Sue Johnston
Acting • Born 1943-12-07
Biography
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.
Filmography
96 credits
Imagine Me & You
Movie • 2006
Ella
Help
Movie • 2021
Gloria
Preaching to the Perverted
Movie • 1997
Esmeralda
David Jason: Britain's Favourite TV Star
Movie • 2020
Narrator
Brassed Off
Movie • 1996
Vera
Face
Movie • 1997
Alice
Robbo: The Bryan Robson Story
Movie • 2021
Self
The Turn of the Screw
Movie • 2009
Sarah Grose
Downton Abbey: A New Era
Movie • 2022
Gladys Denker
Bilby
Movie
Nancy
Caroline Aherne: Queen of Comedy
Movie • 2023
Self
The Big Snow of '47
Movie • 2024
Self - Narrator (voice)
Tourettes: I Swear I Can't Help It
Movie • 2009
Self - Narrator (voice)
Sex, Chips & Rock n' Roll
Movie • 1999
Lapland
Movie • 2011
Eileen Lewis
Brookside: The Lost Weekend
Movie • 1997
Sheila Grant
Brookside: Friday the 13th
Movie • 1998
Sheila Grant
Golden Years
Movie • 2016
Nancy
Shannon Matthews: What Happened Next
Movie • 2017
Self - Narrator
Caring for the Recently Deceased
Movie • 2014
Marjoram Bryon
Measure for Measure
Movie • 1994
Mistress Overdone
New Year's Day
Movie • 2000
Mrs. Fisher
British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves
Movie • 2016
Barbara Royle (archive footage) (uncredited)
Walk Like a Panther
Movie • 2018
Gladys
Score
Movie • 2001
Maggie
Death on the Tyne
Movie • 2018
Colleen
Bitter Harvest
Movie • 1992
Miriam Johnson
Diana and the Paparazzi
Movie • 2017
Narrator (voice)
The Royle Family: Barbara's Old Ring
Movie • 2012
Barbara Royle
The Royle Family: The New Sofa
Movie • 2008
Barbara Royle
The Cure
Movie • 2019
Bella Bailey
World Cup 1966: Alfie's Boys
Movie • 2016
Self
The Nation's Favourite Beatles Number One
Movie • 2015
Self
The Things You Do for Love: Against the Odds
Movie • 1998
Pat Phoenix
The Royle Family: Joe's Crackers
Movie • 2010
Barbara
The Golden Egg Cup
Movie • 2009
Barbara Royle
The Royle Family: Behind the Sofa
Movie • 2010
Self
The Virgin Mary
Movie • 2002
Self - Presenter
Liverpool FC: One Night in May
Movie • 2005
Shannon Matthews: The Mother's Story
Movie • 2017
Narrator
Big Winners
Movie • 2025
Edith Thistle
Ricky Tomlinson Remembers... The Royle Family
Movie • 2023
Barbara Royle (archive footage)
The Royle Family - Down the Back of the Sofa
Movie • 2023
Self / Barbara Royle (archive footage)
Stuffed
Movie • 2025
Lily
Fackham Hall
Movie • 2025
Great Aunt Bonaparte
Brookside
TV • 1982
Sheila Grant
Strictly Come Dancing
TV • 2004
Self
Today
TV • 1952
Self
Sex, Chips & Rock n' Roll
TV • 1999
Irma
A Touch of Frost
TV • 1992
Phyllis Bowman
Crime Traveller
TV • 1997
The Paul O'Grady Show
TV • 2004
Inspector Morse
TV • 1987
Mrs. Bailey
Who Do You Think You Are?
TV • 2004
Self
The Royle Family
TV • 1998
Barbara Royle
Waking the Dead
TV • 2001
Dr. Grace Foley
Luv
TV • 1993
Little Dorrit
TV • 2008
Affery / Affery Flintwinch
The Alan Titchmarsh Show
TV • 2007
Self
The Street
TV • 2006
Medics
TV • 1990
Cutting It
TV • 2002
Caroline Ferraday
Duck Patrol
TV • 1998
Val Rutland
A Passionate Woman
TV • 2010
Betty (1980s)
Baby Hospital
TV • 2011
Timeshift
TV • 2002
Self - Narrator
Sugartown
TV • 2011
The Jump
TV • 1998
Maeve Brunos
Performance
TV • 1991
Mistress Overdone
Would I Lie to You?
TV • 2007
Self
Harry Hill's Alien Fun Capsule
TV • 2017
Self
Rovers
TV • 2016
Doreen
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
TV • 1996
Helga Allowby
Downton Abbey
TV • 2010
Miss Denker
Gates
TV • 2012
Miss Hunter
Generation Z
TV • 2024
Cecily
Being Eileen
TV • 2013
Eileen Lewis
Age Before Beauty
TV • 2018
Ivy-Rae Regan
Kensington Palace: Behind Closed Doors
TV • 2021
Narrator
Celebrity Antiques Road Trip
TV • 2011
Self - Participant
My Uncle Silas
TV • 2001
Mrs. Betts
Ricky, Sue & a Trip or Two
TV • 2024
Herself
Full Stretch
TV • 1993
Grace Robbins
The Cockfields
TV • 2019
Sue
Truelove
TV • 2024
Marion
Loose Women
TV • 1999
Self
The Responder
TV • 2022
Madge
Time
TV • 2021
June Cobden
Parkinson
TV • 1998
Self
DNA Journey
TV • 2019
Self
Finest Hour
TV • 1999
Commentary
Jam and Jerusalem
TV • 2006
Sal Vine
Hollyoaks
TV • 1995
Sheila Grant
Taskmaster’s New Year Treat
TV • 2021
Self
Dexter Procter
TV • 2025
Granny Bet
Goodbye Cruel World
TV • 1992
Barbara Grade