Caroline Aherne by David Scott review portrait of a comedy maverick

Caroline Aherne became a major presence on British primetime television from the 1990s until her death in 2016. She created and starred as Mrs Merton, voiced Gogglebox, and created and performed in The Royle Family. Her work is described as punk-spirited, realistic, profound, and beautiful, while also being subtly subversive. A study of her output frames her as a major influence and a favorite Mancunian, arguing her home city did not celebrate her enough. The account avoids private-life biography and instead records her creative output. Her longtime collaborator credits her ability to find comedy in everyday settings, including supermarket life, and highlights early anarchic experiences such as pirate radio and inventive characters like Sister Mary Immaculate.

"From the 1990s until her tragically early death in 2016, Caroline Aherne was a fixture of British primetime television. This new study of her work reminds us of the punk spirit behind it all. Aherne was the deceptively vicious chatshow host Mrs Merton. She was the voice of Gogglebox, an expression of love for the medium she adored. She was the creator and star of The Royle Family, one of the most profound, realistic and beautiful sitcoms ever written for the British screen."

"When the idea of writing a proper biography was put to him, he declined, repelled by the idea of raking over someone's private life. This rakes over the work instead, representing a comprehensive record of her output from the perspective of a true devotee. Caroline Aherne as Mrs Merton. Photograph: ITV/Rex/Shutterstock It is also a tribute to what made her work so brilliant and so subtly subversive."

"According to her longtime writing partner Craig Cash, with whom she co-created The Royle Family, Aherne saw humorous potential in the profoundly ordinary. She'd say all the comedy you want in the world is in the supermarket if you listen, he once told the BBC. Aherne's early days as a comedian, and her time on the pirate radio station KFM with Cash, sound anarchic and joyous."

"She invented Sister Mary Immaculate, a sexually voracious nun. She tried to do standup without any jokes in it. She appeared on The Fast Show, stealing every scene in which she appeared. But it was with Mrs Merton, the elderly chatshow host, who asked the kind of blunt questions most interviewers only dream of, that she hit th"

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