BROOKSIDE and The Royle Family star Sue Johnston, currently appearing in Coronation Street, will star in a BBC1 comedy series about the lives of a family from Birkenhead on Merseyside. Lapland (the show’s working title) follows a 90-minute special of the same name shown over Christmas 2011.

Now six 30-minute episodes are being made.

Johnston plays Eileen Lewis, recently widowed matriarch of the chaotic Lewis clan. The trip to Lapland that took place in the Christmas special changed Eileen’s outlook on life and left her determined to live life to the full rather than “sitting in the corner dressed in black”.

The series is once again penned by Michael Wynne.