Sue Johnston

An intimate look at the palace that has been a private home to the royal family for more than 300 years.

The Sandman tells the tale of Morpheus – a.k.a. Dream of the Endless – an impossibly old being who is also the living personification of dreams. He lives in a realm called, appropriately enough, The Dreaming, where he tends to the REM state of being all over the universe; of course, this means he spends a lot of time near Earth, courting gods, inspiring fools to become authors, and occasionally arousing waking terrors. As the series begins, in 1916, an exhausted Morpheus is captured by an immortality-seeking magus. He eventually escapes in 1989 and sets out to put his broken kingdom back in order.

9.6/10

The story of an ordinary woman who exposed one of the worst hospital care scandals in the history of the NHS. Based on the inspiring real-life story of Julie Bailey.

7.2/10

Simon is taking girlfriend Donna back home to the Isle of Wight for the very first time. Can he survive a long birthday weekend with his biological and extended family without losing his cool, or his girlfriend?

7.1/10

Bel, after spending the past 18 years as a homemaker, steps in to save the family business in a failing family run beauty salon in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. Family feuds and bitter rivalries, professional and personal, escalate in the salon amongst the Botox, fillers and facelifts.

5.7/10
4%

Draper's Tours are taking Mildred and her care home friends on an overnight ferry trip from North Shields to Amsterdam, where things will quickly turn turbulent as the passengers and crew begin to get bumped off one-by-one. Throughout it all, Terry is still desperate to pop the question to Gemma, even if the circumstances are less than romantic.

5.8/10

A group of 1980s wrestlers are forced to don the lycra once last time when their beloved local pub is threatened with closure.

4.9/10
0.8%

Marking the 20th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana in a car crash in Paris in August 1997, this documentary reveals how Diana learned to manipulate and control the photographers who pursued her ever since she started seeing the heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, in the early '80s. Contributions from tabloid editors, royal photographers, Diana's friends, and former Press Attaché and her royal bodyguard.

Fate, the pensions crisis and a steadfast refusal to accept the injustice of old age have contrived to force law abiding, retired couple, Arthur and Martha Goode into a life of crime.

6.1/10
2.3%

A retelling of England's only World Cup victory, fifty years later, placing special emphasis on the work of manager Sir Alf Ramsey.

7.3/10

Established in 1884, Redbridge Rovers F.C. are one of the oldest club's in England - and one of the worst. A sitcom that introduces us to the characters who gather within the social club of a non-league football club.

6.3/10

Documentary celebrating the British sitcom and taking a look at the social and political context from which our favourite sitcoms grew. We enjoy a trip through the comedy archive in the company of the people who made some of the very best British sitcoms. From The Likely Lads to I'm Alan Partridge, we find out the inspiration behind some of the most-loved characters and how they reflect the times they were living in.

6.9/10

Two-hour Christmas special and the series finale. Mary endeavors to build bridges with her sister while Edith's secret continues to pose a threat. As Henry settles into the role of husband and stepfather, finding his place at Downton proves more difficult.

Autumn of 1924. It's grouse shooting season and Rose's father-in-law invites the Crawley family to a shooting party in Northumberland.

A recent widow's life changing experience when her useless husband returns from the grave.

8.6/10

Being Eileen is a BBC "heart-warming" comedy-drama which began as a new six-part series on 4 February, and ended on 11 March 2013. Originally titled Lapland, it was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 24 December 2011, the channel the series airs on. Although initially a single 75-minute episode which was set in Lapland, Finland, it was announced to having a series renamed Being Eileen, consisting of six 30 minute episodes, due to the success of the single episode, which was viewed by 6.9 million viewers upon its original airing. The series also aired on BBC Two as part of Sign Zone, which features sign language throughout. The series was released on DVD on 1 April 2013. The series, written by Michael Wynne, features an ensemble cast. Headed by Sue Johnston, who plays Eileen Lewis, the programme focusses on her, the widowed matriarch of a "large, close-knit and dysfunctional Northern family". The single episode focused on the family's visit to Lapland, whilst the series focusses on their life in Birkenhead. Elizabeth Berrington and Stephen Graham, play Eileen's children, whilst William Ash and Julie Graham play their partners. All the cast - Johnston, Berrington, Ash, Julie Graham and Keith Barron- a love interest for Eileen - returned for the series, with the exception of Stephen Graham and Zawe Ashton, who played Jingle Jill.

6.6/10

Christmas is coming but Barbara is not happy. Not only has she lost her wedding ring but Jim has won on a scratch card she found down the back of the sofa whilst looking for the ring and has kept quiet about his hundred pounds winnings. Nor is he especially sympathetic about Dave's impotency problem, though the entire Royle family unite to help recently widowed Joe from next door enjoy a restaurant-style evening in their house with the equally scatty Philomena, whom he has met through a want ad. On Christmas Day Barbara lashes out at Jim for his laziness and juvenile antics - though his description of a busty barmaid cures Dave's problem. However she is in for a pleasant surprise when she discovers just how he spent his scratch card winnings.

