon with Patrick Swayze, The Bill and Casualty.

He is now 88, retired and living in Suffolk. His last role was in 2009 TV movie Coming Home.

(Image: XPOSUREPHOTOS.COM)

Susan played Michelle Fowler.

She went on to become a TV dir­ector with credits including Silent Witness, The Mill, Lark Rise to Can­dle­ford and The Chase.

Her most recent directing credit was for Tim Roth's show Tin Star in 2019.

(Image: BBC)

Letitia starred as Sharon Watts.

The actress began a third EastEnders stint in 2012, and is now known as Sharon Mitchell, having tied the knot with Phil Mitchell.

(Image: BBC)

Gretchen played Ethel Skinner.

The actress appeared in the show up until 2000 but donated her fees to animal charities.

She died in her sleep in 2005, aged 94.

Roly and Willy

(Image: BBC)

Roly died in 1995 and Willy in 1992.

(Image: BBC)

Leslie played famous villain Dirty Den Watts.

His own life was surrounded by as much drama as his character's.

He was a convicted murderer when he joined the show, having served a 10 year prison sentence for killing a West German taxi driver in1966.

In 2004, he was involved in an online sex scandal.

Dirty Den was killed off in 1989 by a mysterious gunman. A body believed to be his was discovered in the canal the following her.

He returned to the soap in 2003 to reveal he'd survived the shooting.

He left for good in 2005 when he was killed by his new wife Chrissie, who hit him over the head with an iron doorstop.

He starred in pantomimes and did other TV work after the show.

Leslie died in June 2018 at the age of 71 from lung cancer.

(Image: FilmMagic)

Anita played Angie Watts.

She married Queen guitarist Brian May in 2000 and has had a number of TV and stage roles since leaving the show.

She also took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2011.

Most recently, she starred in TV movie Torvill & Dean in 2018 and in series The Worst Witch in 2019.

Tom Watt

(Image: James Curley/Mirrorpix)

Tom starred as Lofty Holloway.

He went on to become a sports journalist, working for talkSPORT, BT Sport and BBC.

He was ghostwriter for David Beckham’s 2003 autobiography.

Tom is now a writer and consultant for EA Sports.

Leonard Fenton

(Image: FilmMagic)

Leonard played Dr Harold Legg.

He exhibited his artwork in between acting and directing.

He reprised his role on the soap in late 2018.

His stint lasted until February 2019 when his character died after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Andrew Johnson

Andrew starred as Saeed Jeffery.

He left for the US and had parts in Murder She Wrote, Inspector Morse and film Secret Agent 420.

His most recent role was in TV series The Bold and the Beautiful from 2018 to 2019.

(Image: Philip Coburn / Daily Mirror)

John played Nasty Nick Cotton.

He had six stints on the show, ending with his character's death in 2016.

He has starred in musical Chicago and has a number of upcoming projects listed on IMDB.

(Image: BBC)

June still stars in the soap as Dot Cotton.

She ended a four-year break in 1997 and has been back in the show ever since. She once said: "I can’t afford to retire."

June recently revealed that she's losing her sight.

The 92-year-old says she can no longer recognise her friends as she deals with age-related macular degeneration, a condition she has lived with for 10 years.

She told the Mirror she has no central vision and can no longer respond to fan mail.

"I haven't driven for years and I can't really go out socially due to my eyesight," said the actress.

Paul J Medford

(Image: Rex)

Paul played Kelvin Carpen­ter.

He went to the US to start a casting agency and went on to star in West End musical Charlie & the Chocolate Factory Chocolate Factory.

Oscar James

(Image: Barcroft Media)

Oscar was Tony Carpenter.

Since then, he's performed in everything from Shakespeare to London’s Burning before retiring due to ill-health.

Sandy Ratcliff

(Image: National Pictures)

Sandy played Sue Osman.

She beat heroin addiction and trained as a counsellor.

Her lover Michael Shorey was jailed for murder in 1991.

She died on April 7 at the age of 70.

It's thought she died in her sleep at a care home in Stamford Hill, North London.

Nejdet Silah

(Image: WireImage)

Najdet played Ali Osman.

He later changed his name to Nej Adam­son.

He played a sailor in Pirates of the Carib­bean: Dead Man's Chest in 2006, with his next acting credit listed in 2017's American Assassin.

His TV show Seasons is currently in pre-production.

(Image: Getty)

Gillian played Kathy Mitchell.

She's still in the soap, but is now known as Kathy Beale

She also starred in Foot­ballers’ Wives, The Bill and Hollyoaks.

(Image: BBC)

Adam plays Ian Beale and is the only original cast member who has never left the show.

He lives with wife Beverley and their two children in Southam, Warwickshire.

(Image: Andy Oliver/ Ken Goff Photos)

Nick played Simon Wicks.

He also played Heartbeat’s PC Nick Rowan and made a 10-second return for Pat Butcher’s funeral.

Nick has now retired from acting and runs his own production company, Valentine Productions.

Peter Dean

(Image: Planet Photos)

Peter starred as Peter Beale.

He is now a practising Buddhist and has been a security guard and worked at a furniture yard.

Peter also appeared in Coronation Street , Law And Order, and a number of movies, including Up Pompeii and Murder By Decree.

In 2018, he took part in BBC series, The Real Marigold Hotel.

Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webtv@trinitymirror.com or call us direct 0207 29 33033