Former ‘Coronation Street’ star Sue Johnston has shared a deeply personal memory of her late ‘The Royle Family’ co-star Caroline Aherne.
While looking back at their years together, the actress revealed a private moment from a difficult time in both their lives and explained how Caroline still remains part of her daily routine nearly a decade after her death. Dive in for more details.
Sue Johnston Recalls A Dark Time She Shared With Caroline Aherne
Speaking on ‘A Night In with Sally Lindsay’, Sue opened up about working with Caroline during the final years of ‘The Royle Family’. Behind the laughter on screen, both women were dealing with major health problems, and one memory from that period has stayed with Sue.
She recalled, “We were doing the last one, and during that break, she, her cancer had come back, and she was having an op on her bladder. And I’d had an op on my bowel. We were both in the loo. Yeah. So she went, oh, listen to us, we haven’t got a bladder or a bowel between us. Do you think it’s brilliant? It’s very Caroline.”
A Special Portrait Keeps Caroline Close Every Morning
Sue then revealed that Ricky Tomlinson, who played Jim Royle, found a touching way to help the cast remember Caroline after her death.
He arranged for an artist friend to create portraits of her and gave one to each of them. Sue said, “After she died, Ricky had a photo of her painted by an artist friend of his and gave us all one of her face.
I’ve got it at the bottom of my stairs, so every morning when I come down, there she is. Good morning, Caroline. Yeah, she’s just exceptional.” The former co-stars shared far more than emotional moments. Sue also remembered the fun they had behind the scenes with Ricky Tomlinson, Craig Cash and the rest of the cast.
She has spoken about how they often stayed together on the sofas between takes, chatting and laughing rather than disappearing to separate dressing rooms. The set even had a “naughty corner” for cast members who forgot lines or ruined a take by laughing, and the running joke eventually became a more elaborate feature built by crew members.
The Actress Also Has A Long History With Coronation Street
For soap fans, Sue’s latest appearance with Sally Lindsay also brings an interesting Coronation Street connection. Sally played Shelley Unwin in the ITV soap, while Sue became well known to Weatherfield viewers as Gloria Price, the outspoken mother of Stella Price and grandmother of Eva Price.
Sue arrived as Gloria in 2012, when the character returned from Spain and quickly became involved in life around the Rovers Return. However, this was not Sue’s first time on the cobbles. She had previously appeared in Coronation Street in 1982 as Mrs Chadwick before returning three decades later in a much bigger role. She eventually left as Gloria in 2014.
For Sue, Caroline is not only part of television history or a much-loved former co-star. Every morning, that portrait at the bottom of the stairs gives her a small and deeply personal way to say hello again. Stay tuned to Soap Opera Daily for more Coronation Street spoilers and behind-the-scenes updates.