Suzanne Packer


Suzanne Packer is a Welsh actress who is best known for playing the role of Tess Bateman in the long-running television series Casualty from September 2003 until August 2015. She returned to the show as a guest for the 30th anniversary episodes. She now teaches in many Welsh schools.

Early life

Packer is the daughter of Jamaican immigrant parents to Abergavenny, and her mother worked as a nurse. She is the elder sister of the Olympic hurdler Colin Jackson. Whilst studying at Llanedeyrn High School in Cardiff, she already showed an interest in acting, playing the lead in school plays including Oklahoma and The King and I.

Career

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.
Arriving back in Cardiff with her three-month-old son, she gained an audition for the BBC drama Casualty, and was cast as Tess Bateman, first appearing on screen from September 2003. In November 2006 Martina Laird who played the role of Comfort left Casualty, which then meant that Suzanne was the second longest serving cast member.
On August 22, 2015, she quit Casualty after playing the character of Tess for nearly 12 years to become a member of the cast of Stella and Doctors.
Packer appeared with her brother Colin on the first series of Pointless Celebrities on 6 July 2011. They were eliminated in the first round.
In 2018, she began portraying the role of Nurse Digby in the BBC Three series In My Skin. On 4 November 2018, Packer played Eve Cicero in the Doctor Who episode, "The Tsuranga Conundrum".

Personal life

Packer is divorced from American actor Jesse Newman and in 2006 lived in Cardiff with their son Paris.

Filmography