Sue Johnston was born on Susan Wright, 7 December 1943 and is an English actress.
24 Facts About Sue Johnston
1.
2.
Sue Johnston is known for portraying Sheila Grant in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside, Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy The Royle Family, Grace Foley in the BBC drama Waking the Dead, Gloria Price in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street and Miss Denker in the ITV drama Downton Abbey.
3.
Sue Johnston won the 2000 British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actress and was nominated for the 2000 BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance for The Royle Family.
4.
Sue Johnston is the daughter of Fred and Margaret Jane Wright.
5.
Sue Johnston made her television debut, aged 38, with a minor recurring role on Coronation Street in the summer of 1982, playing the role of Mrs Chadwick, the wife of a bookmaker.
6.
In 1992, Sue Johnston appeared in the three-part award-winning drama Goodbye Cruel World, in which she portrayed a woman coming to terms with a muscle-wasting illness.
7.
Sue Johnston was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1998, when she was surprised by Michael Aspel at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester.
8.
Sue Johnston played Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy series The Royle Family, appearing from 1998 until 2012, with her former on-screen husband in Brookside, Ricky Tomlinson.
9.
Sue Johnston shared a role with Billie Piper in the television adaptation of A Passionate Woman which aired on BBC One on 11 April 2010.
10.
On 2 April 2012, Coronation Street series producer Phil Collinson announced Sue Johnston had joined the soap opera as Gloria, the mother of Stella Price.
11.
Sue Johnston made her first screen appearance on 5 September 2012.
12.
Sue Johnston played Denker, a lady's maid to the Dowager Countess, played by Dame Maggie Smith.
13.
In 2018, Sue Johnston played Ivy-Rae in the BBC drama series, Age Before Beauty and in August 2019, she played Joan in the second series of Hold the Sunset.
14.
In 2024, Sue Johnston was announced to appear as a contestant in the "New Year Treat 2025" special of Taskmaster, alongside David James, Hannah Fry, Martin Lewis, and Melanie Blatt.
15.
Sue Johnston is a supporter of the Labour Party and has been an outspoken gay rights campaigner.
16.
In 1967, she married her first husband Neil Sue Johnston and became pregnant at the age of 24.
17.
Sue Johnston suffered a miscarriage shortly after and the couple later divorced, but she kept his surname as her professional name.
18.
Sue Johnston has one son, Joel, from her second marriage to David Pammenter.
19.
Sue Johnston quit smoking in 1978, but had to smoke low-tar cigarettes while playing the role of Barbara in The Royle Family.
20.
In 1989, Sue Johnston, assisted by Lesley Thomson, published her first book, a memoir titled Hold on to the Messy Times.
21.
Sue Johnston is distantly related to horse trainer Mark Prescott, via her maternal line, as discovered by ITV's DNA Journey; aired 16 Oct 2024.
22.
Sue Johnston is related to the Conservative Member of Parliament William Prescott.
23.
Sue Johnston was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2009 Birthday Honours.
24.
Sue Johnston was made a Freeman of the city of Liverpool in June 2024.