Sue Johnston

Actress Sue Johnston, star of Brookside, The Royle Family, Waking The Dead and many more, joins Vernon to choose ten songs that have soundtracked her life, ahead of the start of her new BBC comedy, Ann Droid.

Sue tells Vernon about discovering acting thanks to a school play, then getting a job around the corner from Liverpool's Cavern Club, where she became a regular. She has some amazing stories about seeing The Beatles performing in their very earliest iterations, becoming friends with Paul McCartney and taking a job working with Brian Epstein. They also talk about her passion for Liverpool FC and how joyful it was to make the iconic show The Royle Family - alongside musical choices from Bobby Darin, Elvis Presley, Oasis, Jim Croce and more.

Sue was born in Padgate and raised in Warrington, where she discovered acting during a school play and left at seventeen determined to become an actor. However, she took a job in a tax office, which is where she discovered Liverpool's iconic Cavern Club and a love of music. In her early 20s she moved to London for drama school and spent a long time in theatre, before a short stint in Coronation Street led to her being cast in the brand new Channel 4 soap Brookside, in which she played Sheila Grant for eight years. After that her roles included Waking The Dead, Downton Abbey, Jam & Jerusalem and the iconic sitcom The Royle Family, starring alongside Ricky Tomlinson and the show's much missed creator Caroline Ahern. She was awarded an OBE in 2009, and made a Freeman of the city of Liverpool in 2024. She will next be seen in the new BBC comedy Ann Droid, created by and co-starring Diane Morgan. Sue plays Sue, a widower whose son Michael buys her a social humanoid robot called Linda (played by Diane Morgan) to look after her.

Listen to Tracks Of My Years on BBC Sounds, and watch Vernon's conversations on BBC iPlayer and Radio 2's YouTube channel, just search for 'Tracks Of My Years'.

A BBC Audio production for BBC Radio 2.