Bursary paves way for next Caroline
BBC OFFERS ‘FUNNY NORTHERN WOMEN’ FUND AFTER DEATHS OF COMEDY STARS
A HUNT for the next Caroline Aherne of comedy in the north has been launched.
BBC bosses have announced a new bursary scheme for aspiring female comedians in memory of the Royle Family star, who died last year aged 52.
Aimed at writers and performers, the Caroline Aherne Bursary for Funny Northern Women will award £5,000 to the successful applicant to enable them to fund their future development. The BBC also pointed to the deaths in 2016 of Victoria Wood and Carla Lane.
Bafta award-winning star Victoria, from Bury, was 62 when she died in April last year following a battle with cancer.
The mum-of-two found fame in the 1980s and was best known for her BBC sketch Acorn Antiques and the comedy Dinnerladies before growing to be one of the nation’s most-loved comedians.
Liverpudlian Carla created the classic television sitcoms The Liver Birds, Butterflies and Bread. She died in May last year aged 87.
The BBC said the successful applicant would work alongside the guidance of an experienced BBC commissioning editor.
The bursary, announced by BBC North, BBC Comedy Commissioning and the BBC Writersroom, is set to be launched at the Salford Sitcom Showcase at MediaCity UK in Salford on July 27.
Comedian and broadcaster Ted Robbins will host the event, designed to throw the spotlight on budding new comics and celebrate established household names through screenings and live performances. Shane Allen, a BBC controller at BBC Comedy Commissioning, described Caroline as an ‘incredibly funny woman.’
Raised in Wythenshawe, she started as a stand-up comic in Manchester nightclubs then wrote and starred in the BBC sketch show The Fast Show before finding success with her own spoof talk show Mrs Merton, for which she won a BAFTA.
Mr Allen added: “Last year, British comedy was rocked by the deaths of three incredibly funny northern women: Caroline Aherne, Carla Lane and Victoria Wood. We are delighted to introduce this new bursary which will harness their legacy to inspire a new generation of female comedy performers in the north.”
Alice Webb, director of BBC North, said: “From The Royle Family to Dinnerladies, we have a rich tradition of developing series centred around funny women who have originated from right here in the north.”