There's not many people more synonymous with
Liverpool than Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston. The two shot to stardom together as Bobby and Sheila Grant in and then reprised their onscreen marriage as Jim and Barbara in The Royle Family. The legendary actors have reunited once again this week for Ricky, Sue and a Trip or Two, which premiered on More4 on Tuesday. The first episode of the three part series saw the stars revisit some of the places in Liverpool that shaped their lives such as the iconic Brookside Close, the Cavern Club and Peter Kavanagh's pub. Ricky and Sue told the ECHO in an exclusive interview it was a privilege to show off the best of our region for the programme - and give back to the city that has provided them with so much. Sue explained: "Liverpool changed my life. It was great to be a teenager in Liverpool working on Dale Street and going to the Cavern every lunch time. "It was the luckiest timing anybody could ever have." Sue immersed herself in the 60s Merseybeat scene, made
Friends with The Beatles and got a
Job with Brian Epstein at NEMS that meant she could quit her job at the tax office and pursue her showbiz dreams. The 80-year-old returned to the Cavern Club in the first episode and had Ricky in hysterics when she told the hilarious story of how she accidentally taped over the original recording of Love Me Do when she was given it by Paul McCartney. However, she said the most emotional moment of filming the episode was when she visited her childhood home in . She told the ECHO: "Going back to my house was very special for me because I left when I was 21 to go to
London to be a drama student and I hadn't been back to that house since then and that was really quite emotive. "Especially the garden because I loved that and that was my dad's favourite thing. There was a shot of my dad in his army uniform which I didn't know was coming up and that made me get a bit teary." Ricky's journey to the top was slightly different as he was a trade unionist who served time in jail as one of the Shrewsbury 24 over his involvement in strike action. The conviction has since been overturned and Ricky said he has always been grateful for the way people in the city united to support him during times of adversity. The 84-year-old said: "They've been everything because when I was in jail they were so supportive. We had the trade unions marching for us. We had letters from members of the public. Even members of what would have been the were sending their support while we were in jail." After his release, Ricky joked he "bunked in" to acting as he got a small part in
United Kingdom and his authentic trade unionist roots shone through and meant he was given the part of Bobby in Brookside without even having to audition. Ricky never looked back after his TV debut and said making the most of your chances is a Scouse trait that makes people from the city thrive. He said: "If you give us half a chance, we'll take it. It doesn't matter if you're a writer, a director, a producer or an
Actor. We will take it. "Liverpool has got everything. We've got talent, we've got people from the past who are big stars, we've got up and coming kids. We're very lucky." Ricky and Sue's Liverpudlian roots have been key to their onscreen success and is also why their friendship remains as strong as ever nearly 40 years after their Brookside debut. Ricky said: "We've worked together that long, we know what each other is thinking and we're both on the same level. "We both love Liverpool and Liverpool people." The remaining two episodes of Ricky, Sue and a Trip or Two will see the actors embark on more road trips across the
UK and they will return to the screen once again for an episode of DNA Journey set to be broadcast later this year. Ricky is also planning to release a children's book over the coming months and said the two have no plans of slowing down as the passion for the city they have always been so proud to represent burns as brightly as ever. He said: "We're both in our dotage and we're made up to be working. Not only working, but working together and representing Liverpool." He added: "We're having a ball and we love it."