Who Is Sue Johnston? The Remarkable Life Story of Joel Palmentor’s Mother

Sue Johnston is one of Britain’s most cherished actresses, a woman whose warm, unmistakably Northern presence has filled British homes for more than four decades. Best known for playing Sheila Grant in Brookside and Barbara Royle in The Royle Family, Johnston built a career on honest, deeply felt performances that turned ordinary working-class characters into national treasures. Away from the screen, she is also known as the mother of Joel Palmentor (more commonly recorded as Joel Pammenter), a fashion photographer whose creative eye owes much to his mother’s storytelling instincts. This article traces Sue Johnston’s journey from a tax office in Warrington to an OBE at Buckingham Palace, and looks at the family life she has built along the way.

Sue Johnston Bio Table

Category	Details
Full Name	Susan Johnston (née Wright)
Date of Birth	7 December 1943
Place of Birth	Warrington, Cheshire, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Actress, Author
Years Active	1960s to present
Education	Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, London
Known For	Brookside, The Royle Family, Waking the Dead, Downton Abbey
Spouse(s)	Neil Johnston (m. 1967, div. 1970), David Pammenter (m. 1976, div. 1980)
Son	Joel Palmentor / Pammenter (b. 1979)
Grandson	Rory Pammenter (b. 2012)
Honours	OBE (2009 Queen’s Birthday Honours)
Notable Awards	British Comedy Award, multiple BAFTA nominations
Memoirs	Hold On to the Messy Times (1989), Things I Couldn’t Tell My Mother (2011)

Early Life and Background

Sue Johnston was born Susan Wright on 7 December 1943 in Warrington, Cheshire, England. She grew up nearby in Prescot, Merseyside, in a working-class household that gave little hint of the acting career to come. Her parents were Fred Wright and Margaret Jane Wright, and she attended Whiston Infants School before moving on to Eccleston Park Junior School and Prescot and Huyton Grammar School for Girls.

Long before she found fame, Johnston held down decidedly unglamorous jobs. She worked in the glass industry and later became a tax inspector, a role that seems worlds away from the emotionally raw characters she would eventually bring to life. It was this grounding in ordinary working life that later gave her performances such authenticity.

Her formal training came at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London, an institution whose alumni list reads like a who’s who of British and international acting talent, including names such as Angela Lansbury, Terence Stamp and Hugh Bonneville. That training, combined with years of real-world experience, laid the foundation for a career built on craft rather than overnight stardom.

Rise to Fame: Brookside and Sheila Grant

Johnston’s breakthrough came in 1982, when she was cast as Sheila Grant in Channel 4’s brand-new soap opera Brookside. Sheila, later known as Sheila Corkhill, quickly became one of the most memorable matriarchs in British soap history. The character’s storylines tackled difficult, sometimes taboo subjects, most notably a 1986 storyline in which Sheila was raped by a taxi driver, a plot that Johnston herself has said drew on painful personal experience and helped open up national conversation about sexual violence.

Johnston played Sheila from Brookside’s very first episode in November 1982 until 1990, and the role made her a household name across the country. She later reprised the character for two Brookside spin-off specials in the late 1990s, and in a nostalgic turn in 2025, she returned to the role once more for a special crossover episode marking Hollyoaks’ thirtieth anniversary, filmed on the original Brookside Close.

The Royle Family and National Stardom

If Brookside made Sue Johnston famous, The Royle Family made her a legend. From 1998, she played Barbara Royle, the endlessly patient matriarch of a Manchester family who spent most of their time slumped in front of the television. The show’s gentle, observational humour and its refusal to rely on conventional sitcom setups won it a devoted following and widespread critical acclaim.

Johnston’s performance as Barbara earned her the British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actress in 2000, along with a BAFTA nomination for Best Comedy Performance. The role cemented her reputation as an actress capable of finding enormous emotional depth in seemingly small, domestic moments, a skill that would define much of her later work.

Later Career and Continued Success

Sue Johnston’s career has shown remarkable longevity. She took on the role of Grace Foley in the BBC crime drama Waking the Dead, a part that introduced her to an entirely new generation of viewers drawn to psychological drama rather than soap opera. She also appeared in the sitcom Jam & Jerusalem and later joined Coronation Street in 2012 as Gloria Price, staying with the show until 2014.

In 2014, Johnston took on the role of Denker, a lady’s maid to the Dowager Countess, in the acclaimed period drama Downton Abbey, working alongside Dame Maggie Smith. Her film credits include Brassed Off, Face and the romantic comedy Imagine Me & You.

