Susan swaps drama for career as writer
Award-winning Love/hate star pens kids’ books with husband
SUSAN Loughnane is best known for playing an addict in hit crime drama Love/hate but she’s now carving out a new career as a children’s author.
The 37-year-old former model rose to fame as tragic prostitute Debbie which won her an IFTA for best supporting actress in 2013. Her character spiralled into heroin abuse and sex work before dying of an overdose in season four of the iconic RTE series. Susan turned her back on acting in 2014 – and now she’s found her true calling as an author and illustrator. Writing with hubby David Doyle under the name Blockiedoyle, Susan told how she asks her children Barra, five, and two-yearold Lockie for feedback. She told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “It’s the headspace we’re in now, we’re permanently reading kids books. “I keep asking my son like which one’s better, this one or this one? He’ll pick one and I’ll go with that one, so he’s choosing which dolphin is going to be the star of our book.” She added: “David writes the books and I illustrate them. My dream is for it to become our main thing. “Sometimes I feel like it’s so much of a fairytale to make this our business and for it to support us. We’re writing three at the moment, one about dolphins, Dusky the Dancing Dolphin, getting what you want using humour.”
Susan, who took part in Britain’s Next Top Model in 2010, revealed she still gets recognised for her Love/hate role.
She said: “It was such a great job to play Debbie. People still recognise me all the time as Debbie, which I can’t get over.
“It’s nuts, this is 10 years ago, I don’t get it, it’s weird.”
Recalling an uncomfortable “casting couch” moment in London, she revealed: “There was one producer that me and my friend were working with. We ended up in a tricky position with him where we were nearly going back to his house. He was like, ‘Sleep on the couch’ and we didn’t go.”
Susan recently got diagnosed with ADHD and quit the booze as a result.
She said: “ADHD is all about your dopamine hit and alcohol is like a major dump of dopamine.
“When you’ve got ADHD you’re better off drip feeding dopamine. That was the main reason I quit alcohol as it was dumping too much dopamine.
A self-confessed Tiktok addict, she had to put manners on herself to limit her time on it.
She revealed: “I had to stop myself from scrolling and downloaded an app that limits my Instagram and Tiktok use.
“It hooked up to your veins like heroin and it’s just the dopamine.”
For more information about Susan and David’s books visit www. blockiedoyle. com.
I quit alcohol as it’s too much of a dopamine dump when you have got ADHD as I do