Godley relives her traumatic upbringing
Scottish comedian Janey Godley is to relive her traumatic upbringing in a TV interview in which she also reveals she is writing a novel that will be partly set in her native Glasgow in the 1970s.
Godley, who revealed she has been writing her debut novel at home during the extended corona virus lock down this year, has provided daily doses of hilarity to Scots this year with her voiceovers of Nicola Sturgeon’s coronavirus briefings.
But in her forthcoming TV appearance she describes what it was like living with a mother with epilepsy, a gambling habit and addiction problems, as well an acoholic father.
God ley also recalls the impact of the child abuse she suffered at the hands of her uncle and how she helped put him behind bars by giving evidence against him in court. Godley, who revealed that part of her debut novel will also be set in modern- day Glasgow, will appearing in the The Big Scottish Book Club when it returns to the BBC Scotland channel at 10pm on Sunday.
She tells how she had used her experiences in her standup shows long before the trend for “confessional comedy”.
Recalling the influence her mother Annie had on her, Godley said: “She was definitely a character. She was this thin whip of a wummin, she would dance to Hollywood films and she had dreams of the everyday housewife that never came true.
“In real life, she was traumatised. She was always in debt, she was always telling lies.
“She ended up in a mental hospital a few times – that’s what it was called then. She had epilepsy and fell about a few times. Once she put her feet in the fire and nearly burnt to death. She had quite a trag
ic life, but she had big dreams. I had a very good dad. I didn’t know he was an alcoholic till he told me. He held down a job and he loved my mammy.
“But my mum had created so many lies. I don't know what
she did with the money. They should have been OK.
“I just think she never got to live the life that she wanted. Like many women back then, if they had emotional prob - le ms they weren’ t allowed
a nervous breakdown. She just lived her life on tablets. To this day I still have a problem trying to swallow a tablet because it reminds me of her.”