Caroline Mary Aherne was born in Ealing on 24 December 1963. Raised in Manchester, Caroline Aherne shot to fame with the huge success of her character, Mrs Merton. After appearing on and writing for The Fast Show, the comedienne first introduced the public to the grey-haired interviewer on The Mrs Merton Show in 1994.
Career success
The star's old-lady guise often allowed her to put cheeky questions to her celeb guests, most famously asking Debbie McGee: "So what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?" Following the success of the series, Caroline's Manchester-set sitcom The Royale Family made its debut in 1998.
Hugely popular with fans and critics alike, the BAFTA-winning programme, which ran for three series, was written by and starred Caroline and Craig Cash. After winding up the show in 2000 she announced she would be withdrawing from acting and headed to Australia, though returned home in 2002. Special episodes of The Royale Family followed from 2006 to 2012.
Death
Caroline died of cancer in July 2016. She was 52 years old.
