‘There’s a loneliness that creeps in when you’re old and on your own’: Sue Johnston on isolation and how it informs her unmissable new TV show Ann Droid
Along with Diane Morgan, the actress stars in a new BBC comedy about a widowed lady who hires a robot to ease her loneliness
Ann Droid is an all-new comedy coming to the BBC, and with legends Sue Johnston and Diane Morgan in the lead roles, it's set to be absolutely unmissable. Diane also co-wrote the series with comedian Sarah Kendall.
Released on July 17, the six-part series sees Sue star as a recently-widowed elderly woman whose son hires a humanoid robot named Linda (Diane Morgan), to keep her company and help her around the house.
While the comedy comes from Linda being a cheap model who lacks the upgrades of newer models to bring a deeper, more conscious understanding of human emotion to help Sue, the show is also full of "humour and love," and a poignant look at loneliness in older years.
At the age of 82, Sue Johnston has recently opened up about the parallels between her own life, and that of her character in the show, also named Sue. The actress says there's a "huge amount of self-recognition" in the role, telling The Guardian that she "recognises the loneliness thing" which is a big part of the series.
"Although I have a full life, there's a loneliness that creeps in when you're old and on your own," she explains. Just as her character experiences a fall just prior to the arrival of Linda, Sue also had one last year.
The actress's son wants her to live closer to him as a result, but she's having none of it. Her energy reserves are also naturally depleting as she gets older, and she saves most of what she has for work.
"I'm all right at work and there's a sort of adrenaline," she says, adding, "Get up at five and go - I can do that, but when I'm not working, I'm buggered."
Sue's Ann Droid character is also coping not just with loneliness, but with the grief of losing her husband.
While the actress hasn't lost a spouse - she's remained single since her second divorce in 1980, Sue does still feel the effects of losing her close friend and Royle Family co-star, Caroline Aherne.
Caroline died of cancer in 2016 at the age of 52, and she called Sue her "second mum." Following her death, fellow Royle Family star Ricky Tomlinson had paintings of Caroline made for the show's cast.
"Mine's at the bottom of the stairs, when I come down every morning I go, 'Morning!'" Sue shares. She shares a similar bond with Ann Droid co-star Diane Morgan, who she says reminds her of Caroline.
Bonding over their love of dogs when working together previously, Sue shares, "There's a lot about Diane that reminds me of Caroline Aherne. They've got that Northern, straight-faced, cut-through humour. And their geniuses.
Diane also refers to Sue as "The perfect human." With this supportive partnership between the talented pair sure to be evident both on screen as well as off, we're more excited than ever for Ann Droid to make its debut.
Ann Droid airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from July 17.
