Trail-blazer will be much mourned but her wry comedy will live on
It has already been a tragic year for television comedy, with the deaths of much-loved figures Ronnie Corbett, Carla Lane and Victoria Wood. Now 2016 has grown darker still with news of the sad passing of Caroline Aherne, aged 52.
Writer, performer and polymathic powerhouse Aherne was one of the most adored and admired figures in contemporary TV comedy. The Manchester-raised comedienne became synonymous with a warm, well observed Northern wit and unerring ear for dialogue, which made her the next generation’s Victoria Wood. She first came to attention as part of
ensemble, playing such recurring sketch characters as the overly chatty supermarket checkout girl, teenage mother “Our” Janine Carr, the domineering wife in longsuffering couple Roy and Renée, and Poula Fisch, the Mediterranean meteorologist, with her muchparroted refrain “Scorchio!”.
However, it was as spoof chat show host Mrs Merton that Aherne truly blazed a trail.
Immersively playing a silverpermed, horn-rim-spectacled elderly lady, Aherne could get away with asking her guests outrageous fauxnaive questions. The Bafta-winning series was ahead of its time and some of her deadpan interviews – especially asking Debbie McGee: “So what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?” – have entered pop culture folklore.
Aherne’s next project was an even bigger leap forward. Co-created with Craig Cash, a long-term collaborator, sitcom portrayed a clan of scruffy working-class couch potatoes who laughed, loved, squabbled and generally lived out their lives in front of the television. With its stripped-back production values, real-time feel, seemingly banal script and lack of a laughter track, the travails of work-shy patriarch Jim Royle (catchphrase: “My arse!”) and his household frequently felt more akin to kitchen-sink drama than sitcom.
This enabled Aherne to skilfully strike a balance between mirth and emotion, notably in the tear-jerking episode when her character, Denise, went into labour, and
when the family’s beloved Nanna (played by Liz Smith) died.
ran for just three series and six one-off specials, but won Aherne several more Baftas, saw ratings nudge 12 million and remains a genuine joy. Its influence can be seen on the likes of Together, and
and meant Aherne bestrode Nineties TV comedy like a colossus. Endlessly selfeffacing, though, she would wave off such accolades with embarrassment.
Aherne’s breed of comedy was wry, affectionate and warmly inclusive. She was a natural choice, then, to narrate Channel 4 reality series Inspired by this surprise hit films ordinary Britons sitting in their homes watching television. Aherne’s twinkling, homely tones added an irresistible glow to proceedings and brought her to a whole new audience.
Aherne will be much mourned but we were lucky to have her. Her body of work will live on, paying testament to her talent. As bittersweet theme song,
by Oasis, puts it: “I’ve been lost, I’ve been found, but I don’t feel down.”