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Sue Johnston

For the uncrowned queen of The Royle Family, Sue Johnston, tracing her ancestral roots was a matter of working class pride.

"People see me as a northern, working class woman," she explains. "That is me. But I have lots of unanswered questions and it's fascinating to know where you come from and what your history is.

"I realised that as my aunties and uncles were getting older my family's past would disappear with them."

Johnston had fond memories of her maternal grandfather Alf and admits that his influence persisted into adult life:

"I've always found men who are a bit distant and quiet incredibly attractive," she reveals. "I know that comes from how I felt about him."

A train driver until the 1950s, Alf was rumoured to have been at the controls of the world-famous Flying Scotsman.

But Johnston discovers that the track to the top began at a very lowly level for anyone wanting to fulfil that little boy's dream.

"Being in the cab of the Flying Scotsman you can feel the testosterone," she grins. "It's an extraordinary job to have - the power of being in control of it all.

"I thought Alf was a god, so God has to drive the best train in the world."

Delving into Alf's background though reveals a class struggle that Johnston never guessed at.

"At 16 he was a shipbroker's clerk," she explains. "A job with great prospects, very clean, very proper - you get dressed up and go to the office.

"But, it obviously wasn't him. He threw it up and at 21 he was a cleaner on the railways."

The discovery astonished Johnston because of its parallel with her own life.

"My first job was in the civil service, in the tax office," she explains. "But, at 21, I gave it up to apply for drama school, not doing what my parents wanted - being my own person, just like Alf.

"This all makes it feel very real. It's where I've come from, why I react the way I do to things. It's all about what's handed down and what comes through."