---
name: "Sue Johnston"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/sue-johnston"
fi1m_id: "sue-johnston"
imdb_id: "nm0426855"
tmdb_id: 21553
wikidata_id: "Q2335065"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "7 December 1943"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 79
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-10-07T11:42:05.892563+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Sue Johnston

## Identity

Sue Johnston

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/sue-johnston
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** sue-johnston
- **IMDb ID:** nm0426855
- **TMDB ID:** 21553
- **Wikidata ID:** Q2335065
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sue_Johnston, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2335065, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0426855/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/21553

Actor. Born 7 December 1943 in Warrington, Cheshire, England, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 7 December 1943, Warrington, Cheshire, England, UK
- **Active:** 1992–present
- **Also known as:** Susan Wright, Susan Johnston, OBE
- **Average Fi1m score:** 79, as actor, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 82 (2), 2000s 75 (2), 2020s 82 (1)
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 1 of 2 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Comedy 2, Romance 1
- **Screen time:** 2 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $3m across 1 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sue_Johnston, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2335065, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0426855/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/21553

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*The Royle Family*](https://film.one/tv/the-royle-family.md) (85)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Sue Johnston

> Sue Johnston makes looking after other people seem like work, even when the scene is funny. We value her unforced delivery and the attention she gives to women whom their families take for granted.

In *The Royle Family* (1998), Barbara Royle answers another slight with an offer of a brew. Sue Johnston makes that response seem habitual, and still lets us notice how much Barbara has to put up with. We were moved by the way she keeps offering care to people who keep taking it for granted. Ricky Tomlinson’s Jim can complain from his armchair because someone else is doing the work of running the house. Johnston is excellent at making that work visible without turning every scene into a request for our sympathy.

The domestic roles have been central to her television work, from Sheila Grant in *Brookside* (1982), whom she played until 1990, to Barbara. As Vera, a miner’s wife in Mark Herman’s *Brassed Off* (1996), she belongs to another community under pressure. We recommend that film with a reservation about its awkward changes of tone: the comedy and the threatened mining community’s troubles do not always sit comfortably together. It is a useful companion to the sitcom, though Barbara gives us much more to say about Johnston herself.

Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash build *The Royle Family* around the family watching television, giving ordinary exchanges time to register. Johnston’s natural delivery suits that patience: Barbara sounds as though she has been living with these people for years. She does not need to compete with Jim’s running commentary on prices or Aherne’s comfortably idle Denise. Her readiness to help tells us something less comforting about the household, too: nobody else has much reason to change while Barbara is there to oblige.

The long run as Dr Grace Foley, the psychological profiler in *Waking the Dead* (2000), also matters. It gave her another long-running television role, this time in a crime drama, and a part beyond the northern matriarchs with whom she is so often associated. That casting habit can make a dependable actor seem narrower than the parts she has actually played. For the clearest introduction to what she can do, start with *The Royle Family* and watch Barbara while Jim is talking.

## Biography

Sue Johnston is an English actress. Born Susan Wright on 7 December 1943 in Warrington, she trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

She is known for playing Sheila Grant in the Channel 4 soap opera *Brookside* (1982–1990), Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy *The Royle Family* (1998–2012), 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 also appeared as Vera in the film *Brassed Off* (1996).

Johnston won the British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actress in 2000 for *The Royle Family* and was appointed OBE in 2009.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (5)

- *Time* (2021), Fi1m 82, as June Cobden — [page](https://film.one/tv/time-2021.md)
- *Little Dorrit* (2008), Fi1m 76, as Affery / Affery Flintwinch — [page](https://film.one/tv/little-dorrit.md)
- *The Street* (2006), Fi1m 74, Actor — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-street.md)
- *The Royle Family* (1998), Fi1m 85, as Barbara Royle — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-royle-family.md)
- *Brassed Off* (1996), Fi1m 79, as Vera — [page](https://film.one/film/brassed-off.md)

