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