# Susannah Corbett
**Susannah Corbett** (Susannah Jane Corbett, born 1968) is an English actress and author, the daughter of the *Steptoe and Son* actor [Harry H. Corbett](https://www.edgepedia.org/harry-h-corbett) and Maureen Blott. Her acting career began in 1991 and has covered television, film, and radio; she is known above all for playing Ellie Pascoe, wife of one of the title characters, in the BBC crime drama *Dalziel and Pascoe*, and she has also written children's books and a biography of her father.[1](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1234992-susannah-corbett?language=en-US)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / born | Susannah Jane Corbett, 1968, Marylebone, London; also credited as Suzannah Corbett[1](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1234992-susannah-corbett?language=en-US) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0179201/) |
| Parents | Harry H. Corbett, star of the BBC sitcom *Steptoe and Son*, and his second wife Maureen[1](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1234992-susannah-corbett?language=en-US) |
| Signature role | Ellie Pascoe in *Dalziel and Pascoe*, appearing regularly from 1996 to 2000 with a guest return in 2005[3](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=8620) |
| Television debut | November 1991, as Sadie Meadows in an episode of ITV's *Minder*[4](https://prabook.com/web/susannah.corbett/1833993) |
| Children's books | *Dragon's Dinner* (illustrated by Lynne Chapman, published 20 August 2009) and *One Cool Cat* (illustrated by David Roberts, published March 2012)[5](https://susannahcorbett.blogspot.com/) |
| Biography | *Harry H. Corbett: The Front Legs of the Cow* (The History Press, 2012), the first biography of her father[6](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/books/features/at-long-last-the-tale-of-steptoe-and-daughter-7576606.html) |
| Training | Moira House Girls School, Eastbourne; actor training at East 15 Acting School, Debden, Loughton[4](https://prabook.com/web/susannah.corbett/1833993) |
## Early life and training
Corbett was born in [Marylebone](https://www.edgepedia.org/marylebone) in London in 1968, into what she has described as a family of actors, and followed her parents into the profession.[4](https://prabook.com/web/susannah.corbett/1833993) • [5](https://susannahcorbett.blogspot.com/) Educated at Moira House Girls School in [Eastbourne](https://www.edgepedia.org/eastbourne), East Sussex, she later received her acting training at East 15 Acting School in Debden, Loughton, Essex.[4](https://prabook.com/web/susannah.corbett/1833993) Her father, Harry H. Corbett, played rag-and-bone man Harold Steptoe opposite [Wilfrid Brambell](https://www.edgepedia.org/wilfrid-brambell) in the long-running BBC sitcom *Steptoe and Son* and died in 1982, when she was in her early teens.[7](https://www.thegoonshow.co.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Harry_H._Corbett)
## Acting career
**1991 to 1996.** One of her first jobs out of drama school was a small part, credited as Lady in Coach, in the 1991 adventure film *Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves*; as she put it later, she was "robbed by Robin Hood".[4](https://prabook.com/web/susannah.corbett/1833993) • [5](https://susannahcorbett.blogspot.com/) In November 1991 she made her television debut as Sadie Meadows in an episode of the ITV comedy-drama *Minder*, credited under the spelling Suzannah Corbett.[4](https://prabook.com/web/susannah.corbett/1833993) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0179201/) Her first major role came in 1993, in the third series of the ITV medical drama *Peak Practice*, as Vanessa Machin, a cystic fibrosis sufferer.[4](https://prabook.com/web/susannah.corbett/1833993) She also appeared as Judith in a 1993 episode of *Screen One* and in the television film *The Bullion Boys*, and took small screen roles in *First Knight* (1995) and the television film *A Mind to Murder* (1995).[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0179201/)
**Dalziel and Pascoe.** Corbett's best-known role is Ellie Pascoe, wife of Detective Sergeant (later [Inspector](https://www.edgepedia.org/inspector)) Peter Pascoe, in the BBC drama *Dalziel and Pascoe*, adapted from Reginald Hill's novels.[4](https://prabook.com/web/susannah.corbett/1833993) She appeared in the series regularly between 1996 and 2000 and returned for a guest appearance in 2005.[3](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=8620) In the series, Ellie Pascoe was characterized as a member of a left-leaning women's rights action group, a standing point of tension with her husband's blunt senior partner, Superintendent Dalziel.