## Complete filmography (77)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Ann Droid* (2026), series, as Sue
- *Welcome to Borovia* (2026), as Matrashka
- *Stuffed* (2025), as Lily
- *Fackham Hall* (2025), as Great Aunt Bonaparte
- *Dexter Procter* (2025), series, as Granny Bet
- *Big Winners* (2025), as Edith Thistle
- *Play for Today* (2025), series, as Edith Thistle
- *Generation Z* (2024), series, as Cecily
- *Truelove* (2024), series, as Marion
- *Ricky Tomlinson Remembers... The Royle Family* (2023), as Barbara Royle (archive footage)
- *Downton Abbey: A New Era* (2022), as Gladys Denker
- *The Responder* (2022), series, as Madge — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-responder.md)
- *Help* (2021), as Gloria
- *Kensington Palace: Behind Closed Doors* (2021), series, as Narrator
- *Time* (2021), series, as June Cobden — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/time-2021.md)
- *David Jason: Britain's Favourite TV Star* (2020), as Narrator
- *The Cure* (2019), as Bella Bailey
- *The Cockfields* (2019), series, as Sue
- *Death on the Tyne* (2018), as Colleen
- *Age Before Beauty* (2018), series, as Ivy-Rae Regan
- *Walk Like a Panther* (2018), as Gladys
- *Diana and the Paparazzi* (2017), as Narrator (voice)
- *Shannon Matthews: The Mother's Story* (2017), as Narrator
- *British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves* (2016), as Barbara Royle (archive footage) (uncredited)
- *Rovers* (2016), series, as Doreen
- *Golden Years* (2016), as Nancy
- *Caring for the Recently Deceased* (2014), as Marjoram Bryon
- *Being Eileen* (2013), series, as Eileen Lewis
- *The Royle Family: Barbara's Old Ring* (2012), as Barbara Royle
- *Gates* (2012), series, as Miss Hunter
- *Lapland* (2011), as Eileen Lewis
- *Sugartown* (2011), series, Actor
- *Baby Hospital* (2011), series, Actor
- *The Royle Family: Joe's Crackers* (2010), as Barbara
- *Downton Abbey* (2010), series, as Miss Denker — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/tv/downton-abbey.md)
- *A Passionate Woman* (2010), series, as Betty (1980s)
- *The Turn of the Screw* (2009), as Sarah Grose
- *The Golden Egg Cup* (2009), as Barbara Royle
- *The Royle Family: The New Sofa* (2008), as Barbara Royle
- *Little Dorrit* (2008), series, as Affery / Affery Flintwinch — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/little-dorrit.md)
- *Jam and Jerusalem* (2006), series, as Sal Vine
- *The Street* (2006), series, Actor — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-street.md)
- *Imagine Me & You* (2006), as Ella
- *Cutting It* (2002), series, as Caroline Ferraday — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/cutting-it.md)
- *New Year's Day* (2001), as Mrs. Fisher
- *My Uncle Silas* (2001), series, as Mrs Betts
- *Waking the Dead* (2001), series, as Dr. Grace Foley
- *Score* (2001), as Maggie
- *Finest Hour* (1999), series, as Commentary
- *Sex, Chips & Rock n' Roll* (1999), series, as Irma
- *Sex, Chips & Rock n' Roll* (1999), Actor
- *Brookside: Friday the 13th* (1998), as Sheila Grant
- *The Royle Family* (1998), series, as Barbara Royle — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-royle-family.md)
- *The Jump* (1998), series, as Maeve Brunos
- *The Things You Do for Love: Against the Odds* (1998), as Pat Phoenix
- *Verdict* (1998), series, as Hazel De Vere Q.C.
- *Duck Patrol* (1998), series, as Val Rutland
- *Brookside: The Lost Weekend* (1997), as Sheila Grant
- *Face* (1997), as Alice
- *Preaching to the Perverted* (1997), as Esmeralda
- *Crime Traveller* (1997), series, as Detective Chief Inspector Kate Grisham
- *Brassed Off* (1996), as Vera — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/brassed-off.md)
- *Hetty Wainthropp Investigates* (1996), series, as Helga Allowby
- *Hollyoaks* (1995), series, as Sheila Grant
- *Measure for Measure* (1994), as Mistress Overdone
- *Luv* (1993), series, Actor
- *Full Stretch* (1993), series, as Grace Robbins
- *A Touch of Frost* (1992), series, as Phyllis Bowman — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/a-touch-of-frost.md)
- *Bitter Harvest* (1992), as Miriam Johnson
- *Goodbye Cruel World* (1992), series, as Barbara Grade
- *Performance* (1991), series, as Mistress Overdone
- *In Suspicious Circumstances* (1991), series, as Edith Rosse
- *Medics* (1990), series, Actor
- *Inspector Morse* (1987), series, as Mrs. Bailey — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/inspector-morse.md)
- *ScreenPlay* (1986), series, as Miriam Johnson
- *Brookside* (1982), series, as Sheila Grant
- *Bilby*, as Nancy

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/sue-johnston