Hey folks (or ‘sappenin all!).

We now come to the final group of memorable scouse actresses to make this special four-part article, which include a beloved Casualty star, a member of the ‘Royles’ and a multi-award-winning star of the big-screen…

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Phina Oruche

Born to Nigerian parents, Phina began her career as a fashion model. After immigrating to New York, she represented GAP for five years, and featured as a cover model on various US magazines.

She soon got her big break in acting in various American productions from playing a model in the big-screen rom-com Sabrina (1995), to appearances in hit series like Diagnosis Murder (1998-2000), Charmed (2003) and Nip/Tuck (2003).

Her most notable credit during that period came as Olivia Williams, an old friend and romantic interest of Rupert Giles, in three episodes of the popular cult drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1999-2000).

However, Phina then returned to work in the UK and landed a two-episode gig in The Bill (2006) before taking on the role of supermodel Liberty Baker in the fifth series of the hit WAG-based ITV programme Footballer’s Wives (2006).

In 2010, she played family matriarch Gabby Sharpe in over thirty episodes of Hollyoaks and also popped up in Doctors (2012).

Her more recent acting roles have included appearances in Taken Down (2018) and Anthony (2020) as well as guest roles in Moving On (2021) and Magpie Murders (2022).

Away from acting, Phina has produced her own show on BBC Radio Merseyside and published her own children’s book Jacopo Jacopo Football Star in 2020.

She can currently be seen in the Jimmy McGovern drama Unforgivable, which also features the likes of Anna Friel and Anna Maxwell Martin.

 

Rita Tushingham

One of Liverpool’s most celebrated actresses, Rita has been in the acting business for several decades. Having grown up in Hunt’s Cross, she trained at the Shelagh Elliott-Clarke School before becoming an assistant stage manager at the Liverpool Playhouse.

Rita’s on-screen debut proved a pivotal one as she took on the role of Jo, a teenage girl who finds herself becoming pregnant in the kitchen sink drama A Taste of Honey (1961). Her breakthrough performance brought her wide acclaim as well as notable awards including a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and a Best Actress triumph at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival.

Throughout the 1960s, Rita’s film career further blossomed with BAFTA-nominated turns as Kate Brady in Girl with Green Eyes (1964) and as Nancy Jones in The Knack…and How to Get It (1964).

During that time, she made a brief appearance as The Girl in the beloved historical epic Doctor Zhivago (1965) and enjoyed significant film roles in The Leather Boys (1964), The Trap (1966), Smashing Time (1967), The Guru (1969), and The Bed Sitting Room (1969).

In the 1970s and early 1980s, she found herself working on a number of projects made in other countries, and also lived in Canada for a period.

Upon returning to the UK, Rita appeared as Celia Higgins in the Liverpool-based sitcom Bread (1988) and later featured in films like An Awfully Big Adventure (1995), The Boy from Mercury (1996), Under the Skin (1997), Being Julia (2004), The Wee Man (2013), and My Name is Lenny (2017).

Her work on the small-screen also included guest parts in New Tricks (2005), Marple (2006), In the Flesh (2014), Vera (2018), Still Open All Hours (2018) and The Pale Horse (2020).

In the last few years, Rita starred as Peggy in the Edgar Wright-directed psychological thriller Last Night in Soho (2021) and also made her presence felt in episodes of Ridley Road (2021), The Responder (2022), The Famous Five (2024) and more recently, The Marlow Murder Club (2024-25).

Away from acting, she has been a prominent supporter of Cancer Research UK’s Relay For Life and was also a recipient of an Honorary Fellowship from Liverpool John Moore’s University for her contributions to the performing arts.

 

Sue Johnston, OBE

Though born in Warrington and raised in Prescot, Sue has held a strong reputation as one of Liverpool’s most treasured television stars.

Having attended the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London, she eventually made her screen debut as Mrs. Chadwick in three 1982 episodes of the hit soap opera Coronation Street.

