Sue Johnston
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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.
Known for
Credits
Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022)
as Gladys Denker
Fackham Hall (2025)
as Great Aunt Bonaparte
Imagine Me & You (2006)
as Ella
Brassed Off (1996)
as Vera
British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves (2016)
as Barbara Royle (archive footage) (uncredited)
Preaching to the Perverted (1997)
as Esmeralda
Stuffed (2025)
as Lily
Bitter Harvest (1992)
as Miriam Johnson
The Royle Family: The New Sofa (2008)
as Barbara Royle
Big Winners (2025)
as Edith Thistle
Lapland (2011)
as Eileen Lewis
The Royle Family: Behind the Sofa (2010)
as Self
There's Only One Paul McCartney (2002)
as Self
Help (2021)
as Gloria
The Turn of the Screw (2009)
as Sarah Grose
Death on the Tyne (2018)
as Colleen
Robbo: The Bryan Robson Story (2021)
as Self
Walk Like a Panther (2018)
as Gladys
The Royle Family: Joe's Crackers (2010)
as Barbara
Caroline Aherne: Queen of Comedy (2023)
as Self
Golden Years (2016)
as Nancy
The Royle Family - Down the Back of the Sofa (2023)
as Self / Barbara Royle (archive footage)
Face (1997)
as Alice
The Golden Egg Cup (2009)
as Barbara Royle
The Things You Do for Love: Against the Odds (1998)
as Pat Phoenix
The Royle Family: Barbara's Old Ring (2012)
as Barbara Royle
New Year's Day (2001)
as Mrs. Fisher
World Cup 1966: Alfie's Boys (2016)
as Self
Measure for Measure (1994)
as Mistress Overdone
The Nation's Favourite Beatles Number One (2015)
as Self
Brookside: Friday the 13th (1998)
as Sheila Grant
Sex, Chips & Rock n' Roll (1999)
Actor
Brookside: The Lost Weekend (1997)
as Sheila Grant
Bilby (—)
as Nancy
Caring for the Recently Deceased (2014)
as Marjoram Bryon
Ricky Tomlinson Remembers... The Royle Family (2023)
as Barbara Royle (archive footage)
David Jason: Britain's Favourite TV Star (2020)
as Narrator
Diana and the Paparazzi (2017)
as Narrator (voice)
Score (2001)
as Maggie
The Cure (2019)
as Bella Bailey
The Big Snow of '47 (2024)
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Welcome to Borovia (2026)
as Matrashka
Liverpool FC: One Night in May (2005)
as Self
The Virgin Mary (2002)
as Self - Presenter
Tourettes: I Swear I Can't Help It (2009)
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Shannon Matthews: What Happened Next (2017)
as Self - Narrator
The Broken Arrow (2026)
as Mrs. Barnes
Shannon Matthews: The Mother's Story (2017)
as Narrator