Royle Family star Sue Johnston says she and friends discussed assisted dying after watching 'very dear friend die'

10 January 2024, 12:33 | Updated: 15 February 2024, 09:43

Sue Johnston, the Royle Family star, has said she and friends discussed assisted dying after she watched a "very dear friend" die before Christmas.

Her comments come after Dame Esther Rantzen reignited a debate about assisted dying by saying she had become a member of Dignitas after her cancer got worse.

Eighty-year-old Johnston, who also acted in Brookside, said she had friends had discussed the plan after watching "a very dear friend" die over the festive period.

The actress is appearing in Truelove, a new television show about friends who make a pact after getting back together at a wake.

The friends agree in the show that "rather than let each other suffer a slow and dreadful decline, they will step in and engineer a dignified death".

Read more: 'No plans to legalise assisted dying,' minister says, as Esther Rantzen's children say 'she shouldn't have to die alone'

Read more: 'I’d ground her plane to Dignitas but it’s her choice, she doesn’t want to die like dad', Esther Rantzen’s daughter says

Johnston said on Wednesday that "just before Christmas, a very dear friend of mine died and I was at his bedside … we talked about it."

The actress said that she didn't know if she would choose assisted dying herself.

She said she would like her family by her side at the stage of ill health "when you’ve gone really" and "you’re just being kept alive by medicine".

Johnston added: “I cannot answer the question as to whether I would have the courage to do it, if someone asked me."

It comes after Childline founder Dame Esther, 83, joined Swiss assisted dying clinic Dignitas after being told earlier in the year that her lung cancer was terminal, and that it was unclear how long she had to live.

A government minister told LBC said that the government was not currently looking at the issue of assisted dying.

Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride added: "But I do think that Esther - and my word, what a special and dignified person she is - has really raised the salience of this issue."

A bill on the subject was was overwhelmingly rejected by MPs in 2015, the first time the Commons had voted on the issue in 20 years.

Mel Stride on assisted dying

A petition for Parliament to vote on assisted dying - backed by Dame Esther and other campaigners - has reached 12,000 signatures, which means the government will respond.

Leader Sir Keir Starmer told LBC's Nick Ferrari that he was in favour of changing the law. "Obviously that change has to be very carefully crafted," he added.

Johnston was also asked about the Post Office Horizon scandal - another current affairs issue that has been raised in a TV show - in her appearance on BBC Breakfast.

Keir Starmer tells Nick Ferrari he would advocate to change assisted dying law

She said that the performances of the cast, which includes Toby Jones, Will Mellor and Monica Dolan, were "so truthful, and you could tell that they were invested in that material".

Johnston added: "I’ve always felt, I’ve always loved that issue-led something that meant something that (the production) wasn’t airy fairy, that it had a meaning and had a question so I think that’s always been part of my life."