Suzanne Packer

Suzanne Packer (born Suzanne Jackson on 26 November 1962)^[1] is a Welsh actress, known for playing the role of Tess Bateman in the BBC medical drama Casualty from September 2003 to August 2015. She later returned to the series as a guest for the 30th-anniversary episodes. Since departing from Casualty, she has appeared in various television series including Bang, In My Skin and The Pembrokeshire Murders.

Packer presenting St David Awards on behalf of the Welsh Government in 2015

Suzanne Packer
Packer in 2021
Born	Suzanne Jackson (1962-11-26) 26 November 1962 (age 62) Cardiff, Wales
Education	Llanedeyrn High School; Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
Alma mater	University of Warwick
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1990–present
Spouse	Jesse Newman (divorced)
Children	1
Relatives	Colin Jackson (brother)

Early life

Packer is the daughter of Jamaican and Panamanian immigrant parents to Abergavenny, and her mother worked as a nurse. She is the elder sister of the hurdler Colin Jackson.^[2][3]

While studying at Llanedeyrn High School in Cardiff, she showed an interest in acting, playing the lead in school plays including Oklahoma and The King and I.^[4] Packer attended the National Youth Theatre of Wales before earning a BA in theatre and drama at the University of Warwick. She then trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.^[5] Prior to acting professionally, Packer worked as a drama supply teacher. After working at one particular school for three months, she was offered a permanent contract, which she declined due to wanting to pursue acting full-time.^[6]

Career

In 1991, Packer co-founded BiBi Crew, Britain's first comedy theatre troupe made up entirely of Black women.^[7] After she gained an audition for the BBC drama Casualty and was cast as Tess Bateman, she began appearing onscreen from September 2003.^[8] On 22 August 2015, she announced her decision to leave Casualty after playing the character of Tess for over 11 years.^[9]

Packer appeared with her brother Colin on the first series of Pointless Celebrities on 6 July 2011. They were eliminated in the first round.^[10] In 2018, she began portraying the role of Nurse Digby in the BBC Three series In My Skin.^[11] On 4 November 2018, Packer played Eve Cicero in the Doctor Who episode, "The Tsuranga Conundrum".^[12] In 2021, she starred in the ITV miniseries The Pembrokeshire Murders.^[13]

Personal life

Packer met American actor Jesse Newman while on a tour in Europe, and the pair later married, and had a son together.^[14] The pair divorced.^[2]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Channel	Notes
1990–1993, 2000	Brookside	Josie Johnson/Brooks	Channel 4	Recurring roles
1992	Crime Story	Barbara Pilkington	ITV	Episode: "All Good Friends"
1994	The Lifeboat	Helen Mitchell	Unknown	Episode: "Shadow of Doubt"
1995	Grange Hill	Miss Foster	BBC	2 episodes
1995	Some Kind of Life	Dr. Judson	Unknown
1996	Wales Playhouse	Veronica	BBC Wales	Episode: "Strangers in the Night"
1996	Porkpie	Trish	Channel 4	Episode: "Fatal Distraction"
1996	Casualty	Candice Francis	BBC1	Episode “Trapped”
1997	Tiger Bay	Marie	Unknown	4 episodes
1998	Brothers and Sisters	Siobhan Etienne	Unknown
1999	The Bill	Katherine Adams	ITV	Episode: "Treading Water"
2000	Dirty Work	Rhiannon	Unknown	6 episodes
2002	Third Watch	Dr. Sharon Reid	NBC	Episode: "The Greater Good"
2003–2015, 2016, 2021	Casualty	Tess Bateman	BBC	Series regular
2004–2005	Holby City			2 episodes
2005	Casualty @ Holby City			3 episodes
2014	Under Milk Wood	Mrs. Beynon		Television film
2015	Doctors	Rose Blair		Episode: "The Heart of England"
2016	Stella	Carol	Sky 1	Series 5
2016	The Level	Teresa Devlin	ITV	Recurring role
2017	Vera	Sophia		Episode: "Natural Selection"
2017	Bang	Layla	S4C/BBC	Main role
2017, 2019, 2021	Un Bore Mercher / Keeping Faith	Delyth Lloyd		Main role
2018	Death in Paradise	Maya Oprey	BBC	1 episode
2018	Hold the Sunset	Mrs. Pool		Episode: "Roger the Carer"
2018	Doctor Who	Eve Cicero		Episode: "The Tsuranga Conundrum"
2018	The ABC Murders	Capstick		3 episodes
2018–2021	In My Skin	Nurse Digby	BBC Three	Recurring role
2020	Cyswllt (Mewn COVID)	Ruth	S4C
2021	The Pembrokeshire Murders	Chief Constable Tyler	ITV1	Miniseries
2023	Silent Witness	Miriam Harper	BBC1	s26 Southbay pt1&2
2024	The Night Caller	Rosa	Channel 5	4 episodes
2024	The Bay	Anne Jackson	ITV	Series 5

References

1. Wightwick, Abbie (28 September 2018). "Brilliant, Black and Welsh: A celebration of 100 African Caribbean and African Welsh people". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
2. "Colin Jackson and his sister, Suzanne". Sunday Times. 17 December 2006. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
3. Lewis, Anthony (10 August 2015). "Famous siblings visit day therapy unit". Penarth Times. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
4. "Casualty tales shrugged off by fun mum". Wales Online. 11 November 2006. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
5. Hayward 1996, p. 193.
6. "Suzanne Packer talks about her experiences as a teacher". BBC. 23 April 2014. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
7. Abram, Nicola, ed. (2020). "Theatre of Black Women". Black British Women's Theatre. Cham: Springer International Publishing. pp. 23–84. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-51459-4_2. ISBN 978-3-030-51459-4. S2CID 226651462. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2020. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
8. "Characters & Cast: Tess Bateman". BBC. Archived from the original on 28 October 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
9. "Ex Casualty star Suzanne Packer: 'I've all the power in my new drama!'". What's on TV. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
10. "Episode 3". BBC. Archived from the original on 4 March 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
11. "BBC orders a dark comedy about a teen and her mentally ill mum". Chortle. 28 June 2019. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
12. Ling, Thomas (4 November 2018). "Doctor Who series 11 episode 5: meet the guest cast of The Tsuranga Conundrum". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
13. Bond, Kimberley (12 January 2021). "Viewers Praise Luke Evans' Performance in 'Gripping' Serial Killer Drama Pembrokeshire Murders". Tyla. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
14. "Casualty Pack" (PDF). BBC. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 December 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2021.

External links

• Suzanne Packer at IMDb