Susan Hanson

Susan Hanson (born 2 February 1943, in Preston, Lancashire) is an English actress who played the part of Diane Lawton (later Parker and Hunter) in the long-running British soap opera Crossroads from 1966–87, when her character was controversially killed off. She also had a brief role in the film Catch Us If You Can (1965) starring The Dave Clark Five.

After a short-lived marriage to BBC Radio 1 DJ Tommy Vance in the 1960s,[1] Hanson married musician Carl Wayne in 1974; they have a son, Jack. After leaving Crossroads she appeared in the film Out of Order (1987), and then remained out of the limelight until her husband died of cancer in 2004. A few years later, she returned to British TV screens in the role of the mother of Todd Carty's character in an episode of Holby City, whilst also appearing on in That's What I Call Television, alongside former colleagues Jane Rossington (Jill Chance), Tony Adams (Adam Chance) and Paul Henry (Benny Hawkins).

In November 2009, Hanson made appearances on both The Alan Titchmarsh Show and Loose Women, with each interview giving her the chance to promote Network DVD's new boxset marking Crossroads' 45th anniversary.[2][3]

In August 2012, it was announced that Hanson had joined the cast of long-running soap opera Coronation Street as a character called Penny Thornley, a character brought in to start the chain of events leading to the departure of Lewis Archer (Nigel Havers. Hanson played most of her scenes opposite Sue Nicholls (Audrey Roberts); Hanson & Nicholls performing together in Crossroads during the mid 1960s, playing Diane Lawton and Marilyn Gates respectively.[4]