Sue Johnston 'overwhelmed' by freedom of city award

Sue Johnston, pictured in Liverpool Town Hall, said being awarded the freedom of the city was "fabulous"

The actress Sue Johnston said she was "overwhelmed" to be granted the freedom of the city of Liverpool.

The 80-year-old, who was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2009, spoke ahead of an official event at Liverpool Town Hall.

After a brief stint on Coronation Street, Ms Johnston landed her first major role as Sheila Grant in the Liverpool soap Brookside which first aired on Channel 4 in 1982.

She is also well-known for playing matriarch Barbara Royle in the award-winning BBC comedy The Royle Family.

Simon O'Brien as Damon Grant, Ricky Tomlinson as Bobby Grant and Sue Johnston as Sheila Grant in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside

Life-long Liverpool FC fan Ms Johnston told BBC Radio Merseyside she was delighted to be honoured alongside former manager Jurgen Klopp who is also set to be granted the freedom of the city.

"It was on the news and in the same sentence it said Jurgen Klopp and Sue Johnston," she said.

"Blimey, nothing gets better than that does it? Me and Jurgen in the same sentence."

Ms Johnston said she had been interested in acting since her school days but she had had no idea how to break into showbusiness.

Instead, she became a tax inspector working in Liverpool's Dale Street - although her heart was never in it.

"I was the worst tax officer in the world, hated it," she said.

"But it was just around the corner from Mathew Street so I used to go to the Cavern Club. It was the early '60s and I was 18 so it was bliss."

'Incredibly lucky'

Ms Johnston did not break into television until she was 38, after spending 20 years in theatre.

However, after Brookside her career blossomed.

"I've been incredibly lucky," she said.

"I have had some wonderful roles, some fun, some dark, but I've been blessed really."

Ms Johnston is also known for her support of the Hillsborough families and attended court to support them during the gruelling second inquest in 2015.

She said: "I have been a Liverpool fan all my life, as far as I can think back, and that was the most terrible time.

"So to be able to stand alongside the families was the least I could do."

Speaking about the award, she said: "I am just overwhelmed with it all - it's fabulous."