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Tanya Franks
Franks in 2014
Born	Tanya Christine Franks (1967-08-16) 16 August 1967 (age 57) Plumstead, London, England
Occupation(s)	Actress, writer, producer
Years active	1986–present
Partner	Scott Mitchell (2023–present)
Website	tanyafranks.com

Tanya Christine Franks (born 16 August 1967) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Rainie Cross in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders.

Career

1986–2006

Franks worked for 14 years in theatre both in the UK and abroad. Her roles included the title role in Tess at The Kings Head Theatre in London in 1989 which was Time Out's Critics Choice, and Sylv in Steven Berkoff's 25th Anniversary production of East at the Vaudeville Theatre in London's West End and on tour. Tanya then rose to prominence when her TV career began in 2000, after being cast in the Channel 5 soap opera Family Affairs as Karen Ellis. Franks continued in the soap opera for three years, with storylines including a cancer scare, infertility, surrogacy, and a child custody battle, before leaving the series in 2003. In 2004, Franks was cast as DI Rowanne Morell in the long-running ITV1 police serial-drama The Bill. Franks stayed with the serial for over a year, with her character investigating various murders of police officers and police corruption.

In 2006, Franks starred opposite Sharon Horgan and Rebekah Staton in the BBC Three comedy series Pulling. Franks was cast as Karen, a promiscuous, raunchy, aggressive primary school teacher, who drinks heavily and is not suited to her job, for which she was nominated at The British Comedy Awards in 2009. The sitcom ran for two series and a special feature episode, and gained a BAFTA nomination for best comedy series and won The South Bank Show award for Best Comedy.

2007–present

In July 2007, it was announced that Franks would play the role of Tanya Branning's (Jo Joyner) sister, Rainie Cross in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders for a week-long stint from 2 August 2007. Franks returned to EastEnders as Rainie in January 2008, and again in August 2010. She returned again in April 2011, before departing once more later that year. She made a surprise return to the show on 16 June 2014 and departed on 15 February 2015. EastEnders announced on 18 January 2018 that Franks would make a guest appearance the following day and return on a permanent basis later in the year. Franks made her full-time return on 24 April 2018. It was announced in June 2022 that Franks had left the role of Rainie. Her final scenes aired on 29 June 2022. She returned for a brief stint on 23 August until 25 August 2022.

In 2008, Franks starred as Sandra Farrell in the BBC Two mocumentary The Cup. In 2010, Franks appeared in an episode of the E4 teen drama Skins. Also in 2010, she appeared in an episode of the BBC1 time-travelling drama Ashes to Ashes. From September 2010 to August 2011, Franks starred as a series regular in the CBBC comedy serial Hotel Trubble. Franks also appears in Episode 7, Series 9 of New Tricks as literary agent Roxanne Guthrie. In 2013 she was a guest lead in an episode of "Pramface" as Fiona. Tanya plays Richard Burton's wife, Sybil, in the 2012 made-for-television film Liz & Dick. In 2013 Tanya played Lucy Stevens, sister to Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller played by Olivia Colman, in the series Broadchurch. She also played Mandy in the E4 sitcom Chewing Gum in 2015 and earlier in 2016 and 2018 she played Carol in the hit BBC comedy series Mum. In 2018, Franks appeared in an episode of Inside No 9.

In addition to her television work, Franks has also appeared in further theatre roles, including starring as Sylv in Steven Berkoff’s 25th anniversary production of "East" at the Vaudeville Theatre in London’s West End, leading roles at the Royal National Theatre in "Sing Yer Heart Out For The Lads" by Roy Williams in 2004, "The Black Album" by Hanif Kureishi in 2009, and in the premier run of Really Old, Like Forty Five in 2010. In 2013 she toured as Irene Adler in the new mystery "Sherlock Holmes: The Best Kept Secret", and played the title role in Bertolt Brecht's "The Good Person of Sichuan" at the Mercury Theatre in Colchester. In 2016 Tanya co-starred at The Menier Chocolate Factory in The Truth written by Florian Zeller and adapted by Oscar winning playwright Christopher Hampton. Following its sell-out run the production transferred to the Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End and was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. In 2022 Tanya starred as Emilia at The Royal National Theatre’s production of Othello by William Shakespeare. In 2023 she starred in the national tour of the newly rewritten production of Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s “Calendar Girls the Musical” as the lead role of Annie. Following that, in 2024, Tanya played Dean Amy Katz, a Harvard University professor, in the UK premier of “The Power Of Sail” at the Menier Chocolate Factory, written by Paul Grellong.

