Sue Johnston
Encyclopedia
Susan "Sue" Johnston, OBE
(born 7 December 1943) is a BAFTA nominated English
actress best known for playing Sheila Grant
in the long-running soap opera Brookside
(1982–90), Grace Foley in Waking the Dead
from 2000 to 2011 and Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy The Royle Family
between 1998 and 2000, and again in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
, Lancashire
, and grew up in Prescot
, Lancashire, and was educated at the local Prescot Grammar School for Girls.
After working as a Higher Grade tax inspector, when her boyfriend was one of the pop group the Swinging Blue Jeans
, she worked for Brian Epstein
. From the age of 21, Johnston attended the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
in London
.
in the soap opera Brookside
. She appeared in the show's first ever episode on 2 November 1982 - aired on the day that Channel 4 went on air - and her last episode was aired in September 1990, when the character was written out of the series following her divorce from Bobby Grant
(Ricky Tomlinson
) and re-marriage to Billy Corkhill
(John McArdle
).
Since then she has appeared in many drama series and films, including Inspector Morse
, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
, Brassed Off
, and My Uncle Silas
. In 1992 Johnston gave a tour de force performance in the three-part award winning drama Goodbye Cruel World, in which she portrayed a woman coming to terms with a muscle-wasting illness. She was supported by Alun Armstrong
as her husband and Jonny Lee Miller
in an early role.
From 2000 to 2011 Sue starred in the television series Waking The Dead, in which she played the role of psychological profiler Grace Foley, alongside Trevor Eve
. Johnston is also well-known for her role as Barbara Royle in the comedy series The Royle Family
, appearing with her former on-screen husband in Brookside, Ricky Tomlinson
, from the show's inception in September 1998 until it ended just over two years later. She also appeared in a one-off special which aired in October 2006.
In 2004, she appeared in one episode of the series, Who Do You Think You Are?, in which she traced her family tree. She has starred in Jennifer Saunders
comedy drama Jam & Jerusalem on BBC One
, alongside Joanna Lumley
, Maggie Steed
and David Mitchell
. The first series aired in 2006, the second series began on 1 January 2008 and the third in August 2009. In late 2008, she played Affery Flintwinch in the BBC adaptation of Little Dorrit
.
In May 2008 it was confirmed Sue would return as Barbara Royle for a final episode of The Royle Family, which aired on Christmas Day 2008, on BBC 1.
On 29 December 2008 it was claimed that Johnston was to reprise her role again, after the BBC and Caroline Aherne had met to discuss further episodes of The Royle Family, and Caroline had agreed "in principle" to discuss a deal.
Johnston has campaigned on behalf of the Labour Party
and has been a long-time gay rights campaigner.
She is a supporter of Liverpool Football Club
and Warrington Wolves
.
Despite playing the role of heavy smoker Barbara in The Royle Family, Johnston gave up in 1978, but had to smoke low-tar cigarettes whilst playing the role; however, she is now completely anti-smoking.
Johnston was appointed OBE
in the 2009 Birthday Honours.
She has one son Joel, from her previous marriage to David Pammenter.
Johnston shared a role with Billie Piper
in the TV adaption of A Passionate Woman which aired on BBC One
on 11 April 2010.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 7 December 1943) is a BAFTA nominated English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actress best known for playing Sheila Grant
Sheila Grant
Sheila Grant is a fictional character from British soap opera, Brookside played by Sue Johnston. Sheila appeared in Brookside from the first episode in 1982 until the characters departure in 1990.-Character:...
in the long-running soap opera Brookside
Brookside
Brookside is a defunct British soap opera set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003...
(1982–90), Grace Foley in Waking the Dead
Waking the Dead (TV series)
Waking the Dead is a British television police procedural crime drama series produced by the BBC featuring a fictional Cold Case Unit comprising CID police officers, a psychological profiler and a forensic scientist. A pilot episode aired in September 2000 and there have been a total of nine series...
from 2000 to 2011 and Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy The Royle Family
The Royle Family
The Royle Family is a popular, BAFTA award-winning television comedy drama produced by Granada Television for the BBC, which ran for three series between 1998 and 2000, and specials from 2006 onwards...
between 1998 and 2000, and again in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Early life
Johnston was born in WarringtonWarrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, and grew up in Prescot
Prescot
Prescot is a town and civil parish, within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. It is 8 miles to the east of Liverpool city centre and lies within the historic boundaries of Lancashire. At the 2001 Census, the population was 11,184 .Prescot marks the beginning of the...
, Lancashire, and was educated at the local Prescot Grammar School for Girls.
After working as a Higher Grade tax inspector, when her boyfriend was one of the pop group the Swinging Blue Jeans
The Swinging Blue Jeans
The Swinging Blue Jeans were a four piece 1960s British Merseybeat band, best known for their hit singles with the HMV label; "Hippy Hippy Shake", the follow-up, Little Richard's "Good Golly Miss Molly", and "You're No Good", a Clint Ballard song that provided a change of pace and furnished the...
