UK comedian’s secret de@th after she hid illness from the world

Comedy legend Caroline Aherne died aged 52 at her home in Timperley, Cheshire, leaving her fans devastated at her sudden passing

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Ricky Tomlinson as Jim Royle Caroline Aherne as Denise Royle and Sue Johnston as Barbara Royle(Image: BBC)

Beloved comedy icon Caroline Aherne tragically passed away alone at her home, with her family completely unaware that her condition had taken a sudden and devastating turn for the worse.

The cherished 52 year old star had informed her loved ones just two months before she died that she was battling terminal lung cancer, but her health declined rapidly at her bungalow in Timperley, Cheshire.

A heartbroken relative revealed: “It was too quick, we didn’t expect her to go. She wasn’t in a hospice. She was just at home. She left on her own,”.

Caroline’s grief-stricken brother Patrick paid a deeply moving tribute to his sister following her de@th in 2016, telling fans: “My heart is broken as I loved her so much. But she is now in a better place and most of all she has no pain.”

He continued: “I have lost a beautiful sister and the world has lost an amazing talent.”

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Caroline Aherne with ex-boyfriend Matt Bowers at Manchester United’s opening night of the Red Cafe

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Caroline Aherne at a pub lunch with friends in Cheshire(Image: MELMEDIA)

Adding: “I know Caroline would want everybody to be happy and not sad and I think we should now remember the comedy legacy that she has left for us. RIP Caroline.”

Caroline, who was fiercely private and adored by her devoted mum Maureen, took a sudden turn for the worse before her untimely passing. Despite her courageous fight against the illness over several years, those closest to her had believed her condition was showing signs of improvement, as she remained actively involved in several TV projects up to her de@th.

Ricky Tomlinson, now 86, who portrayed Caroline’s father in The Royle Family, expressed his devastation, adding: “Her de@th is the biggest shock in the world. It’s knocked me for six. Patrick said she was in good spirits last time we spoke.”

Ricky told how he had spoken with Caroline’s Royle Family co-creator Craig Cash just weeks before her passing.

He recalled: “Craig told me ‘She’s not bad, Ricky’. And I was so pleased.”

Caroline passed away at her bungalow in Timperley, Cheshire, not far from her childhood home in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, on the 2nd July 2016.

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Caroline Aherne’s home in Timperley, Cheshire

She captured the nation’s heart during the 1990s with her portrayal of the cheeky, blue-rinse chat show presenter Mrs Merton, featured in The Fast Show – and latterly provided narration for Channel 4’s popular programme Gogglebox.

Intensely private, Caroline was forced to miss several episodes whilst battling her condition.

Caroline’s Fast Show colleague John Thomson reflected on his final encounter with the comedy icon, where the pair had been collaborating on Sky comedy After Hours in 2014.

He shared: “She’d gone into remission again. Her hair, beneath her wig, had regrown and she was thin, but despite all this she was on amazing form, the Caroline I knew and loved working with. This was the last time I saw her. I’m grateful for that fact, as that was how I would want to remember her.”

“She wasn’t political, she never saw herself as a feminist or representing the minority of female comics. She didn’t need to, there was no agenda, she was just funny. She was an incredibly funny woman on and off screen, whose raw talent and ‘funny bones’ never failed to make me roar with laughter.”

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STEVE COOGAN AND CAROLINE AHERNE(Image: REX)

The award-winning television star had never set out to achieve fame and confessed she was “no good” at being a celebrity.

A former producer from the Mrs Merton Show disclosed how Caroline was “happier before she was successful” and that she struggled “very difficult” with the pressures of being in the public eye.

Peter Kessler revealed: “This is one of the great tragedies of my professional life that I have watched happen, is that when we started working, Caroline was an innocent, happy young woman with immense talent. By the end of two seasons she was a celebrity and it was obvious that she found it very, very difficult to deal with that.”

Peter explained the beloved comedy writer and performer struggled to cope with the intense scrutiny.

He added: “She had an enormous natural intellect but not a great deal in the way of formal education. There wasn’t a great deal she had to fall back on to act as a buffer against that intrusive world of media attention. What she therefore tended to rely on was people who she thought she could trust.

“And the thing is as you gain celebrity, more and more people present themselves to you as ‘I am the person you can trust’, and it becomes extremely confusing.”

The beloved entertainer disclosed in 2014 that she had been diagnosed with lung cancer, having previously battled both bladder and eye cancer.

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Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash(Image: BBC)

Shortly after birth, she was diagnosed with a rare form of eye cancer – a condition her brother Patrick also experienced. Tragically, cancer had also claimed those dearest to Caroline – her father Bert passed away in 1995, followed by her partner Matt Bower two years later, who succumbed to bladder cancer.

Caroline additionally battled alcoholism and depression, once capturing her fragility with the words: “I love everyone who loves me”.

In 1994, she wed Peter Hook, the former Joy Division and New Order bassist, affectionately known as “Hooky” in the band on Mrs Merton. Struggling to manage the mounting pressures, she turned to heavy drinking during the run of her Bafta-winning programme.

The marriage dissolved in 1997, and Hook has not yet publicly responded to news of his former wife’s de@th. Following their separation, she embarked on a relationship with Matt, who worked as a TV researcher.

Twelve months after Matt’s passing, a devastated Caroline attempted to take her own life using a combination of sleeping tablets and champagne.

In 2001, she declared she was leaving the entertainment industry to relocate to Australia, though she returned just a year afterwards. Speaking on his radio programme, Salford-born comedian Jason Manford remarked: “She was a real genius. I saw her a few times working at comedy clubs in Manchester just doing stand up. She was a phenomenal, phenomenal talent even then.

“Brilliant writer as everybody knows…what I really love about Caroline Aherne is that when I think of her now I think of sitting with my family watching the Royle Family laughing and watching Mrs Merton – one of the best characters ever created.”

He disclosed that BBC executives responded to her Royle Family pitch by allegedly claiming “that’s not a sitcom”.

However, he noted she remained resolute in her vision. He continued: “What I really love about her is that when it came to her ideas she was really passionate,” he added. It’s very, very sad. My thoughts go out to all her family and friends.”

One of the most moving tributes after her de@th came from fellow comedian Steve Coogan, who maintained a two-decade friendship with Caroline.

Expressing his profound grief, he remarked: “She was naturally funny. And cross-generational. Her comedy wasn’t intellectual but it was clever, and intuitive. I loved her. She used to make me cry with laughter. This is the first time she’s made me cry without laughing.”