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TV writer Caroline Aherne (52) remembered as comedy ‘genius'

Caroline Aherne who accepted the BAFTA award for Best Talk Show (Mrs Merton Christmas Show) in 1997. Picture by Fiona Hanson
Caroline Aherne who accepted the BAFTA award for Best Talk Show (Mrs Merton Christmas Show) in 1997. Picture by Fiona Hanson Caroline Aherne who accepted the BAFTA award for Best Talk Show (Mrs Merton Christmas Show) in 1997. Picture by Fiona Hanson

WRITER and actress Caroline Aherne was someone who "changed comedy but never who she was".

Irish comedians and stars added their tributes on Sunday night to the hundreds paid to the much-loved comedy star following her death at the age of 52.

Best known for her hit sitcom The Royle Family and the riotous chat show The Mrs Merton Show, which both won a string of awards, she passed away on Saturday.

Aherne, who more recently narrated Channel 4 show Gogglebox, had been battling lung cancer and had previously been treated for bladder and eye cancer.

Born in west London, she was the daughter of Irish immigrants.

Her father Bert, a railway labourer, moved the family to Manchester to live when she was three. But he was an alcoholic and her family struggled to make ends meet.

She battled ill health from an early age, both she and her brother Patrick, were born with a rare cancer of the retina.

She was sent to Lourdes in search of a miracle cure after her local Catholic church raised money for the trip, but she was left with severely impaired sight in one eye.

The dysfunctional Royle family, from the comedy series of the same name she created, drew heavily on her own childhood and the people she met while she was growing up.

Starting her career in stand-up, she became a regular on the Manchester comedy circuit in the character of Mitzi Goldberg, a spoof country and western singer and the nun Sister Mary Immaculate was another early creation.

Aherne gained public attention as the Checkout Girl in The Fast Show.

But she became a household name as straight-talking blue-rinse granny Mrs Merton in The Mrs Merton Show, which first aired on BBC Two in 1995 and won the best talk show Bafta in 1997.

Among the guests subjected to her gentle but often extremely embarrassing questions in front of a live audience of pensioners was Northern Ireland footballer George Best.

She roasted footballer George Best about his notorious alcoholism in November 1995.

"If you hadn’t done all that running around, would you have been this thirsty?," she asked.

She also told jokes about religion through her character Sister Mary Immaculate, an Irish nun.

"People say to me does God only love Catholics? That's not true. God loves Protestants, Jews and Anglicans. He prefers the Catholics. Who doesn't?".

The Royle Family was born after she and friend Craig Cash, who played gormless Dave Best in the show, threw themselves into their work after a suicide attempt, which she described as her lowest ebb.

It was the toast of the 1999 British Comedy Awards, scooping four trophies including best actress for Aherne.

It went on to take home the best sitcom Bafta in 2000 and 2007.

Aherne was nominated for Baftas for her performance in both shows, as well as her directing of The Royle Family in 2001.

After her death was announced on Saturday, tributes have poured in for the actress and writer.

Co Down comedian Patrick Kielty was last night among those to pay tribute to Ahern.

Kielty wrote: "Really sad day. Caroline Aherne was such a special one. She changed comedy but never who she was. Funny and kind - every time. RIP".

Funnyman Tim McGarry also paid his respects to Aherne as he remembered one her George Best interview.

Her Royle Family co-star Sue Johnston said: "I am devastated at her passing and I am numb with grief".

Ralf Little, who also starred in The Royle Family, tweeted: "We've lost another one of our best.

"A character. A legend. A boss. A sister, real and (for me) fake. A boss. A writer. An actor. A genius. A friend. Big, big heart. Goodbye."

Alan Partridge comic Steve Coogan hailed his "incredibly funny" long-time friend, while comedian David Baddiel said: 'She was a really lovely woman. Vulnerable and complex and damaged but... lovely".

Matt Lucas tweeted: 'Caroline Aherne moved television comedy on to a new place. Her extraordinary work will be cherished by future generations".

Debbie McGee, the widow of magician Paul Daniels, said that Aherne's death was "very sad news".

She was on the receiving end of one of Mrs Merton's most famous lines, when she was asked in a 1995 episode: "What first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?"