Whatever Happened To...Suzanne Danielle?

In the latest of my series of blogs looking at some of the less well known Carry On supporting actors, I have decided to look at the career of the last Carry On glamour girl from the original run of films, Suzanne Danielle. She became infamous for her turn in Carry On Emmannuelle, but what happened to her after that?

I have been quite clear that I find Carry On Emmannuelle completely woeful and not worthy of a place in the Carry On cannon. It is cheap, dirty and a sad end to twenty years of wonderful cinematic fun with the Carry On team. Those remaining stars who joined in on Emmannuelle do not come out of it well to say the least. Suzanne Danielle, then barely into her twenties, was thrust into the limelight as the latest Carry On girl and I must say, she copes well with a challenging role for someone so inexperienced. Working with so many comedy legends, most of whom had been working actors before she was born must have been daunting, not to mention some of the material she was being asked to work with. Emmannuelle may not have given the Carry On series the shot in the arm it really needed back in 1978, but it did make a name for Suzanne Danielle.

Born in January 1957, Suzanne had only made three brief screen appearances before being cast in the leading role of Emmannuelle Prevert opposite Kenneth Williams. She had two uncredited performances, one as a disco dancer in the infamous film The Stud and another as a girl at a party in the film The Wild Geese. Suzanne also had a few lines in an episode in the first series of The Professionals, filmed in 1977. Not a lot to go on before being cast in the last Carry On film of the 1970s.

So what did Suzanne Danielle go on to do after Emmannuelle wrapped? More small film roles followed in the likes of Arabian Adventure and The Golden Lady (both 1979) while later that year she went on to appear in four episodes of Doctor Who for the BBC. Further television roles followed, working with impressionist Mike Yarwood and guest starring in Hammer House of Horror and Tales of the Unexpected, both popular series in the early 1980s. 

Later film roles followed including the Cannon and Ball big screen outing, The Boys in Blue, which saw her working again with Jack Douglas. Suzanne's last film role came in the Donald Sutherland film The Trouble with Spies, released in 1987. Suzanne also worked again with Carry On co-stars Joan Sims and Kenneth Connor in the pantomime Jack and The Beanstalk at the Richmond Theatre in 1984.

Suzanne Danielle first trained as a dancer in her home town in Essex. At the age of 16 she appeared in the West End musical Billy, which starred Michael Crawford. From this role, she began appearing as a dancer on television variety shows and subsequently joined a dancing troupe called The Younger Generation. So what led Suzanne Danielle to retire from the acting profession at the age of 30 in 1987?

Suzanne Danielle was in a relationship with fellow actor (and one time Carry On star) Patrick Mower for several years in the late 1970s and early 1980s. By the mid-1980s Suzanne had met the Scottish golfer Sam Torrance. Danielle and Torrance eventually married in Scotland in 1995 and together they have four children. Suzanne retired from the acting limelight to raise her family. She is still occasionally seen at events, normally with her husband. 

I don't think I've ever heard Suzanne talk publicly about her time with the Carry On team in the late 1970s. I can't remember seeing her at any Carry On events or appearing in any tribute shows, which is a great shame. I'd love to hear her thoughts on making Carry On Emmannuelle. 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also Facebook

Clicking on the adverts helps to keep this blog going.