, she worked for Brian Epstein
Brian Epstein
Brian Samuel Epstein , was an English music entrepreneur, and is best known for being the manager of The Beatles up until his death. He also managed several other musical artists such as Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, The Remo Four & The Cyrkle...
. From the age of 21, Johnston attended the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, formerly the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art, was a drama school, and originally a singing school, in London. It was one of the leading drama schools in Britain, and offered comprehensive training for those intending to pursue a...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Acting career
From 1982 to 1990, she appeared as Sheila GrantSheila Grant
Sheila Grant is a fictional character from British soap opera, Brookside played by Sue Johnston. Sheila appeared in Brookside from the first episode in 1982 until the characters departure in 1990.-Character:...
in the soap opera Brookside
Brookside
Brookside is a defunct British soap opera set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003...
. She appeared in the show's first ever episode on 2 November 1982 - aired on the day that Channel 4 went on air - and her last episode was aired in September 1990, when the character was written out of the series following her divorce from Bobby Grant
Bobby Grant
Bobby Grant is a fictional character from British soap opera, Brookside played by Ricky Tomlinson. Bobby appeared in Brookside from the first episode in 1982 until the character's departure in 1988...
(Ricky Tomlinson
Ricky Tomlinson
Eric Tomlinson , known by his stage name Ricky Tomlinson, is an English actor and comedian, best known for his roles as Bobby Grant in Brookside, DCI Charlie Wise in Cracker and James "Jim" Royle in The Royle Family....
) and re-marriage to Billy Corkhill
Billy Corkhill
William "Billy" Corkhill is a fictional character in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside played by John McArdle from 1985 to 1990.-Arrival:The Corkhills family arrive at No.10 in 1985 replacing the Jackson family...
(John McArdle
John McArdle
John McArdle is an English actor. He is most notable for playing Billy Corkhill in the soap-opera Brookside, with many other smaller appearances in other soaps and dramas...
).
Since then she has appeared in many drama series and films, including Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse (TV series)
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes....
, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates is a genteel British crime–comedy drama television series which aired from 1996 to 1998 on BBC One. The series starred Patricia Routledge as the title character , Derek Benfield as her patient husband Robert, Dominic Monaghan as their lodger Geoffrey Shawcross...
, Brassed Off
Brassed Off
Brassed Off is a 1996 British film written and directed by Mark Herman. The film, a British-American co-production made between Channel Four Films, Miramax Films and Prominent Films, is about the troubles faced by a colliery brass band, following the closure of their pit...
, and My Uncle Silas
My Uncle Silas
My Uncle Silas is a book of short stories about a bucolic elderly Bedfordshire man, written by H.E. Bates and illustrated by Edward Ardizzone.-Inspiration:...
. In 1992 Johnston gave a tour de force performance in the three-part award winning drama Goodbye Cruel World, in which she portrayed a woman coming to terms with a muscle-wasting illness. She was supported by Alun Armstrong
Alun Armstrong (actor)
Alun Armstrong is a prolific British character actor. Armstrong grew up in County Durham in North East England. He first became interested in acting through Shakespeare productions at his grammar school. Since his career began in the early 1970s, he has played, in his words, "the full spectrum of...
as her husband and Jonny Lee Miller
Jonny Lee Miller
Jonathan "Jonny" Lee Miller is an English actor. During the initial days he was best known for his roles in the 1996 films Trainspotting and Hackers...
in an early role.
From 2000 to 2011 Sue starred in the television series Waking The Dead, in which she played the role of psychological profiler Grace Foley, alongside Trevor Eve
Trevor Eve
Trevor John Eve is a British film and television actor. In 1979 he gained fame as the eponymous lead in the detective series Shoestring and is also known for his role as Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd in BBC television drama Waking the Dead.-Early life:Eve was born in Sutton Coldfield,...
. Johnston is also well-known for her role as Barbara Royle in the comedy series The Royle Family
The Royle Family
The Royle Family is a popular, BAFTA award-winning television comedy drama produced by Granada Television for the BBC, which ran for three series between 1998 and 2000, and specials from 2006 onwards...
, appearing with her former on-screen husband in Brookside, Ricky Tomlinson
Ricky Tomlinson
Eric Tomlinson , known by his stage name Ricky Tomlinson, is an English actor and comedian, best known for his roles as Bobby Grant in Brookside, DCI Charlie Wise in Cracker and James "Jim" Royle in The Royle Family....
, from the show's inception in September 1998 until it ended just over two years later. She also appeared in a one-off special which aired in October 2006.
In 2004, she appeared in one episode of the series, Who Do You Think You Are?, in which she traced her family tree. She has starred in Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...
comedy drama Jam & Jerusalem on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, alongside Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
, Maggie Steed
Maggie Steed
Maggie Steed is an English actress and comedienne.-Youth:After studying drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, she left the theatre for several years.-Career:...
and David Mitchell
David Mitchell (actor)
David James Stuart Mitchell is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is half of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb, alongside Robert Webb, whom he met at Cambridge University. There they were both part of the Cambridge Footlights, of which Mitchell became President. Together the duo star in the...
