The cast of The Fast Show have paid tribute to the late Caroline Aherne in the anniversary special, The Fast Show: Just A Load of Blooming Catchphrases.
Actress and comedian Caroline died from lung cancer on July 2, 2016, aged just 52. She was an integral part of the comedy show and played characters including Poula ‘scorchio’ Fisch the weathergirl and Checkout Girl.
Cast members Paul Whitehouse, John Thomson, Arabella Weir, , Charlie Higson, Mark Williams and Simon Day will start the show on Gold by raising a glass to Caroline and paying homage to one of her popular characters, Renee.
Much-missed: The cast of The Fast Show have paid tribute to the late Caroline Aherne in the anniversary special, The Fast Show: Just A Load of Blooming Catchphrases
In a new sketch, Renee, who talks non-stop to her quiet husband Roy (Thomson) is remembered by her spouse as he sits alone on a sofa with an empty space where his wife should be.
Paul, 62, told The Mirror: ‘Let’s say the spirit of Caroline imbued us all with that idea.
‘She would have laughed at the sadness of it. She’d have loved it. You can’t mention The Fast Show without thinking of Caroline.
Saying the idea of paying tribute via a Roy and Renee sketch came ‘really quickly’ to the crew, Paul praised Caroline’s stellar body of comedy work in Mrs Merton, The Fast Show and The Royle Family.
Comedy icon: Actress and comedian Caroline died from lung cancer on July 2, 2016, aged just 52. She was an integral part of the comedy show and played characters including Poula ‘scorchio’ Fisch the weathergirl and Checkout Girl (pictured 2001)
He added that the cast missed Caroline ‘terribly’ and that he and Caroline had a ‘soft spot for one another.’
Arabella, 62, recalled her first meeting with Caroline, saying: ‘The first thing I thought when I met her – and that was probably to do with her addiction issues – was this person was not only unbelievably talented and funny but there was the remoteness of a genius, the impenetrability of a mind that was always working on comedy.’
Arabella added that she was troubled by Caroline’s heavy drinking when they first met and branded her a ‘fragile genius.’
The Fast Show ran on BBC One from 1994 to 1997, with specials in 2000 and 2014.
The show became a worldwide success with Hollywood superstar and avid fan Johnny Depp appearing in the final episode in a sketch with the Suits You! tailors, Ken and Kenneth.
Tribute: In a new sketch, Renee, who talks non-stop to her quiet husband Roy (John Thomson) is remembered by her spouse as he sits alone on a sofa with an empty space where his wife should be
The Fast Show: Just A Load of Blooming Catchphrases reunites the cast members after more than 25 years and sees the return of characters such as Swiss Toni, Dave Angel, Jesse, No Offence, Professor Denzil Dexter and Rowley Birkin QC.
The cast and characters will be interviewed in new sketches and reveal what they are up to now.
Caroline was best known for her Royle Family character Denise, a sofa-bound, chain-smoking TV addict given to boozy bouts of narcissism and child neglect. She co-wrote and helped to direct the show during its Bafta-winning run from 1998 to 2000.
Tragic loss: Paul Whitehouse said: ‘She would have laughed at the sadness of it. She’d have loved it. You can’t mention The Fast Show without thinking of Caroline’ (pictured as Paulo on the show)
The thespian also starred in her own 1995-98 comedy talk show in the silver-permed, nosy-grandma persona of Mrs. Merton, who adopted a tone of naive innocence as she asked falsely sympathetic, insinuating questions of her guests.
Caroline was a heavy smoker and drinker who battled depression, culminating in a 1998 suicide attempt at the height of her fame.
She also faced several forms of cancer dating back to her childhood, when she lost partial sight in one eye from cancer of the retina.
The much-loved Ealing native started out on Manchester’s comedy club circuit in the 1980s, where she honed routines based on absurdly drawn characters, including a judgmental nun, Sister Mary Immaculate.
Close bond: He added that the cast missed Caroline ‘terribly’ and that he and Caroline had a ‘soft spot for one another’
Her first break came when Mrs. Merton gained a following on a Manchester radio station dispensing advice to callers.
Her richly Mancunian voice returned to British airwaves in 2013 as the narrator of a British reality TV series, Gogglebox, documenting people’s humorous reactions to the week’s TV programs.
Caroline, who died without a will, left an estate worth more than £500,000 to her mother Maureen. The TV star had no children and was not married at the time of her death.
The Fast Show: Just A Load of Blooming Catchphrases will air on Gold at 9pm on Saturday, August 29.
Iconic: Caroline was best known for her Royle Family character Denise, a sofa-bound, chain-smoking TV addict given to boozy bouts of narcissism and child neglect. She co-wrote and helped to direct the show during its Bafta-winning run from 1998 to 2000