Caroline Aherne, the creator of award-winning comedy The Royle Family, is to write and direct a new sitcom about an Australian family. After moving to Oz to escape the pressures of fame, the former Mrs Merton star has been persuaded by the BBC not to abandon her television career.
The series, called Dossa And Joe, is to be made for BBC 2 in Sydney, Caroline’s new home city, and will have an Australian cast featuring former Neighbours actress Anne Charleston, who played Madge, and Michael Caton, star of hit Aussie film The Castle.
The show is said to be a cross between an Australian soap and the ground-breaking Royle Family, a British sitcom about a family of couch potatoes.
Caroline, who has admitted that she had an addiction to alcohol and after suffering bouts of depression tried to commit suicide, had considered not working in television again. In April 2001 the 37-year-old actress and writer told HELLO!, “I want to take myself off somewhere exotic and possibly write a book about my life. As long as I’m a TV personality, I can’t moan about people being interested in my life. I’ve realised that if I really want a private life, I’ll have to be a private person again.”
It appears that she has found happiness in Australia, where she shares a home overlooking Sydney Harbour with her new partner, Brett Whitford, an Australian dotcom millionaire.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