[8](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/InterNews/LeMonde/issues/2000/monde.20000813.pdf)
**Later television.** After *Dalziel and Pascoe*, Corbett returned to *Peak Practice* to play Kerri Davidson, a physiotherapist, for three series.[4](https://prabook.com/web/susannah.corbett/1833993) Her other television credits include *The Bill*, *Casualty*, *Doctors*, and *Holby City*, in which she appeared in 2015.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0179201/) • [4](https://prabook.com/web/susannah.corbett/1833993) She has also performed on radio.[1](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1234992-susannah-corbett?language=en-US)
## Writing
**Children's books.** Corbett began writing picture books for her own children, and her literary agent, Eve White, sent the first two manuscripts to publishers. *Dragon's Dinner*, illustrated by Lynne Chapman, was published by Hodder Children's Books on 20 August 2009, and *One Cool Cat*, illustrated by David Roberts, was scheduled for publication in March 2012.[5](https://susannahcorbett.blogspot.com/)
**Her father's biography.** Her current project at that time, announced on her blog in early 2012, was the life story of her father. *Harry H. Corbett: The Front Legs of the Cow*, published by The History Press in March 2012, is the first biography of the actor whose title role, in Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop, gave the book its name.[5](https://susannahcorbett.blogspot.com/) • [6](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/books/features/at-long-last-the-tale-of-steptoe-and-daughter-7576606.html) In an interview with *The Independent* she explained what had prompted her to write it: earlier portrayals of her father's personal life, including the [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4) documentary *When Steptoe Met Son*, which claimed he and Wilfrid Brambell hated each other, and the BBC4 biopic *The Curse of Steptoe*, which suggested he was anguished by his typecasting as Harold and asserted that her mother was responsible for the break-up of his first marriage. "You can say what you like about his career", she said, "but I took exception to the portrayals of his personal life."[6](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/books/features/at-long-last-the-tale-of-steptoe-and-daughter-7576606.html) The book appeared as *Steptoe and Son* drew audiences of over 28 million viewers at its peak, and Corbett's account presented him as a respected classical stage actor once described as "the English Marlon Brando", not only as his television persona "'Arold".[9](https://wclc2018.iaslc.org/book/publication/Documents/harry-potter-y-el-legado-maldito-el-guion-oficial.pdf)
## Personal life
Corbett lives with her family on top of a hill in [East Sussex](https://www.edgepedia.org/east-sussex), where she has combined acting and voice work with writing.[5](https://susannahcorbett.blogspot.com/) Her mother, Maureen Crombie, an actress who had married Harry H. Corbett in 1969, died in November 1999.[10](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0188595/bio/)
## References
1. [Susannah Corbett, The Movie Database](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1234992-susannah-corbett?language=en-US)
2. [Susannah Corbett, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0179201/)
3. [Susannah Corbett, TVSA](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=8620)
4. [Susannah Corbett (born 1968), Prabook World Biographical Encyclopedia](https://prabook.com/web/susannah.corbett/1833993)
5. [End Papers and Life In Between, Susannah Corbett's blog](https://susannahcorbett.blogspot.com/)
6. [Gerard Gilbert, "At long last, the tale of Steptoe and daughter", The Independent, 19 March 2012](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/books/features/at-long-last-the-tale-of-steptoe-and-daughter-7576606.html)
7. [Harry H. Corbett, The Goon Show Depository](https://www.thegoonshow.co.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Harry_H._Corbett)
8. [Le Monde, HORIZONS, 13 August 2000 (TV listings for Dalziel et Pascoe)](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/InterNews/LeMonde/issues/2000/monde.20000813.pdf)
9. [Harry H. Corbett: The Front Legs of the Cow, publisher description](https://wclc2018.iaslc.org/book/publication/Documents/harry-potter-y-el-legado-maldito-el-guion-oficial.pdf)
10. [Maureen Crombie, IMDb biography](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0188595/bio/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames C*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license