. The first series aired in 2006, the second series began on 1 January 2008 and the third in August 2009. In late 2008, she played Affery Flintwinch in the BBC adaptation of Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit is a serial novel by Charles Dickens published originally between 1855 and 1857. It is a work of satire on the shortcomings of the government and society of the period....
.
In May 2008 it was confirmed Sue would return as Barbara Royle for a final episode of The Royle Family, which aired on Christmas Day 2008, on BBC 1.
On 29 December 2008 it was claimed that Johnston was to reprise her role again, after the BBC and Caroline Aherne had met to discuss further episodes of The Royle Family, and Caroline had agreed "in principle" to discuss a deal.
Johnston has campaigned on behalf of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
and has been a long-time gay rights campaigner.
She is a supporter of Liverpool Football Club
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
and Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league football club based in Warrington, England that competes in Super League. They play at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2003....
.
Despite playing the role of heavy smoker Barbara in The Royle Family, Johnston gave up in 1978, but had to smoke low-tar cigarettes whilst playing the role; however, she is now completely anti-smoking.
Johnston was appointed OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in the 2009 Birthday Honours.
She has one son Joel, from her previous marriage to David Pammenter.
Johnston shared a role with Billie Piper
Billie Piper
Billie Paul Piper is an English singer and actress.She began her career in the late 1990s as a pop singer and then switched to acting. She started in acting and dancing and was talent spotted at the Sylvia Young stage school by Smash Hits magazine who wanted a "face" for their magazine...
in the TV adaption of A Passionate Woman which aired on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
on 11 April 2010.
Selected television and film roles
- Coronation StreetCoronation StreetCoronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
(1980) - BrooksideBrooksideBrookside is a defunct British soap opera set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003...
(1982–1990) - Goodbye Cruel WorldGoodbye Cruel World (miniseries)Goodbye Cruel World is a 1992 British miniseries starring Sue Johnston, Alun Armstrong and Brenda Bruce. The three part series was aired on BBC One during January 1992 and was aired again in summer 1993...
(1992) - Luv (1993)
- Brassed OffBrassed OffBrassed Off is a 1996 British film written and directed by Mark Herman. The film, a British-American co-production made between Channel Four Films, Miramax Films and Prominent Films, is about the troubles faced by a colliery brass band, following the closure of their pit...
(1996) - FaceFace (1997 film)Face is a British crime drama directed by Antonia Bird and written by Ronan Bennett. It stars Robert Carlyle and Ray Winstone and features the acting debut of rock singer Damon Albarn.-Plot Summary:...
(1997) - Crime TravellerCrime TravellerCrime Traveller is a 1997 science fiction detective television series produced by Carnival Films for the BBC based on the premise of using time travel for the purpose of solving crimes....
(1997) - Uncle SilasMy Uncle SilasMy Uncle Silas is a book of short stories about a bucolic elderly Bedfordshire man, written by H.E. Bates and illustrated by Edward Ardizzone.-Inspiration:...
(2000–2002, 2003) - The Royle FamilyThe Royle FamilyThe Royle Family is a popular, BAFTA award-winning television comedy drama produced by Granada Television for the BBC, which ran for three series between 1998 and 2000, and specials from 2006 onwards...
(1998–2000, 2006, 2008, 2009) - Waking the Dead (2000–2011)
- New Year's DayNew Year's Day (film)New Year's Day is a 2001 comedy-drama film starring Andrew Lee Potts, Bobby Barry, Jacqueline Bisset, Anastasia Hille, Michael Kitchen, Sue Johnston, Ralph Brown and Marianne Jean-Baptiste. It was written by Ralph Brown and directed by Suri Krishnamma....
(2001) - Imagine Me & YouImagine Me & YouImagine Me & You is a 2005 British-American comedy-romance film written and directed by Ol Parker. It centres on the relationship between Rachel, played by Piper Perabo and Luce, played by Lena Headey, who meet on Rachel's wedding day. The movie takes its title from a line in the song "Happy...
(2005) - Jam & Jerusalem (2006–2009)
- The Turn of the ScrewThe Turn of the ScrewThe Turn of the Screw is a novella written by Henry James. Originally published in 1898, it is ostensibly a ghost story.Due to its ambiguous content, it became a favourite text of academics who subscribe to New Criticism. The novella has had differing interpretations, often mutually exclusive...
(2009) - Sue Johnston's Shangri-La (2009)
- A Passionate Woman (2010)
- 500 Miles North500 Miles North-Plot:James and John are estranged brothers. But that is changed when they reunite to satisfy their father's last wishes.-Cast:* Joseph Morgan as James Hogg* Kevin McNally as Groundsman* Wendy Glenn as Sassy* Vanessa Branch as Claire* Matt Ryan as John Hogg...
(2011) - SugartownSugartown (TV series)Sugartown is a three-part comedy drama series for the BBC filmed in and around the seaside towns of Filey in North Yorkshire, and Bridlington in the East Riding of Yorkshire, utilising the John Bull rock factory...
(2011) - Someone's Daughter, Someone's Son- Narrator (2011)