Stock-pot Productions

1993–present

Franks founded Stock-pot Productions in 1993. Theatre credits included Scenes of Shaw at London's Theatre Museum starring Les Dennis and the late Paul Eddington; Deckchairs at London's Kings Head Theatre in which Tanya also co-starred. Co-productions included the national tour of You Don't Kiss and All Fall Away which the Guardian named Pick of the Week with Tanya playing the lead role at the Latchmere Theatre (now Theatre 503). The company has made three short films, the last of which Franks wrote, produced, and starred in, entitled One Day. It was officially selected at several national and international film festivals and was Kodak best short film finalist. In addition to Franks, the film starred Tim McInnerny as well as Toby Stephens in a small part.

Personal life

Franks has been in a relationship with recruitment consultant Scott Mitchell, the widower of Dame Barbara Windsor, since July 2023.

Filmography

Accolades

References

1. "Tanya Gets Frank" (PDF). News Shopper. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
2. Archived 7 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine
3. Tanya Franks on Twitter: "1999/00 I was Sylv in Steven Berkoff's 25th anniversary run of EAST. And yesterday's catch up. Pic @jamesbarriscale http://t.co/O2UhQawoWE"
4. "Family Affairs". IMDb. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
5. "Tanya Franks". IMDb. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
6. BBC Three - Pulling, Special
7. BBC Programme Information, Network TV Week 2, Tuesday 8 January 2008 accessed 7 December 2007
8. Green, Kris (27 July 2010). "Phil hits Peggy across the face". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
9. "EastEnders: Rainie returns..." Tanya Franks.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
10. Davies, Megan (18 January 2018). "EastEnders return for Rainie Cross as Tanya Franks reprises the role". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
11. BBC Two - The Cup, Episode 1
12. Tanya Franks – IMDb
13. BBC – Press Office – Network TV Programme Information BBC Week 13 Unplaced
14. Pramface (Aaargh) on BBC3, Sun 16 Aug 3:00am - Your UK TV Listings at TVGuide.co.uk
15. "Inside No 9, episode 1 review: a triumphant return for Pemberton and Shearsmith". The Telegraph. 2 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
16. Tanya Franks | National Theatre | South Bank, London Archived 3 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine
17. Sherlock Holmes - The Best Kept Secret (Leeds) - WhatsOnStage.com
18. The Good Person of Sichuan at The Mercury Theatre
19. "The Truth at the Menier Chocolate Factory, SE1 | the Times". The Times. Archived from the original on 18 November 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
20. "Othello | National Theatre".
21. "Calendar Girls the Musical UK Tour – Cast Announced | West End Theatre". 26 June 2023.
22. https://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/power-of-sail-review. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
23. Stock-pot Productions (UK) Stock-pot Films (US)
24. Stock-pot Productions LLC, Blog Archived 21 April 2006 at the Wayback Machine
25. Seddon, Dan (14 July 2023). "EastEnders star Tanya Franks dating Barbara Windsor's widower Scott Mitchell". Digital Spy. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
26. Welsh, James (16 May 2002). "British Soap Awards 2002: Nominations". Digital Spy. Hearst Communications. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
27. "The British Soap Awards 2003". Celebrities Worldwide. 10 May 2003. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
28. "High hopes for Michael McIntyre and Alan Carr at Comedy Awards". Evening Standard. 18 November 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
29. Dainty, Sophie (29 July 2014). "Inside Soap Awards 2014 longlist revealed". Digital Spy. Hearst Communications. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
30. Kilkelly, Daniel (15 October 2018). "Coronation Street tops Inside Soap Awards 2018 shortlist with 18 nominations". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
31. Davies, Megan (24 July 2018). "Full list of nominations for the Inside Soap Awards 2018". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
32. Harp, Justin (16 October 2018). "Here are all the nominees for the National TV Awards 2019, including Strictly, Doctor Who and Ant & Dec". Digital Spy. Hearst Communications. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
33. Harp, Justin (30 September 2019). "Inside Soap Awards 2019 full shortlist revealed – which stars are up for prizes?". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
34. Alexander, Susannah (28 September 2021). "Inside Soap Awards announces 2021 longlist as voting opens – here's who's up for prizes". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.

External links

• Official website
• Tanya Franks at IMDb 

• 1967 births
• Living people
• 21st-century English writers
• Alumni of the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts
• English television actresses
• English women television producers
• English soap opera actresses
• English television producers
• English businesspeople
• English women writers
• Actresses from London
• Actors from the Royal Borough of Greenwich
• People from Plumstead