TV Ricky Caroline slurs are very sad
Royle Family dad Ricky Tomlinson has slammed tragic co-star Caroline Aherne’s exhusband for claiming in a book that she beat and abused him.
Caroline died of cancer in July, aged just 52.
Ricky said of her ex Peter Hook: “It’s very, very sad what he’s done.
“She can’t answer back. She has no redress. Why couldn’t he have made the claims when she was alive?
“She was a nat ional t reasu re and people absolutely adored her.
“If it had been the other way round she wouldn’t have written stuf f l ike that about him.
“I don’t think he has done himself any favours. Any reputation he had I think will have gone down. He has shot himself in the foot.
“It’s wrong to speak ill of the dead.”
Former Joy Division and New Order bass player Hook, 60, claimed in his autobiography that Caroline attacked him with knives, bottles and chairs during their stormy three- year marriage.
Caroline’s battles with drink, drugs and depression were well known but Hook’s claims of violence shocked her family and friends.
The star’s grieving brother Pat r i ck sa id he wa s disgusted and asked why Hook had taken 20 years to make the allegations.
Rick y asked: “Why couldn’t he have written about the good times in their marriage? I suppose because those things don’t sell books.”