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. She was one of the greats.
David Scott’s first book, Mancunians, offered a portrait of his city through its notable people, one of whom was Aherne. In it, Scott argued that her home city had not done nearly enough to celebrate her, and this, his second book, is an attempt to redress the balance. She is, Scott writes, his biggest influence (he is a poet and presenter) and his favourite Mancunian of all time. 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.