More recently, Johnston has continued to work at a striking pace. She starred in the BBC’s The Responder opposite Martin Freeman, appeared in Channel 4’s Generation Z, and took a leading role in the crime drama Truelove, for which she received a BAFTA Television Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 2025. She has also featured in The Cockfields, Time alongside Sean Bean and Stephen Graham, and The Help with Jodie Comer, showing no signs of slowing down even in her eighties.

Awards and Recognition

Sue Johnston’s contribution to British drama has not gone unrecognised. In the 2009 Queen’s Birthday Honours, she was appointed an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for her services to drama and to charity, a fitting tribute to a career built on both artistic achievement and public service.

Beyond her OBE, Johnston’s trophy cabinet includes the British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actress and multiple BAFTA nominations spanning several decades of her career, from The Royle Family in 2000 to Truelove in 2025. Few British actresses can claim a nominations record stretching across such a wide span of years, a testament to her enduring relevance.

Personal Life and Family

Sue Johnston’s personal life has had its share of heartbreak alongside happiness. Her first marriage, to Neil Johnston, took place in 1967, but she suffered a miscarriage shortly afterwards and the couple divorced in 1970. Notably, she chose to keep the Johnston surname as her professional name, a decision that has stuck with her throughout her acting career.

Her second marriage, to theatre director David Pammenter, lasted from 1976 to 1980. It was during this marriage that her only child, Joel, was born on 2 June 1979. In 2011, Johnston published a candid memoir titled Things I Couldn’t Tell My Mother, in which she opened up about difficult chapters of her life, including a sexual assault she experienced at the age of 27, an experience that later informed one of her most powerful storylines on Brookside.

Johnston has lived in various parts of the country over the years, spending a long stretch in Muswell Hill, London, before relocating to Manchester in 2012. She is known to be a committed Liverpool F.C. supporter and has spoken warmly in interviews about her friendships with fellow actors including the late Pete Postlethwaite and Elizabeth Dawn.

Joel Palmentor: Sue Johnston’s Son

Joel Palmentor, whose surname is more formally recorded as Pammenter, was born in 1979 to Sue Johnston and David Pammenter. Growing up as the son of a rising and later hugely successful actress, Joel was immersed in a world of storytelling and performance from an early age.

Rather than following his mother onto the stage or screen, Joel carved out his own creative path as a fashion photographer, building a career recognised for its distinctive eye for elegance and emotional nuance. Those who have followed his work often note echoes of his mother’s storytelling instincts, an ability to capture depth and feeling within a single frame, much as Sue does within a single scene.

Joel has a son of his own, Rory, born in June 2012, making Sue Johnston a proud grandmother. She has spoken openly in interviews about how much joy she finds in her role as a grandmother, describing it as one of the great pleasures of her later life.

Conclusion

Sue Johnston’s story is one of resilience, reinvention and remarkable staying power. From a tax office in Merseyside to some of British television’s most beloved roles, she has built a career defined by honesty and emotional truth. As the mother of photographer Joel Palmentor and grandmother to Rory, her legacy extends well beyond the screen, rooted in a close and enduring family life that she has clearly cherished every step of the way.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who is Sue Johnston?

Sue Johnston is an English actress best known for playing Sheila Grant in Brookside and Barbara Royle in The Royle Family, alongside a long career in British television and film.

2. How old is Sue Johnston?

Sue Johnston was born on 7 December 1943, making her 82 years old as of 2026.

3. What is Sue Johnston famous for?

She is most widely recognised for her roles as Sheila Grant in Brookside and Barbara Royle in The Royle Family, two of the most iconic characters in British television history.

4. Does Sue Johnston have children?

Yes, Sue Johnston has one son, Joel Palmentor, also known as Joel Pammenter, born in 1979 during her marriage to David Pammenter.

5. Who is Joel Palmentor?

Joel Palmentor is Sue Johnston’s son, a fashion photographer known for his distinctive, emotionally rich style of photography.

6. Does Sue Johnston have grandchildren?

Yes, she has a grandson named Rory Pammenter, born in June 2012, through her son Joel.

7. Has Sue Johnston won any awards?

Yes, she has received the British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actress, several BAFTA nominations, and was appointed OBE in 2009 for services to drama and charity.

8. Did Sue Johnston write a book?

Yes, she has written two memoirs: Hold On to the Messy Times, published in 1989, and Things I Couldn’t Tell My Mother, published in 2011.

9. Is Sue Johnston still acting?

Yes, Sue Johnston remains active in the industry, with recent roles in Truelove, The Responder, Generation Z and a 2025 return to Brookside as Sheila Grant.

10. What did Sue Johnston do before acting?

Before becoming an actress, Sue Johnston worked in the glass industry and later as a tax inspector.