Sue Johnston signed up for ‘Brookside’ midway through her first ‘Coronation Street’ stint.
The 76-year-old star made her TV debut in ‘Corrie’ in 1982 as a character called Mrs. Chadwick, and during her three-episode role on the cobbles she went for an interview for then-new soap ‘Brookside’ and successfully landed a part on the programme.
She said: "I did three episodes playing a woman called Mrs. Chadwick, who was a bookie’s wife.
"While I was filming that I went for an audition for ‘Brookside’ and got that just before I did the third episode of ‘Corrie’."
Sue was cast as Sheila Grant in ‘Brookie’ and she remained on the Channel 4 soap for eight years, during which time her character was initially married to Bobby Grant, who was played by her ‘The Royle Family’ co-star Ricky Tomlinson.
She admits ‘Brookside’ was particularly "exciting" when it first began, and the actors were especially looking forward to acting in real houses rather than sets.
Speaking on ‘This Morning’, she added: "It was very exciting because it was very new, and very different.
"I think because it was not in a studio for the first time, it was filmed on one single camera in real houses, all that generated an excitement as well. And wonderful writers.
"That’s where I first met Ricky."
Sue later returned to Weatherfield in 2012, playing Gloria Price on ‘Corrie’ until 2014.
And the star has returned to the cobbles once again to narrate ‘Coronation Street at Christmas’ – which airs on Friday (20.12.19) at 8.30pm on ITV – a one-off documentary celebrating the best ‘Corrie’ Christmases over nearly six decades.
Sue Johnston signed up for Brookside during Corrie stint
