Everything you need to know about legendary LGBTQ+ ally and Royle Family star Sue Johnston

LGBTQ+ ally and The Royle Family star Sue Johnston is set to star in Taskmaster’s New Year’s Eve Treat.

At 81, Johnston becomes the oldest star in the show’s 18-season history, as she competes to win that most coveted of prizes… a bust of Greg Davies’s head.

Davies and Alex Horne will put several famous faces through an eclectic mix of festive, bizarre and hilarious challenges. 

Alongside Sue Johnston, the annual 60-minute show’s line-up includes Money Saving Expert and ITV host Martin Lewis, former England and Liverpool goalkeeper David James, science presenter and academic Professor Hannah Fry and singer-songwriter and All Saints star Melanie Blatt.

The New Year’s Eve Treat episode synopsis says the celebrities will be “donning gloves, regretting things and moving water” all in the hopes of being the top-scorer. 

The show often features LGBTQ+ comedians – from lesbian comic Rosie Jones to non-binary Feel Good star Mae Martin – but this New Year’s Eve special is a bit lacking in queer talent. However, Sue Johnston might not be a member of the community herself, but she’s a staunch ally.

The BAFTA-nominated actress is a staple of British TV; she’s starred in Brookside, The Royle Family, Waking the Dead, Coronation Street and Downton Abbey. She was born in Lancashire and enrolled in the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London when she was 21.

She was married to Neil Johnston in 1967 and became pregnant at the age of 24, though she very sadly suffered a miscarriage. The couple later divorced, but she kept his surname.

In 1976 she married again, to David Pammenter. The couple have one son together, called Joel.

She was also appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours.

Sue Johnston’s LGBTQ+ allyship

Throughout her career, Sue Johnston has been an outspoken LGBTQ+ rights campaigner.

In 1988, more than 20,000 people gathered in Manchester city centre to join a huge march and protest against Section 28 (Margaret Thatcher’s legislation against the ‘promotion of homosexuality’) and the homophobic policies of Chief Constable James Anderton.

Sue Johnston spoke at the large demonstration, along with Ian McKellan, Michael Cashman, and Graham Stringer, the leader of Manchester council at the time. 

Manchester had a burgeoning LGBTQ+ community and the streets had long been a hotbed of gay rights activism, so this protest was one weighted with deep meaning. 

This anti-Section 28 protest was one of the largest LGBTQ+ demonstrations in the UK at the time.

Taskmaster’s New Year’s Eve Treat will return on Sunday 29th December on Channel 4 at 9pm.