Her death was confirmed by her publicist Neil Reading, who noted that Aherne died at home in Timperley, Greater Manchester.
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Shattered friends and family of Caroline Aherne continue to pay tribute to the comedy trailblazer after her untimely death from cancer at the weekend.
In a statement, he said: “My heart is broken as I loved her so much”.
Absolutely devastating news about Caroline Aherne.
Denise Welch referred Caroline as her “comedy hero” in a tribute posted on Twitter.
British television star Caroline Aherne.
Comedian Sarah Millican said: “So sad”. Aside from her sharp wit, praise has poured in for the beloved talents unpretentious and down to earth nature.
David Baddiel paid tribute by writing: “The talent, you all knew about”.
“By the end of two seasons she was a celebrity and it was only too obvious that she found it very, very hard to deal with being a celebrity”. “Vulnerable and complex and damaged but. lovely”. Ricky also praised Caroline’s bravery when battling the illness.
But he admitted that a lot of her friends had sadly lost touch with her years ago when “regular intrusion into her private life” had led her to become a “virtual recluse”.
Born in London but raised in Manchester, Mary Caroline Aherne studied drama at Liverpool Polytechnic, but found her comedy calling on the circuit, where she performed characters including country & western singer Mitzi Goldberg and forthright nun Sister Mary Immaculate.
He said Aherne had a “joy about her” and that despite her hard times “prized laughter above all else”.
The last time I saw her was working on the Sky comedy After Hours in 2014, directed by Craig Cash.
Aherne starred as the elderly Mrs Merton in the mock talk show which she was also one of the writers of.
She was sent to Lourdes in search of a miracle cure but was left with severely impaired sight in one eye.
The Royle Family was the toast of 1999’s British Comedy Awards, scooping four trophies including best actress for Aherne.
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In one episode, Mrs Merton famously asked Debbie McGee about her husband: “What was it that attracted you to the millionaire, Paul Daniels?” A true comedy genius, her work was equally amusing & touching”, while fellow comedian and actor Matt Lucas wrote, “Caroline Aherne moved television comedy on to a new place.
