The Cockfields | Interview with Sue Johnston (Sue Cockfield)

What was it like to be reunited with Joe (Wilkinson) again as Sue Johnston as Sue Cockfield Simon for series two of The Cockfields?

Oh, lovely! He is just the nicest man. We’ve kept in touch, through texts and emails. Both him and David Earl, I adore them both, they make me laugh. So it was lovely, it was a bit like going back on The Royle Family, because you just sit there and people make you laugh all day.

Do you feel quite maternal towards Joe, given your character plays Simon’s mum in the series?

Oh I love him, yes. He’s a similar age to my son, so it’s very easy to model him as my boy, and he’s so lovable and giving in his performance. So I found it very, very easy to love him in that way, yes. When I’m doing scenes with Joe, I think Oh God, it is very funny but I can see myself in real life doing these things with my son. We went to a football match recently and I kept doing something and going, ‘Oh that’s Sue, that’s Cockfield Sue!’

Do you enjoy playing Sue Cockfield?

Very much so, yes. It’s her idiosyncrasies, I know them so well. It’s quite nice to get rid of them in a character and to be that over-fussy. It’s only because she cares, and she’s desperate to please everybody. So she gets herself in a total tangle with it all. I feel sorry for her in some ways, because she’s desperately trying to do everything right. She’s definitely a pleaser.

How did it feel with Gregor Fisher joining the cast, taking over the role of Ray Cockfield from the late Bobby Ball?

It was bittersweet, and if I’m honest, before I met Gregor, I felt guilty about Bobby. I don’t think it became real until we were actually on set. It didn’t strike me during rehearsal, but once we got on the old set, and the old familiarity, I suddenly felt that I really missed Bobby. This is absolutely no disrespect to Gregor, who is wonderful and has really made a very different job of it. But I had a real sense of loss for a few days that I hadn’t noticed before, but time moves on and Gregor brings such a different side to it. So in a way that made it easier. Both Bobby and Gregor were equally wonderful to work with.

The Cockfields is brilliantly observational and really captures how often it’s the unspoken things that can be funny.

Yes, very much so. I think like The Royle Family was. The Cockfields is beautifully observed and sensitive. I just love Ben’s character, David. I think he’s such a wonderful, wonderful character. All of the characters are so well written, and so believable. Like Nigel and Sarah’s characters, Larry and Melissa. I just love those two. A couple of eccentrics, but they simply work. When their characters appear, the comedy is really heightened, whereas the rest of it is a bit more nuanced. It really works together well. Though I still can’t quite make up my mind as to what Cockfield Sue thinks about them!

Rather excitingly, there is also a Christmas special of The Cockfields.

Yes, there is. Though we filmed it during the heat wave last Summer, during what felt like the hottest week of the year! And there we all were, in our Christmas jumpers and coats, saying lines like, ‘Oh, it’s so cold isn’t it’, while we had sweat running down our backs. [Laughs].

How would you describe The Cockfields?

It’s quite difficult to describe, because it isn’t just a comedy, although it is very funny. You’ll just need to watch it to make up your own mind! It’s a nuanced look at family life. The characters are so well written, you can really see a bit of yourself in them. You see how families relate to each other.