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Comedian Janey Godley dies of cancer at 63
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Comedian Janey Godley dies of cancer at 63

Scottish comedian Janey Godley died in hospice His management confirmed that he was “surrounded by his loved ones.”

Her manager, Chris Davis, said in a statement: “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our client, Doctor Janey Godley, on November 2.

“Janey died peacefully, surrounded by her loved ones, at the wonderful Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow.

“He will be greatly missed by his family, friends and many fans.

“She will be remembered for her legendary voice-overs for Nicola Sturgeon during the pandemic, her hilarious and straightforward comedy, but most of all for simply being ‘Janey’.”

British Academy Scotland Awards. Date: Tuesday 8 December 2020. Location: BBC Pacific Quay, Glasgow, Scotland. Presenter: Edith Bowman.- Getty Images

Godley announced in September that he was receiving palliative care at a nursing home.

In 2021, the stand-up comic announced that she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and canceled her upcoming tour dates.

Janey Godley was being treated for ovarian cancer.Janey Godley

At the time, Godley’s daughter Ashley Storrie, who is also a comedian and writer and frequently appears in her mother’s videos, said: “The devastation doesn’t touch the edges of what I’m feeling right now.”

She had a hysterectomy and everything went well for Godley in 2022, and in a post to X she said the scan found “no evidence of disease.”

Plans were made for him to tour again.

However, shortly before Christmas 2022, Godley announced that his cancer had returned and that his 2023 tour “could be his last”.

His cancer was “treatable but incurable”, he said in an emotional television interview with STV News.

Why Is It Still Here in September? He was going to start his program. During the tour, which included UK cities including London, Belfast and Edinburgh, his doctors advised him to stop working “for the foreseeable future”.

His management announced the cancellation of the autumn tour.

Days later, in an emotional video shot from a hospice bed, Godley confirmed he was receiving end-of-life care.

He continued to post occasional updates on his palliative treatment.

On Thursday, Ashley Storrie said her mother was living the “last moments of her life.”

The University of Glasgow awarded Godley an honorary doctorate.

“This brought him so much joy in the final moments of his life,” Storrie said.

“Janey is very honored and I am extremely proud of her.

“Congratulations, Doctor Godley.”

Obituary: ‘Frank, Open the Door’ – from pub landlady to viral comic sensation

Godley rose to viral fame during the pandemic with his impersonations of Nicola Sturgeon’s coronavirus news briefings.

After a difficult childhood in Glasgow’s east end, he ran a pub in the Calton area of ​​the city with his wife and family in the 80s and 90s.

But it was Godley’s transition to the stage in 1994 (he was in his mid-30s at the time) that brought him to the forefront of the public eye.

Among his most infamous displays was the “unwelcome” sign he made for Donald Trump, which went viral during the then US President’s visit to Turnberry in 2016.

Then, during the coronavirus pandemic, Sturgeon’s daily Covid briefings gained her a new following; his catchphrase became “Frank, open the door.”

But then the scandal broke and Godley was removed from the Scottish Government’s health campaign after a series of offensive racist tweets he made a decade ago emerged.

The comedian said he was embarrassed by his tweets but insisted he was “not a racist”.

As she struggled to rebuild her career and reputation, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in November 2021, just weeks after her apology.

He told STV News in an interview: “I apologized. If you know better, do better. There are words I said on stage back then that I wouldn’t use now. The world has changed.”

In 2023, Janey won the Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow award, named in honor of a comedian she has always admired.

Janey was also a writer and actress, appearing in films such as Wild Rose and The Last Mermaid, as well as the TV series Traces.

The short play Alone, which he wrote for the National Theater of Scotland, was shot during lockdown.

A documentary about Janey’s life premiered at this year’s Glasgow Film Festival. On screen and stage, she spoke candidly about the abuse, trauma and poverty she experienced growing up in the Shettleston area of ​​Glasgow in the 1960s.

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