6.5/10

Gates is a British comedy television series shown on the Sky Living channel. The first series of 5 episodes ran from 14 August to 11 September 2012. The show was originally due to be broadcast on Sky One but was delayed in order to launch on Sky Living as part of the channel's push into more female skewed comedy. The Show was filmed in Enfield, North London in August 2011 therefore making the show heavily delayed from its initial broadcast.

6/10

Recently widowed Eileen Lewis,son Pete and his wife Mandy and daughter Paula with her spouse Ray,plus the grandchildren, leave Birkenhead to spend Christmas in Lapland.

5.7/10

Comedy drama revolving around a small seaside hamlet in the north of England, as a former resident returns with big plans for the community's re-development.

6.7/10

Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash discuss the creation of The Royle Family, with a look behind the scenes at the production of the show and interviews with the cast.

1950s period drama based on the true story of a housewife and mother whose life is turned upside down by a handsome Polish man at her local dance hall.

6.5/10

Dave and Denise worry that Anthony's lavish presents will show them up.

A young governess, Ann, is sent to a country house to take care of two orphans, Miles and Flora. Soon after her arrival, Miles is expelled from boarding school. Although charmed by her young charge, she secretly fears there are ominous reasons behind his expulsion. With Miles back at home, the governess starts noticing ethereal figures roaming the estate's grounds. Desperate to learn more about these sinister sightings she discovers that the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of her predecessor hold grim implications for herself. As she becomes increasingly fearful that malevolent forces are stalking the children the governess is determined to save them, risking herself and her sanity in the process.

5.5/10

Jim and Barbara have received the gift of money from their children - but what to do with it? Barbara wants to finally go abroad, while Jim favours buying an HD satellite box.

7.8/10

Amy Dorrit spends her days earning money for the family and looking after her proud father who is a long term inmate of Marshalsea debtors' prison in London. Amy and her family's world is transformed when her employer's son, Arthur Clennam, returns from overseas to solve his family's mysterious legacy and discovers that their lives are interlinked.

8.2/10
10%

Jam & Jerusalem is a British sit-com that aired on BBC One from 2006 to 2009. Written by Jennifer Saunders and Abigail Wilson, it starred Sue Johnston, Jennifer Saunders, Pauline McLynn, Dawn French, Maggie Steed, David Mitchell, and Sally Phillips. Earlier episodes also starred Joanna Lumley and Doreen Mantle. On BBC America the first series was aired as Clatterford. The show centres on a Women's Guild in a fictional small West Country town called Clatterford St. Mary. It first aired on 24 November 2006. The second series began airing on 1 January 2008 with a 40-minute special and finished on 1 February 2008. The third series was filmed from April 2009. It consists of three one-hour specials, and began its broadcast on BBC One on 9 August 2009. In November 2009, on her blog, Pauline McLynn announced that Jam & Jerusalem would not be returning for a fourth series. She later stated that it was the decision of the BBC and not Jennifer Saunders.

7.6/10

Tension mounts in the Royle household as the family contemplates the prospect of becoming fully laminated throughout. Dr Mahmoud prescribes new medication for Nana in the form of yellow tablets; coincidentally they turn out to be the same colour as the tablets that Joe was prescribed for the swelling when he got his bits stuck in his zip. Meanwhile, a mysterious ginger visitor reminds Nana of her favourite musical.

During her wedding ceremony, Rachel notices Luce in the audience and feels instantly drawn to her. The two women become close friends, and when Rachel learns that Luce is a lesbian, she realizes that despite her happy marriage to Heck, she is falling for Luce. As she questions her sexual orientation, Rachel must decide between her stable relationship with Heck and her exhilarating new romance with Luce.

6.8/10
3.4%

In 1901, a middle-class schoolboy whose parents are working abroad spends his summer in Bedfordshire with his great-uncle Silas. Though 60 years old, Silas relishes life—he’s a womanizer, drinker, and a poacher. At the prompting of his long-suffering housekeeper, Mrs. Betts, he takes on the occasional odd job.

7.3/10

Two 17-year-old boys mark the new year by doing twelve dangerous but exciting tasks set for them by their friends.

6.2/10

Comedy about a Sunday League football team who win the Lottery.

6.8/10
7.3%

Sex, Chips & Rock n' Roll is a six-part television mini-series which was written and created by Debbie Horsfield and directed by John Woods. It was produced by Wall to Wall for BBC One. Originally shown in 1999, it was later adapted into a stage musical which appeared at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre in 2005.

