Sue Johnston - Personal Life

Personal Life

Johnston has campaigned on behalf of the Labour Party and has been a long-time gay rights campaigner.

She is a supporter of Liverpool F.C. and Warrington RLFC.

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.

In November 2010, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by University of Chester at Chester Cathedral.

She has one son Joel, from her previous marriage to David Pammenter. She has one grandchild.

In 1989 Johnston, assisted by Lesley Thomson, published her first book, a memoir titled Hold on to the Messy Times. In 2011, she published another memoir titled Things I Couldn't Tell My Mother.

In 1970, Johnston was sexually attacked at the age of 27 which led to her storyline in Brookside as Sheila Grant where she was raped.

In 1967, after her marriage to first husband Neil, she became pregnant at the age of 24. She suffered a miscarriage shortly after.

In her autobiography, Things I Couldn't Tell My Mother, she was originally going to be called Margaret Jane Wright, after her mother and grandmother, but her father thought that it would be best to call her Susan. She takes the surname Johnston, from her first marriage to Neil.