Caroline Aherne

Caroline Mary Aherne (24 December 1963 – 2 July 2016) was an English actress, comedian, writer, producer and director. She was best known for performing as the acerbic chat show host Mrs Merton, in various roles in The Fast Show, and as Denise in The Royle Family (1998–2012), a series which she co-wrote. She won BAFTA awards for her work on The Mrs Merton Show and The Royle Family. Aherne narrated the Channel 4 reality television series Gogglebox from its inception in 2013 until 8 April 2016. Aherne died of cancer at the age of 52. Early life Aherne was born in Ealing, London, on 24 December 1963, the second child of Irish parents Bartholomew Edmond "Bert" Aherne, a railwayman with London Transport, and Mary Frances "Maureen" Aherne (née Regan). From the age of two, Aherne was brought up in Wythenshawe, Manchester. Like her brother, Patrick, Aherne had retinoblastoma in childhood, which left her partially sighted in one eye. She attended the Hollies Convent FCJ School in West Didsbury and then studied drama at Liverpool Polytechnic.