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Entertainment
Ian MacEwan

Ricky, Sue and a Trip or Two: release date, locations and everything we know

Anfield.

Ricky, Sue and a Trip or Two sees Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston reunite more than 40 years after they first appeared on screen together as Bobby and Sheila Grant in Channel 4 soap Brookside

The actors, who also played Jim and Barbara Royle in the comedy The Royle Family, are teaming for a nostalgic three-part road trip to the Midlands, north Wales and their home city of Liverpool, to visit old haunts and new hangouts, meet famous faces and try out unusual activities.

Here's everything we know about the series and our chat with the pair as we caught up with old pals Ricky, 84, and Sue, 80…

Ricky, Sue and a Trip or Two release date

Ricky, Sue and a Trip or Two will air on More4 from Tuesday 19 March at 9pm and will be available on Channel 4 streaming. 

Ricky and Sue as Liverpool soap Brookside's Bobby and Sheila Grant, with their son Damon, played by Simon O'Brien (Image credit: Lime Pictures)

Your first stop is Brookside Close, the famous setting of Channel 4 soap Brookside. What are your memories of joining that show?

Ricky "I’d never met Sue before, and I’d only done one acting job! But I was on my home turf, because I’m from Liverpool, so I just got stuck in!"

Sue "At the time, I’d done three episodes of Coronation Street. I remember waiting in one of the houses on the Close, and when Ricky came through the door, I immediately thought: 'What a personality!'"

What do you enjoy about working together? 

Ricky "We just get on so well. We both have a great love for Liverpool and Liverpool football club, which we visit in episode one. And we've got a circle of mutual friends we’ve known since our Brookside days."

Sue "Ricky makes me laugh. And as you can tell, you can pretty much just press a button, and off he goes!"

The Royle Family's Ralf Little, Sue Johnston, Ricky Tomlinson, Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash (Image credit: BBC)

Has your Royle Family co-star Ralf Little been in touch to offer you a trip to Guatemala to guest on his show Death in Paradise? 

Sue "I was offered it for the last series, but I was working, so I wasn't available!"

Ralf Little on set in Guatemala for Death in Paradise (Image credit: BBC/Red Planet Productions)

What was Sue like as the driver on your road trip?

Ricky "I'm not going to comment on Sue's driving, because we've been friends a long time and I don't want to fall out! No, listen, she's a great driver, and that’s why she's driving instead of me!"

Sue "They chose a VW Beetle for us to travel in, because I used to drive my dad's old Beetle when I passed my test aged 17! I love driving, I drive myself everywhere, and the day they take my licence away, it’ll be like having a limb cut off!"

Where else is on your travel bucket list? 

Ricky "I'd like to go back to the Grand Ole Opry, the country and western music Mecca in Nashville. Everyone wears a big Stetson, and it’s absolutely wonderful!"

What did you find out about each other on this trip that you didn’t already know? 

Sue "Every place we went to drew a story out of each of us, including things I’d never heard from Ricky before, for instance about his time in jail. And believe me, I've heard most of his stories over the years!" 

Ricky "For instance, Sue didn’t know that, if I take my glasses off, I’m a George Clooney lookalike!"

What happens in each episode of Ricky, Sue and a Trip or Two? 

Episode 1: Liverpool

Ricky and Sue visit famous TV location Brookside Close, the iconic Cavern club music venue and Anfield football stadium. 

Episode 2: The Midlands

The old friends enter Shrewsbury prison, where Ricky did time, and visit the Coventry theatre where Sue worked as a young actor. 

Episode 3: North Wales

Revisiting childhood holiday haunts, Ricky and Sue ride a steam train and offer hurdler Colin Jackson an unusual challenge. 

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