Sue Johnston

Acting

Sue Johnston

Born 1943-12-07 · Warrington, Cheshire, England, UK

Susan Johnston, OBE (née Wright; born 7 December 1943) is an English actress known for playing Sheila Grant in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside (1982–1990), Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy The Royle Family (1998–2000, 2006, 2008–2010, 2012), Grace Foley in the BBC drama Waking the Dead (2000–2011), Gloria Price in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street (2012–2014) and Miss Denker in the ITV drama Downton Abbey (2014–2015). She 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.

Acting credits

Downton Abbey: A New Era poster
7.2

The Crawley family goes on a grand journey to the south of France to uncover the mystery of the dowager countess's newly inherited villa. Meanwhile, a Hollywood director seeks to film his latest production at Downton.

Downton Abbey: A New Era

2022

Imagine Me & You poster
7.6

During her wedding ceremony, Rachel notices Luce in the audience and feels instantly drawn to her. The two women become close friends, and when Rachel learns that Luce is a lesbian, she realizes that despite her happy marriage to Heck, she is falling for Luce. As she questions her sexual orientation, Rachel must decide between her stable relationship with Heck and her exhilarating new romance with Luce.

Imagine Me & You

2006

Lapland poster
NR

Recently widowed Eileen Lewis,son Pete and his wife Mandy and daughter Paula with her spouse Ray,plus the grandchildren, leave Birkenhead to spend Christmas in Lapland.

Lapland

2011

Fackham Hall poster
6.7

A new servant embarks on an unlikely relationship with the youngest daughter of a prominent English family. Simultaneously, rivalries are spilling over in the Davenport family, led by the Lord and Lady as they also weather the epic failure of the wedding of their eldest daughter to her caddish cousin.

Fackham Hall

2025

Brassed Off poster
7.0

A Yorkshire coal mine is threatened with closure and the only hope is for the men to enter their Grimley Colliery Brass Band into a national competition. They believe they have no hope until Gloria appears carrying her Flugelhorn. At first mocked for being a woman, she soon becomes the only chance for the band to win.

Brassed Off

1996

No artwork available
NR

Fred is an ice cream van man, unfortunately he is manslipping down the leaderboard of ice cream sales. Lucy and Grumble give him the advice to embark on an epic trip to the coast to see a long lost love.

Bilby

Big Winners poster
NR

A story about Edith and Arthur Thistle – for fifty-three years, they have managed to get by—never rich, never extravagant, but always together. That all changes in an instant when they win fourteen million pounds in the lottery. Arthur dreams of spending big, finally tasting the high life. But before the celebrations can begin, Edith drops a bombshell: she wants a divorce. Big Winners is about opportunity, who gets to seize the day and who gets left behind. A thrilling, funny, deeply emotional exploration of lives lived, and lives missed.

Big Winners

2025

Bitter Harvest poster
NR

A young black British woman goes to the Dominican Republic as an aid worker. When she goes missing, her parents make an emotional journey to piece together her story.

Bitter Harvest

1992

British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves poster
5.7

Documentary celebrating the British sitcom and taking a look at the social and political context from which our favourite sitcoms grew. We enjoy a trip through the comedy archive in the company of the people who made some of the very best British sitcoms. From The Likely Lads to I'm Alan Partridge, we find out the inspiration behind some of the most-loved characters and how they reflect the times they were living in.

British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves

2016

Stuffed poster
6.0

The Farooqis have an unforgettable Christmas when a surprise bonus leads to a Lapland holiday, but things go downhill fast after a disastrous discovery.

Stuffed

2025

There's Only One Paul McCartney poster
8.0

An affectionate portrait of the man and the musician in a week that sees the ex-Beatie playing at the Buckingham Palace concert. With contributions from Bono, Mike Myers , Dustin Hoffman , Meryl Streep , Cilia Black, Bob Geldof , Dale Winton , Travis and Richard Branson

There's Only One Paul McCartney

2002

Help poster
7.0

Sarah seems to have found her calling working in a Liverpool care home where she has a special talent for connecting with the residents. Then, in March 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic hits.

Help

2021

Preaching to the Perverted poster
6.2

A computer wizard infiltrates a London sex club to get evidence for a shutdown, but falls for the proprietress.

Preaching to the Perverted

1997

Golden Years poster
6.3

Fate, the pensions crisis and a steadfast refusal to accept the injustice of old age have contrived to force law abiding, retired couple, Arthur and Martha Goode into a life of crime.

Golden Years

2016

Death on the Tyne poster
5.8

Draper's Tours are taking Mildred and her care home friends on an overnight ferry trip from North Shields to Amsterdam, where things will quickly turn turbulent as the passengers and crew begin to get bumped off one-by-one. Throughout it all, Terry is still desperate to pop the question to Gemma, even if the circumstances are less than romantic.

Death on the Tyne

2018

Measure for Measure poster
3.3

Modern dress adaptation of Shakespeare's play.

Measure for Measure

1994

Walk Like a Panther poster
6.2

A group of 1980s wrestlers are forced to don the lycra once last time when their beloved local pub is threatened with closure.

Walk Like a Panther

2018

Face poster
6.3

Ray is an aging ex-socialist who has become a bankrobber after seeing the demise of socialism in 1980s Britain. Teaming up with a gang of other has-beenish crims, he commits one bank job too many. The gang dissolves in a murderous flurry of recriminations.

Face

1997

Robbo: The Bryan Robson Story poster
6.4

Robbo is a remarkable feature film that tells the story of one of England and Manchester United’s greatest ever midfielders. From a working class kid in the North East of England to a national treasure honoured by the Queen, this new film gives a previously unseen insight into the man they call ‘Captain Marvel’.

Robbo: The Bryan Robson Story

2021

The Turn of the Screw poster
4.7

In a mid-19th century Essex country house, a young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted by ghosts and that the children are being possessed.

The Turn of the Screw

2009

No artwork available
NR

A recent widow's life changing experience when her useless husband returns from the grave.

Caring for the Recently Deceased

2014

Welcome to Borovia poster
5.0

Harry Enfield heads a brilliant cast in this quirky political comedy where plots, counterplots and seduction flourish in faraway Borovia.

Welcome to Borovia

2026

New Year's Day poster
5.3

Two 17-year-old boys mark the new year by doing twelve dangerous but exciting tasks set for them by their friends.

New Year's Day

2001

The Nation's Favourite Beatles Number One poster
9.3

The Nation’s Favourite Beatles Number One tells the stories behind some of the greatest Beatles songs ever. With interviews from Beatles’ insiders including musicians, friends, fellow performers and celebrity fans, we’ll hear about the stories behind the Fab Four’s best-loved hits

The Nation's Favourite Beatles Number One

2015