This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.
From Brookside and The Royle Family to Riot Women, Sue Johnston has been one of television’s most prolific actors for 45 years. Now 82, she takes the lead in BBC Two’s comedy Ann Droid, which follows a fearlessly independent woman forced to live with a robot companion, played by series co-creator Diane Morgan.
It’s a role close to Johnston’s heart, she says. So much so that she’s now got a robot companion of her own…
What’s your relationship with technology?
It scares me because I’m old. I’m hopeless with my phone. One of my biggest frustrations is not being able to talk to a human – it befuddles me that there’s hardly anybody on the tills in Sainsbury’s. One day you’ll probably all have robots – you might even marry one and nobody will think twice. But I won’t be here, and I don’t want to be.
Would you ever consider a robot companion of your own?
I have one! Diane bought me a robot cat at the end of the shoot. I’ve named it Crumpet. You put your name in, it answers when you call it, it meows, its tail wags, it purrs, it sits on your knee, you can feel its “heartbeat”… It’s comforting but sometimes as I’m stroking it and talking to it, I think to myself, “Oh, come on!”
You and Diane were both previously in Sky’s Rovers and Gold’s The Cockfields. Did you jump at the chance to work with her again?
She wrote it for me – that’s why she called my character Sue! We hit it off on Rovers – we both love stupid humour and dogs. When she sent me this script, I was thrilled – it is funny but also warm, with a lot of love in it.
Diane’s performance as an expressionless robot is impressive. Was it hard to keep a straight face?
It was too funny for words. We did laugh an awful lot, which was worse for Diane, because she had to restrict her movements. She’s naturally quite fluid.
Though this is a comedy, it includes themes of independence, loneliness and growing older. How much did you identify with it?
When you get old, people take away your decision-making. It’s happening to me a bit – the family want you to move near them, because they want to keep an eye on you. Everybody does it out of love, but really you’re still the same independent person – you’re living your life, you’re not thinking about death or falling over. I recognise so much of that in Sue.
Last year, you reprised your role as Brookside’s legendary Sheila Grant for a special crossover episode with Hollyoaks. What was it like going back to the Close?
Very odd and quite emotional. I’ve been back to Brookside a couple of times, filming documentaries with Ricky [Tomlinson], but this time we went inside the Grants’ house, and suddenly reams of memories came flooding back. It’s strange to return to a character after so long and imagine what they’d be like at my age. It was a nice remembrance of a lovely time in my life. It gave me my career – I owe it a lot.
You also starred in an episode of 5’s Play for Today. How did that compare to your soap days?
It was a bit like being back on Brookie, actually, because it was the same producer, Colin McKeown, and everyone working on it was young and keen. We had to learn so many lines – at the end Paul Copley [Mr Mason in Downton Abbey] and I both sang out, “We haven’t got dementia!”
It sounds like you get your pick of roles. Do you have to turn down a lot?
I’ve had a great year doing one thing after another, and I’ve been offered an awful lot. Perhaps there’s only a few old people that can remember their lines! I don’t turn down much; I was cast in [BBC One drama] The Cage but I had an accident the week before I was due to start and ended up in hospital. I was so upset because it was with two of my favourite actors, Sheridan Smith and Michael Socha, and I loved the script.
Want to see this content?
This page contains content provided by Google reCAPTCHA. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as Google reCAPTCHA may use cookies and other technologies. To view this content, choose ‘Accept and continue’ to allow Google reCAPTCHA and its required purposes.
What writers do you most admire?
Jimmy McGovern is my ultimate – he’s one of our best. On Brookside, we all desperately used to rush in to look at his scripts and hope he’d given us a good story. He’s working on something again in Liverpool, and when I see him at Anfield, I’m trying hard not to say, “Is there a part for me?” I feel blessed to be doing Riot Women again with Sally Wainwright and I was thrilled to be asked to be in the next series of Sherwood. James Graham’s writing is amazing.
Would you call yourself a workaholic?
Yeah, I love working. I can’t deny it. It’s who I am. I love being with a crew and on set. Near the end of a show, I can’t wait to be back on the sofa with my dog, but after a couple of weeks of that, I’m phoning my agent, going, “Get me a job!” My life is very full with family and grandchildren but if work dried up, it would be very hard to retire. I heard that Joan Collins is playing the lead in a movie and she’s in her 90s. Let me still be there at her age!
The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here.
Ann Droid begins on Friday 17 July at 9:30pm on BBC One. All six episodes will be available as a box set on BBC iPlayer.
Add Ann Droid to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app– download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.
Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
