Caroline Aherne

Actress, writer, and comedienne Caroline Aherne shot to fame in the 1990s in the UK before largely disappearing from show business. Raised in Manchester, Aherne began performing in local comedy clubs as the lead singer in spoof country Western band The Mitzi Goldberg Experience. She began developing her most famous character--impertinent little old lady Mrs. Merton--on Frank Sidebottom's BBC radio show, where she worked as a receptionist. She transferred the character to TV in 1992 on "Frank Sidebottom's Fantastic Shed Show" before gaining widespread fame for "The Mrs. Merton Show," during which Aherne, as Merton, would ask celebrities outrageous questions. The show lasted for five popular seasons. She also appeared concurrently in the hit sketch program "The Fast Show" as part of an ensemble cast that included Paul Whitehouse and Simon Day, and was one of its chief writers. In 1998 she proved she was no one-trick pony with the debut of the iconoclastic show "The Royle Family" (BBC 1998-2012), about a working class family who spends most of their lives sitting on the couch watching TV. Aherne starred as daughter Denise, but was also the award-winning show's co-creator, writer and associate producer, in addition to directing several episodes. She retired from performance in 2000 and largely stayed true to her word aside from appearances in "Royle Family" and "The Fast Show" specials and other one-offs; she continued to write, creating the sitcom "Dossa and Joe" (BBC 2002) and penning the script for the dark comedy film "The Fattest Man in Britain" (2009). Ahearne's final television script was for the miniseries "The Security Men" (2014); her last TV work as an actress came with a variety of voice roles in the animated series "Strange Hill High" (BBC 2013-14). Caroline Ahearne died on July 2, 2016 following a lengthy battle with lung cancer. She was 52.