Caroline Aherne dead: Royle Family actress and comedian dies from cancer

The actress Caroline Aherne has died at the age of 52 from cancer, her publicist has confirmed.

Aherne was best known for her roles in The Mrs Merton Show, The Fast Show and The Royle Family, which she co-created and starred in alongside Ricky Tomlinson. Aherne played Tomlinson’s on-screen daughter Denise Royle in the series which ran from 1998 to 2002.

More recently, Aherne provided the voiceover for Gogglebox.

In a statement, her publicist Neil Reading said: “Caroline Aherne has sadly passed away after a brave battle with cancer.

“The Bafta award-winning writer and comedy actor died earlier today at her home in Timperley, Greater Manchester. She was 52.

“The family ask for privacy at this very sad time.”

Born in Ealing, in west London, Aherne's family swapped the capital for Manchester when she was two. Aherne went on to study drama in Liverpool.

She was born with a rare form of cancer in her retina, which left her almost blind in one eye, and later developed bladder cancer. In 2014 she was diagnosed with lung cancer.

Aherne’s family raised money through their local Catholic church to send her and her brother, who was also born with cancer of the retina, to Lourdes.

She experienced bouts of depression throughout her life and had a prolonged battle with alcoholism until a suicide attempt in 1998. Aherne attended a rehabilitation facility after that and The Royle Family debuted on BBC TV in September of the same year.

She retreated from public life in 2001 and announced her decision to leave the TV industry after becoming jaded with the fame game. “Celebrity is just a game,” she said at the time. “I can't be arsed playing it anymore because I've decided I'm no good at it.”

In 2014, she confirmed she had cancer for a third time at a conference organised by the Macmillan Cancer Improvement Partnership in Manchester, where she called for more to be done to boost survival rates in the city.

Aherne, who was backing a £3.4m scheme to bring providers across the city together to coordinate cancer care, explained how humour had helped her cope with being diagnosed with cancer. “So many funny things happen when you're in there [hospital]. You have a right laugh with the nurses but I was on morphine so maybe it was just me laughing. I think that's a way of coping with it. If you can separate yourself from it and have a sense of humour it really helps you and your family,” she said.

Aherne was married to New Order bassist Peter Hook from 1994 to 1997.