Sue Johnston is back as Women’s Institute stalwart Sal Vine in the third series of Jam & Jerusalem alongside Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. The new series premieres on BBC One on Sunday, August 9, at 8pm... What’s in store for Sal this year? “Sal gets rather feistier and seems to swear a lot! She’s angry about things! She has a big problem in that they’re going to develop the field behind her house and she fears her lovely life and garden will be disrupted by builders. The whole village is up in arms about it at first. First they’re with her, then they’re not, so Sal has a battle to fight. She’s fired up! On top of that, she has some mad turkeys to deal with!” Has her daughter Tash moved out yet – or is she still living in the mobile library outside? “She’s still outside! She can’t get rid of her kids! Her poor son James feels neglected by her so she’s got that to solve, too.” Sal’s been widowed since the first episode of the first series. Will she ever find romance again? “She does find love in this series! She becomes 17 again and doesn’t know how to behave. She blushes a lot.” Tell us something we may not know about the show... “My own dog plays my screen dog – Ebony – and she’s a great cast member. She likes being in the show. She knows how to act. She likes to walk towards camera. She loves it.” Sal’s the central figure of the series and in nearly every scene? That must be tiring! “It is but it’s just a joyful job and so great to come in and do. The series has glorious scripts so it doesn’t feel as hard as it is when you look at it. We all get on and everyone’s an absolute joy and very funny. Everyone’s hugely funny and we get these wonderful, wonderful top-of-their-game actors and actresses to work with and it’s hysterically funny!”
