Caroline Aherne: Royle Family writer and actress dies aged 52

[Raptor]

Comedian Caroline Aherne, who wrote and appeared in sitcom The Royle Family, has died at the age of 52.
Aherne, who also starred in Mrs Merton, had suffered from cancer, her publicist said.
The actress said two years ago that she had been diagnosed with lung cancer, having previously had bladder and eye cancer.
Aherne was also the narrator of Gogglebox and appeared in The Fast Show.
Her publicist Neil Reading said on Saturday: "Caroline Aherne has sadly passed away, after a brave battle with cancer.
"The Bafta award-winning writer and comedy actor died earlier today at her home in Timperley, Greater Manchester. She was 52.
"The family ask for privacy at this very sad time."
'Wonderful talent'

Tributes have been paid to Aherne from fellow comics.
Actor and writer Mark Gatiss said Aherne was "so gifted" as he shared the "awful news".
Little Britain star David Walliams said on Twitter: "Absolutely devastating news about Caroline Aherne. A true comedy genius, her work was equally funny & touching."
Jenny Eclair wrote: "Poor dear Caroline Aherne, how terribly sad."
Comedian Sarah Millican said: "So sad. What a wonderful talent she was."
Aherne was born in London but grew up in Wythenshawe, Manchester.
She studied drama at Liverpool Polytechnic then started work as a secretary at the BBC before finding national fame in 1994 with Mrs Merton, in which she starred as the eponymous chat show host, and The Fast Show.



BBC News

[Mickey]

She was a talented and funny lady R.I.P

[GTI]

Genuinely funny woman, and as we all know they are few and far between

Caroline Aherne: Royle Family writer and actress dies aged 52


Comedy writer and actress Caroline Aherne has died at the age of 52.

Aherne, star and writer of The Royle Family and The Mrs Merton Show, had suffered from cancer, her publicist said.
The actress said two years ago that she had been diagnosed with lung cancer, having previously had bladder and eye cancer.
Aherne was also the narrator of Gogglebox and appeared in The Fast Show.
Her publicist Neil Reading said on Saturday: "Caroline Aherne has sadly passed away, after a brave battle with cancer.
"The Bafta award-winning writer and comedy actor died earlier today at her home in Timperley, Greater Manchester. She was 52.
"The family ask for privacy at this very sad time."

Aherne's co-stars and fellow comics have been paying tribute to her.
Sue Johnston, who played Barbara - the mother of Aherne's character Denise - in The Royle Family, said: "I am devastated at her passing and I am numb with grief."
Ralf Little, Denise's brother Antony in the show, said Aherne was "a sister, real and (for me) fake", as well as a genius and a friend with a "big, big heart".

Actor and writer Mark Gatiss said she was "so gifted" as he shared the "awful news".
Little Britain star David Walliams said on Twitter: "Absolutely devastating news about Caroline Aherne. A true comedy genius, her work was equally funny & touching."
Jenny Eclair wrote: "Poor dear Caroline Aherne, how terribly sad."
Comedian Sarah Millican said: "So sad. What a wonderful talent she was."
David Baddiel paid tribute by writing: "The talent, you all knew about. But she was a really lovely woman. Vulnerable and complex and damaged but... lovely. #CarolineAherneRIP."
Some also recalled their favourite lines, with DJ and writer Danny Baker writing on Twitter: "Goodbye great Caroline Aherne. A gift & language that lives on. A vegetarian? That's a shame. Could she have some wafer-thin ham, Barbara?"



BBC director general Tony Hall said: "We are deeply saddened to learn of Caroline's death.
"She was a brilliant, award winning comedy writer and performer, much loved by audiences - especially for The Royle Family and Mrs Merton and for her wonderful voicing of many shows. Our thoughts are with her family and friends."



Aherne was born in London but grew up in Wythenshawe, Manchester.
Her brother Patrick has said she was the family joker, adding: "Nobody else in the family was like that. But she was funny from the time she was really little."
She studied drama at Liverpool Polytechnic then started work as a secretary at the BBC before finding national fame in the mid-1990s with Mrs Merton, in which she starred as the eponymous chat show host, and The Fast Show.
The Royle Family, which ran for three series and featured in several specials, told the story of a dysfunctional family. Aherne wrote it with co-star Craig Cash, drawing on her own childhood experiences and the people she met growing up.
It won four awards, including best actress for Aherne, at the 1999 British Comedy Awards, before going on to pick up the best sitcom Bafta in 2000 and 2007.
In the Mrs Merton Show, a series of guests were subjected to questions in front of an audience of pensioners. One much-quoted example is when Mrs Merton asked Debbie McGee: "And what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?".
The Mrs Merton Christmas Show won the best talk show Bafta in 1997. Aherne was nominated for Baftas for her performances in both shows, as well as for directing The Royle Family in 2001.

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