However, it was another soap role that made her become a household name, as she took on the part of Sheila Grant in the Liverpool-based series Brookside. The character went through many trials and tribulations across 238 episodes (and two specials) with Sue sharing strong chemistry with her co-star and on-screen husband Ricky Tomlinson that would later bring another memorable collaboration.

After leaving Brookie, she made guest appearances in the likes of Inspector Morse (1992), A Touch of Frost (1992) and Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1996) while also enjoying recurring roles in Medics (1992-95) and Full Stretch (1993).

Sue then strengthened her household reputation with her popular role as long-suffering matriarch Barbara Royle in the hit BBC sitcom The Royle Family.

Reuniting with her former on-screen husband Ricky Tomlinson, the pair forged another sublime partnership that lasted for three series and multiple specials between 1998 and 2012. During that time, she scored a deserving BAFTA nomination for Best Comedy Performance, only to lose out on the award to her beloved co-star Caroline Aherne.

Sue also enjoyed success with her role as psychological profiler Grace Foley in over 90 episodes of the crime series Waking the Dead (2000-11) while recurring in other programmes like My Uncle Silas (2001-03), Jam & Jerusalem (2006-09), and Little Dorrit (2008).

She then returned to the world of Corrie playing Gloria Price in over 160 episodes between 2012 and 2014 and later made multiple appearances as Miss Denker in both Downton Abbey (2014-15) and the spinoff film Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022).

In the last several years, Sue has popped up in the likes of Rovers (2016), Kiri (2018), Age Before Beauty (2018), Hold the Sunset (2018-19), The Cockfields (2019-21), and Time (2021), and more recently, the second series of The Responder (2024).

Away from television, she also appeared in films like Brassed Off (1996), New Year’s Day (2000), Imagine Me & You (2005), Lapland (2011), Golden Years (2016), Walk Like a Panther (2018), Death on the Tyne (2018) and the COVID drama Help (2021).

Sue recently landed a second BAFTA nomination for her supporting turn as vulnerable housewife Gloria in the Channel 4 drama Truelove (2024) and also co-hosted the Channel 4 travel documentary Ricky, Sue and a Trip or Two (2024) with longtime collaborator Tomlinson.

An outspoken gay rights campaigner, she was also awarded an OBE for her services to drama and charity in 2009.

 

Sunetra Sarker

Born in Liverpool to a Hindu family, Sunetra made her acting debut as a teenager in the hit Channel 4 soap Brookside. She portrayed Nisha Batra from 1988 to 1991 before returning as a regular in 2000 until the programme’s cancellation in 2003.

While working on ‘Brookie’, Sunetra also popped up in episodes of Bread (1991), Cracker (1993), London Bridge (1999) and Playing the Field (2000) and even dedicated her time to appearing in other soaps like Doctors (2003), Emmerdale (2003) and Holby City (2004).

As the daughter of a retired doctor, Sunetra soon took on more medical-based roles, starting with notable appearances as Anji Mittel in Channel 4’s comedy-drama No Angels (2004-06) and as Clare Burnes in the BBC drama The Chase (2006-07).

However, her most popular acting gig came as maverick doctor Zoe Hanna in over 330 episodes of the BBC medical drama Casualty. Between 2007 and 2016, the character found herself at the centre of various storylines, including being infertile and her up-and-down romance with porter Max Walker.

After leaving Casualty, Sunetra later took on recurring roles in crime-related projects including Death in Paradise (2017), Broadchurch (2017) and Safe House (2017) before playing the part of feisty matriarch Kaneez Paracha in over forty episodes of the school-based Channel 4 drama Ackley Bridge (2017-22).

During that period, she also played Sadia Shar in Informer (2018), Stella Bradwell in The Bay (2021), Varisha in Desperate Measures (2022), Amal in G’wed (2024) and Gail in The Responder (2024).

Away from acting, Sunetra took part in the twelfth series of Strictly Come Dancing (2014) and became a panellist on the hit ITV lunchtime chat show Loose Women (2021).

This year, she has already enjoyed notable roles as Anika Chowdhury in ITV’s Playing Nice, and Alice Miller in Channel 5’s The Game and can currently be seen in the newest series of ITV’s Professor T.