1986–2006 Franks worked for 14 years in theatre both in the UK and abroad. Her roles included the title role in
Tess at The Kings Head Theatre in London in 1989 which was Time Out's Critics Choice, and Sylv in Steven Berkoff's 25th Anniversary production of
East at the Vaudeville Theatre in London's West End and on tour. Tanya then rose to prominence when her TV career began in 2000, after being cast in the
Channel 5 soap opera
Family Affairs as
Karen Ellis. Franks continued in the soap opera for three years, with storylines including a cancer scare,
infertility,
surrogacy, and a
child custody battle, before leaving the series in 2003. In 2004, Franks was cast as DI
Rowanne Morell in the long-running
ITV1 police serial-drama
The Bill. Franks stayed with the serial for over a year, with her character investigating various murders of police officers and
police corruption. In 2006, Franks starred opposite
Sharon Horgan and
Rebekah Staton in the
BBC Three comedy series
Pulling. Franks was cast as Karen, a promiscuous, raunchy, aggressive primary school teacher, who drinks heavily and is not suited to her job, for which she was nominated at The British Comedy Awards in 2009. The sitcom ran for two series and a special feature episode, and gained a
BAFTA nomination for best comedy series and won the
South Bank Show Award for Best Comedy.
2007–present In July 2007, it was announced that Franks would play the role of
Tanya Branning's (
Jo Joyner) sister,
Rainie Cross in the
BBC One soap opera
EastEnders for a week-long stint from 2 August 2007. Franks returned to
EastEnders as Rainie in January 2008, and again in August 2010. She returned again in April 2011, before departing once more later that year. She made a surprise return to the show on 16 June 2014 and departed on 15 February 2015.
EastEnders announced on 18 January 2018 that Franks would make a guest appearance the following day and return on a permanent basis later in the year. Franks made her full-time return on 24 April 2018. It was announced in June 2022 that Franks had left the role of Rainie. Her final scenes aired on 29 June 2022. She returned for a brief stint on 23 August until 25 August 2022. In 2008, Franks starred as Sandra Farrell in the
BBC Two mocumentary The Cup. In 2010, Franks appeared in an episode of the
E4 teen drama Skins. Also in 2010, she appeared in an episode of the BBC1 time-travelling drama
Ashes to Ashes. From September 2010 to August 2011, Franks starred as a series regular in the
CBBC comedy serial
Hotel Trubble. Franks also appears in Episode 7, Series 9 of
New Tricks as literary agent Roxanne Guthrie. In 2013, she was a guest lead in an episode of "
Pramface" as Fiona. Tanya plays
Richard Burton's wife, Sybil, in the 2012 made-for-television film
Liz & Dick. Also in 2013, Tanya played Lucy Stevens, sister to Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller played by
Olivia Colman, in the series
Broadchurch. She also played Mandy in the E4 sitcom
Chewing Gum in 2015 and earlier in 2016 and 2018 she played Carol in the hit BBC comedy series
Mum. In 2018, Franks appeared in an episode of
Inside No 9. In addition to her television work, Franks has also appeared in further theatre roles, including starring as Sylv in
Steven Berkoff’s 25th anniversary production of "East" at the
Vaudeville Theatre in London’s West End, leading roles at the
Royal National Theatre in "Sing Yer Heart Out For The Lads" by
Roy Williams in 2004, "The Black Album" by
Hanif Kureishi in 2009, and in the premier run of
Really Old, Like Forty Five in 2010. In 2013 she toured as Irene Adler in the new mystery "Sherlock Holmes: The Best Kept Secret", and played the title role in
Bertolt Brecht's "
The Good Person of Sichuan" at the Mercury Theatre in Colchester. In 2016 Tanya co-starred at The Menier Chocolate Factory in
The Truth written by
Florian Zeller and adapted by Oscar winning playwright
Christopher Hampton. Following its sell-out run the production transferred to the
Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End and was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. In 2022, Tanya starred as Emilia at
The Royal National Theatre’s production of
Othello by
William Shakespeare. In 2023, she starred in the national tour of the newly rewritten production of
Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s “Calendar Girls the Musical” as the lead role of Annie. Following that, in 2024, Tanya played Dean Amy Katz, a Harvard University professor, in the UK premier of “The Power Of Sail” at the Menier Chocolate Factory, written by Paul Grellong. ==Stock-pot Productions==