Hassan). Phil proposes to Suzy who accepts. Shirley and her friend Heather Trott (Cheryl Fergison) discover that Suzy is still buying tampons and realise she is not pregnant. She lies to Phil that she had a miscarriage. When she reveals that she lied to Phil, they break up. However, Archie Mitchell (Larry Lamb) uses Suzy to plant DNA results in a Christmas cracker, showing that Sean Slater (Robert Kazinsky) is not the father of Roxy's baby. Suzy leaves after insulting the entire Mitchell family, before Sean finds the results. Phil discovers that £10,000 is missing and blames Suzy so he and Shirley go to find her. In the Queen Victoria, Shirley trips Suzy and she is knocked out. Shirley takes the money back and when Suzy comes around, she burns it, telling Suzy to get out. Suzy then leaves Walford. Suzy writes to Phil’s mother Peggy (Barbara Windsor) a few months later on a postcard from Dubai telling her she didn’t need Archie’s money after all, but after being found by Danielle Jones (Lauren Crace), Archie is able to dispose of it before Peggy receives it. Following her father Jim’s (John Bardon) death in 2015, Max declared during his eulogy that his sisters hated Jim so much they did not make any effort to attend his funeral. Max leaves the Square in early 2018 in order to stay with Suzy following the death of his daughter Abi Branning (Lorna Fitzgerald). Creation and development The character, then referred to as Sue, was seen at the wedding of her sister, April (Debbie Arnold) in 1996, appearing in two episodes, played by Julie Christian-Young. On 23 April 2008, it was announced Suzy will be returning to EastEnders. Maggie O'Neill was cast in the role, taking over from Julie Christian-Young. Suzy was re-introduced as a love interest for established character Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and makes a strong love rival of Shirley Carter (Linda Henry). Of her casting, O'Neill commented: "The Brannings are a great family and I am really excited to become one of them. Suzy is a woman to be reckoned with and I'm looking forward to playing her." Diederick Santer added: "I've long-admired Maggie's work from her outstanding performance in Take Me Home to her hilarious and moving Sheila in Shameless. She's yet another top drawer addition to our wonderful cast." O’Neill made her first appearance as Suzy on 8 July