8.5/10

A detective team apply new techniques to old crimes as they solve cold cases.

7.8/10

The BBC drama about growing up in the turbulent, tuneful '60s. Manchester, England, 1965. "You'll never meet anybody worth knowing working at the Chip Shop," says Ellie and Arden Brookes' overbearing granny. But that's where the sisters meet The Ice Cubes, a struggling rock trio that opens their eyes to the whole swingin' world beyond staid Manchester. Arden sees lead singer Dallas McCabe as her ticket out. Ellie has more practical plans, but she and Dallas get drawn together by the music and their irresistible attraction to each other. A story of twin sisters who are each other's best friend-and worst enemy.

Duck Patrol is a British television comedy series that originally aired in 1998. Produced by LWT for the ITV network, it centered around a river police station by the River Thames. The script for the pilot episode 'Of Ducks and Men' was re-filmed with some changes to supporting cast and main cast uniforms, and retitled as 'Flying Colours' which then became the first episode of the following series.

7.2/10

There is trouble a-plenty in store for the Corkhill clan in this video-only special. Series creator Phil Redmond has returned to pen a dramatic script which follows on from a weekend special.

7.2/10

Having married into a family with Mafia connections, Donna thought her husband George was the diamond in the rough. But after his arrest, she sees layers of him beneath her worst fears, and finds herself fighting for her safety and sanity.

Sue Johnston stars in this intimate drama exploring the life of Coronation Street star Pat Phoenix. Follow her affair with fellow actor Tony Booth in the 50s that ended in heartbreak, and what eventually happened to the pair years later.

British comedy series focusing on the lives of a working-class family in Manchester who love the TV.

8.1/10

Detective Jeff Slade teams up with scientist Holly Turner, whose late father has created a time machine that can travel back several hours. Together they solve mysteries using the device. In the beginning of episodes (before they travel back in time), things happen because they DID travel back in time, and they are constantly working to avoid paradoxes. This approach to time-travel is unusual in sci-fi movies, and keeps the plot twisted.

7.2/10

A special, video only story set on the Brookside close. On Friday 14th November 1997, a five night a week storyline ended in a cliffhanger and this video completes the story - a tale of kidnapping extortion and violence. The action-packed episode features faces from the show's past including Sheila Grant (Sue Johnston) and wayward son Barry Grant (Paul Usher), and is written by series creator Phil Redmond.

7.3/10

Henry Harding MP, a British government minister on a moral crusade, hires an inexperienced young computer whizzkid, Peter Emery who works for a Christian computer company called Holy Hardware, to infiltrate the United Kingdom BDSM scene.

6/10

Ray is an aging ex-socialist who has become a bankrobber after seeing the demise of socialism in 1980s Britain. Teaming up with a gang of other has-beenish crims, he commits one bank job too many. The gang dissolves in a murderous flurry of recriminations.

6.7/10
3.8%

A small Yorkshire mining town is threatened with being shut down and the only hope is for the men to enter their Grimley Colliery Brass Band into a national competition. They believe they have no hope until Gloria appears carrying her Flugelhorn. At first mocked for being a woman, she soon becomes the only chance for the band to win.

7.1/10
7.9%

Modern dress adaptation of Shakespeare's play.

7.3/10

Luv is a British television sitcom made by the BBC in 1993 which ran for 18 episodes. The writer and executive producer was Carla Lane. The main character, Terese Craven, was played by Sue Johnston.

7.9/10

A young black British woman goes to the Dominican Republic as an aid worker. When she goes missing, her parents make an emotional journey to piece together her story.

Medics was a British medical drama series first broadcast on ITV on 14 November 1990. The show ran for five series with a total of 40 episodes. The show came to end on 24 November 1995. It follows the everyday lives and loves, trials and tribulations of the doctors, nurses, patients and administrative staff of a large teaching hospital in the north-west of England near the city of Manchester.

7/10

Festive special edition of the hit family sitcom. Inspired by Nigella Lawson, Denise decides to cook Christmas dinner for the family. Jim provides the yuletide log and, much to his dismay, Dave's mum and dad are invited to join the festivities.

8.1/10

Fred is an ice cream van man, unfortunately he is manslipping down the leaderboard of ice cream sales. Lucy and Grumble give him the advice to embark on an epic trip to the coast to see a long lost love.

To claim a huge inheritance, two estranged brothers must travel to the wilds of Scotland in an old camper van to spread their father’s ashes. James and John haven’t spoken in ten years; John is now a thrusting executive with a wandering eye, James, a lonely, socially maladjusted, alcoholic. It’s only the sudden death of the father who rejected them as children, that draws them back together. Their father’s letters and the people they meet, start to heal old wounds, helping them come to terms with the pains of both past and present, but there is a secret waiting five hundred miles north in the highlands that could shatter them forever.

8.3/10