Her publicist confirmed the news of her death on Saturday (2 July) afternoon, following her lengthy battle with cancer.
Neil Reading said in a statement: “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.”
The
BAFTA-winning comedian and writer had been battling cancer since 2014,
and one of her rare appearances in the last months of her life was at
the launch of Manchester’s Macmillan Cancer Improvement Partnership. At
the time, she spoke of how her sense of humour had helped her through
her illness.
Caroline Aherne
was one of the country’s most popular comedians, credited with helping
bring to the screen a particular form of naturalist humour, poking fun
at the ordinary stuff of everyday life. From her first appearances on ‘The Fast Show’
in 1994, which she also helped write, it was clear that she had a
singular talent, honed on the high-quality Manchester comedy circuit of
the 1990s.
For three years from 1994 to 1997, she was married to New Order’s bass player Peter Hook, and appeared under her married name.
The same year
as her ‘Fast Show’ debut, she made her first real mark as faux-naive
celebrity interviewer Mrs Merton, a character she had previously debuted
on Granada Television’s ‘Upfront’ programme. Long before Ali G fooled
his subjects with his show of innocence, Mrs Merton was setting up her
targets with apparent whimsy, famously asking Debbie McGee, “So, what
first attracted you to the millionaire, Paul Daniels?” The show won
Caroline Ahern a BAFTA in 1995.
Her most personal work - both poignant and sidesplittingly funny - came with ‘The Royle Family’
in 1998, which she co-penned with Craig Cash, and starred in herself as
Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston’s self-absorbed daughter Denise.
The show ran
for three series, with the scenario a deceptively simple one - a family
stuck in their living room, distracted only by personal comings and
goings, various romantic intrigues of the younger folk and, of course,
long before ‘Gogglebox’, whatever happened to be on TV.
With a fond but forensic eye that the pair might have inherited from Alan Bennett or Mike Leigh,
Caroline and Craig captured a sense of sentimental nostalgia for
working class habits and closeness, while inviting us to titter at their
faux-pas. It was a comedy tightrope boldly walked, and credited for
inspiring many comedians, such as Ricky Gervais, who often said that without ‘The Royle Family’, there would have never been ‘The Office’.
Despite her
huge success, Caroline sometimes struggled away from the screen. She
suffered from both depression and alcoholism in the 1990s, and sought
treatment at the Priory following a suicide attempt in 1998. She
referred to this herself in a speech when she accepted an award for ‘The
Royle Family’, telling her appreciative audience Ricky Tomlinson had
told her not to mention it, and earning a round of applause.
Following the
huge success of ‘The Royle Family’, Caroline revealed she would be
concentrating on writing, not acting, in future. Only rare appearances
have followed, including a one-off role as a barmaid in the BBC comedy
‘Sunshine’, and a few ‘Royle Family’ specials. Behind the scenes, she
penned ‘Dossa and Joe’ for the BBC, ‘The Fattest Man in Britain’ and
one-off sitcom ‘The Security Men’. Her last on-screen appearance came in
2015’s ‘After Hours’, directed by her old writing partner Craig Cash.
More recently, Caroline Aherne gave her unique voice to the narration of ‘Gogglebox’,
the BAFTA-winning series that explored the everyday joy brought to
ordinary people by their engagement with the TV set and its contents.
It was a
fitting final gig for a very talented woman who had long mastered the
art of celebrating the ordinary, and finding lots of special things in
it for the rest of us to giggle about.
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