Sue Johnston - Acting Career

Acting Career

Johnston made her television debut, aged 38, with a minor recurring role on Coronation Street in the summer of 1982. She played the role of Mrs. Chadwick, the wife of a bookmaker.

From 1982 to 1990, she appeared as Sheila Grant 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.

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. From 2000 to 2011 Johnston starred in the television series Waking the Dead, in which she played the role of psychological profiler Grace Foley, alongside Trevor Eve.

In 2004, she appeared in one episode of the series, Who Do You Think You Are?, in which she traced her family tree. She starred in Jennifer Saunders's 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 Johnston would return as Barbara Royle for another episode of The Royle Family, which aired on Christmas Day 2008, on BBC One.

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 Aherne had agreed "in principle" to discuss a deal.

Johnston shared a role with Billie Piper in the TV adaptation of A Passionate Woman which aired on BBC One on 11 April 2010.

On 2 April 2012, Coronation Street series producer Phil Collinson announced Johnston had joined the soap opera as Gloria, the mother of Stella Price (played by Michelle Collins). She made her first screen appearance on 5 September 2012.