Caroline Aherne

Caroline Aherne
Born	Caroline Mary Aherne 24 December 1963 (1963-12-24) (age 47)[1] Ealing, London, England
Occupation	Actor, writer, comedian
Nationality	British
Period	1990–present
Genres	Comedy
Subjects	Television
Notable work(s)	Dossa and Joe The Fast Show The Royle Family The Mrs Merton Show The Fattest Man in Britain
Spouse(s)	Peter Hook (1994-1997)

Caroline Mary Aherne (born 24 December 1963)^[2] is an English comedian and BAFTA winning writer and actress, best known for Mrs Merton and The Royle Family.

Background

Aherne was born in London into the family of an Irish railway worker^[3] and from the age of two, raised in Wythenshawe, Manchester.^[4] Like her brother, Aherne suffered from retinoblastoma in childhood, which left her partially sighted in one eye.^[5]

Early career

Aherne began performing on the Manchester comedy circuit as Mitzi Goldberg, lead singer of the comedy country and western act The Mitzi Goldberg Experience. She developed her Mrs Merton character with Frank Sidebottom for his show on Piccadilly Radio, where she worked as a receptionist. Aherne's first TV appearances were a semi-regular spot on the Granada TV discussion show "Upfront" in 1990, as Mrs Merton. She made brief appearances in The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer (1993), alongside Steve Coogan and John Thomson in a Granada TV pilot entitled The Dead Good Show, then appeared in and wrote for the BBC comedy series The Fast Show between 1994 and 1997, and rose to prominence as the character Mrs Merton on the mock talk show, The Mrs Merton Show, in 1994.

Mrs Merton was a character created by Aherne who hosted her own chat show. Guests (real-life celebrities, not actors) found themselves on the receiving end of outrageous faux naïve questions. The best known example was the question addressed to the partner of magician Paul Daniels, Debbie McGee: "So, what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?"^[6] Another episode featured comedian Bernard Manning and actor Richard Wilson. Manning clashed with Wilson and Aherne, although he did acknowledge that One Foot in the Grave was funny. The series ran in various formats from 1994 to 1997, winning a BAFTA in 1995. The character was given a sitcom, Mrs Merton and Malcolm, which depicted her home life with her "mummy's boy" son (played by co-writer Craig Cash). However, this aspect of Malcolm's character was exaggerated to the point where many complained that the series made fun of people with learning difficulties. Mrs Merton and Malcolm lasted one series, and was only released on DVD in 2008.

In 2011 it was confirmed that Aherne along with most of the original cast (except Mark Williams) would reunite for an online series of The Fast Show sponsored by lager brand, Fosters.^[7]

The Royle Family

Her most popular creation is the situation comedy The Royle Family, which she co-created and wrote with Cash, and directed in its third season. Aherne starred alongside Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston, as their daughter Denise Royle. The show was a commercial and critical success, and ran for three seasons of six episodes as well as three one-offs. After a 2000 spoof documentary with Cash entitled Back Passage to India, Aherne said The Royle Family would end in December 2000 after a Christmas special, and that she would not appear on television again, although she would continue to write.

Withdrawal from public life

Following a falling-out with Cash, Aherne moved to Australia, retreating from the press. She wrote Dossa and Joe, screened on BBC 2 in 2002. Although critics applauded it, the show did not attract viewers and did not return for a second series. Returning to Britain, she began work on another sitcom with Cash but pulled out, leaving Cash to write with Phil Mealey. Early Doors was a hit in 2003. It was commissioned for a second series, screened in August 2004.

Since Dossa and Joe, Aherne has avoided media attention. When The Fast Show was featured on the BBC One show Comedy Connections, Aherne was the only cast member not interviewed. In April 2006, the BBC said Aherne and Cash were developing a script for a one-off special of The Royle Family; the episode, entitled The Royle Family: The Queen of Sheba, was broadcast on 29 October 2006, to an audience of 7.8 million. Aherne has since made three appearances on TV. On 14 October 2008 she was in the BBC comedy drama Sunshine as a barmaid. It was written by Cash and Phil Mealey. She appeared in The Royle Family, The New Sofa on Christmas Day 2008. In 2009, she appeared in a Royle Family special for Comic Relief as well as another Christmas Day special of The Royle Family entitled The Golden Eggcup. She co-wrote the ITV1 comedy-drama The Fattest Man in Britain, which aired in December 2009.

In November 2010, Aherne made another appearance, in the special The Royle Family: Behind the Sofa shown on G.O.L.D., featuring clips of The Royle Family and interviews with Aherne, Cash and the cast^[8] which was followed by another Christmas Day special, Joe's Cracker.

Aherne is currently writing a sitcom to be aired on ITV called The Security Men alongside Jeff Pope with whom she collaborated to write The Fattest Man in Britain. The new four-part series will star Paddy McGuinness, Brendan O'Carroll, Dean Andrews, Bobby Ball and Peter Wright.

Personal life

Aherne was married to Peter Hook of New Order until 1997. During their marriage, he appeared in her TV series as leader of Hooky & the Boys, the house-band of The Mrs Merton Show.^[5]

References

1. ^ Researcha
2. ^ Rinaldi, Graham. "Aherne, Caroline (1963-)". screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved on 25 August 2007.
3. ^ Manchester Celebrities: Television, Film, Media & Broadcasting
4. ^ Harding, Mike. "Television, Film, Media & Broadcasting". manchester2002-uk.com. Retrieved on 29 July 2007.
5. ^ ^{a b} http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/458572/
6. ^ "Kay dishes up best TV one-liner". BBC. Retrieved on 29 July 2007.
7. ^ http://www.fosters.co.uk/tagged/The_Fast_Show
8. ^ http://uktv.co.uk/network/item/aid/639198

External links

• Caroline Aherne at the Internet Movie Database
• Caroline Aherne biography and credits at BFI Screenonline
• Caroline Aherne pictures at Universal Search

Persondata
Name	Aherne, Caroline
Alternative names
Short description	Comedian
Date of birth	1963-12-24
Place of birth	Ealing, London
Date of death
Place of death