# Susan Hanson

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For the American geographer, see [Susan Hanson (geographer)](/source/Susan_Hanson_(geographer)).

**Susan Hanson** (born 11 February 1943) is an English actress who played the part of Diane Lawton (later Parker and Hunter, and known to Benny and many regulars as "Miss Diane") in the long-running British [soap opera](/source/Soap_opera) *[Crossroads](/source/Crossroads_(British_TV_series))* from 1965–87, when her character was controversially killed off. She also had a brief role in the film *[Catch Us If You Can](/source/Catch_Us_If_You_Can_(film))*, (1965) which starred [The Dave Clark Five](/source/The_Dave_Clark_Five).

## Early life

She attended the independent Woodlands School in [Preston, Lancashire](/source/Preston,_Lancashire) and lived on Central Drive in [Penwortham](/source/Penwortham).[1][2]

## Career

After a short-lived marriage to [BBC Radio 1](/source/BBC_Radio_1) DJ [Tommy Vance](/source/Tommy_Vance) in the 1960s,[3] Hanson married musician [Carl Wayne](/source/Carl_Wayne) in 1974; they had a son, Jack. After leaving *Crossroads* she appeared in the film *[Out of Order](/source/Out_of_Order_(1987_film))* (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](/source/Todd_Carty)'s character in an episode of *[Holby City](/source/Holby_City)*, whilst also appearing in *That's What I Call Television*, alongside former colleagues [Jane Rossington](/source/Jane_Rossington) (Jill Chance), [Tony Adams](/source/Tony_Adams_(actor)) (Adam Chance) and [Paul Henry](/source/Paul_Henry_(actor)) (Benny Hawkins).[citation needed]

In November 2009, Hanson made appearances on both *[The Alan Titchmarsh Show](/source/The_Alan_Titchmarsh_Show)* and *[Loose Women](/source/Loose_Women)*, with each interview giving her the chance to promote Network DVD's new boxset marking *Crossroads'* 45th anniversary.[citation needed]

In August 2012, it was announced that Hanson had joined the cast of long-running soap opera *[Coronation Street](/source/Coronation_Street).* Her character, [Penny Thornley](/source/List_of_Coronation_Street_characters_(2012)), began the chain of events leading to the departure of [Lewis Archer](/source/Lewis_Archer) ([Nigel Havers](/source/Nigel_Havers)). Hanson played most of her scenes opposite [Sue Nicholls](/source/Sue_Nicholls) ([Audrey Roberts](/source/Audrey_Roberts)), who had previously appeared with Hanson in *Crossroads* during the mid-1960s as the character Marilyn Gates.[4]

In 2023, Hanson appeared in a cameo role in the [ITVX](/source/ITVX) miniseries *[Nolly](/source/Nolly_(TV_series))*, which dramatised the life of her former *Crossroads* colleague [Noele Gordon](/source/Noele_Gordon), and in which Hanson herself was portrayed by Chloe Harris.[5][6]

## References

1. *Lancashire Evening Post*. 10 January 1955. p. 2.

1. *Lancashire Evening Post*. 20 May 1955. p. 11.

1. Wall, Mick (4 December 2005). ["The lives they lived: Tommy Vance, Monster of rock, died aged 64 on 6 March"](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/dec/04/radio.television). *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)*. Retrieved 27 March 2018.

1. White, Steve (23 August 2012). ["Crossroads to Corrie: Soap legend Miss Diane to join Coronation Street"](https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/coronation-street-sue-hanson-aka-1275105). *[Daily Mirror](/source/Daily_Mirror)*. [Trinity Mirror](/source/Trinity_Mirror). Retrieved 23 August 2012.

1. ["Crossroads stars reunite for emotional cameos in Nolly finale"](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/crossroads-cameos-nolly-tony-adams-newsupdate/). *[Radio Times](/source/Radio_Times)*. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.

1. ["Nolly cast: Meet the actors and their real-life counterparts"](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/nolly-cast-real-life-itvx/). *Radio Times*. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.

## External links

- [Susan Hanson](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0361377/) at IMDb

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Susan Hanson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Hanson) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Hanson?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.