Janey Godley obituary: Turning tragedy into comedy

Janey Godley, who has died aged 63, turned an aboriginal beingness afloat of symptom and calamity into a palmy drama career.

A pugnacious upbringing successful the eastbound extremity of Glasgow was the thread which ran done her humour. Often angry, she specialised successful wringing laughs retired of the astir improbable material.

Her enactment mirrored the metropolis that shaped her: working-class, foul-mouthed, simultaneously aggravated and sentimental. She delivered her comic broadsides astatine precocious speed, jabbing her points location similar a street-fighter.

For her fans, she was 1 of them - and arsenic her estimation grew truthful did her influence. The erstwhile pub landlady became adjacent friends with Nicola Sturgeon, the erstwhile archetypal minister, aft her videos voicing-over the FM's Covid property conferences became a viral sensation.

She was calved Jane Godley Currie connected 20 January 1961 successful the Shettleston country of Glasgow, the youngest of 4 children. Both her parents were addicted to intoxicant and the household location was some chaotic and precise poor.

As a young kid she was sexually abused by an uncle. Thirty years aboriginal successful 1996, she and her sister went nationalist to speech astir the maltreatment aft their grounds convicted David Percy. He was sentenced to 2 years successful prison.

Interviewed astatine the time, she said: "We waited 30 years but we did it, and we did it together. Anyone who has been abused knows you cannot shingle disconnected the guilt. But the blameworthy 1 was Percy."

There was much tragedy. In 1982 her parent Annie was recovered dormant successful the River Clyde. Godley was convinced she had been murdered by her convulsive fellow though the antheral was ne'er charged, contempt the family's calls for an investigation.

By then, Godley had joined and was moving a pub with her hubby successful the Calton country of Glasgow. They had a daughter, Ashley Storrie, who would aboriginal travel her parent into comedy.

Her in-laws became an integral portion of her drama act. She often spoke of their transgression connections and it was a household quality that led to her taking to the signifier successful her mid-30s.

The schism forced them to permission the pub and near them stateless and retired of work.

She had been performing astatine occasional open-mic nights but began taking it much seriously. Years of honing her comic patter down a barroom helped and she rapidly became established connected the drama circuit.

Her signifier enactment was uncompromising. In 2019 she spoke to the Guardian astir her material.

"I spoke astir my ma being murdered, kid abuse, gangsters. Back then, adjacent comics were saying: 'You shouldn't speech astir that.' But I'm truthful gladsome I did.

"The magnitude of radical that came up to maine and said: 'I was abused and I've ne'er laughed before'."

As her fame grew she wrote a memoir and caller and became a regular connected sheet shows. She appeared with Billy Connolly and the precocious Antony Bourdain, and played a barmaid successful the movie Wild Rose.

Two things introduced her to a planetary assemblage and brought her into the satellite of politics.

In 2016 she was photographed astatine the Turnberry play edifice holding a motion with an violative word, protesting the sojourn by the club's owner, President Trump. The representation went viral.

Then, during the Covid lockdowns, she began creating videos successful which she voiced-over Nicola Sturgeon's media briefings, portraying the archetypal curate arsenic a plain-talking, occasionally foul-mouthed figure, exhausted by the demands of the pandemic and exasperated by the media's questions.

A committed protagonist of independence, she had appeared connected signifier with Alex Salmond and was praised by Nicola Sturgeon.

That transportation was tested successful September 2021 erstwhile comments she had posted connected societal media a decennary earlier came backmost to haunt her.

She was dropped arsenic the look of a Scottish authorities wellness run and admitted the tweets had "terrible, horrific undertones".

Two months later, Godley revealed she had ovarian cancer. She documented her unwellness and treatments connected societal media and by touring.

For a portion she was considered wide of the illness but successful December 2022 she announced that it had returned.

She had been told she could dice wrong the twelvemonth but continued working. She made a BBC vigor programme astir her information and remained a beingness connected twitter.

In April 2023 she won the inaugural Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award.

He said: "She's a large girl, a large comedian and an bonzer beingness story."

Godley said: "I can't judge I've won this. I person won an grant from a antheral that I've admired since I was a child."

Holding up the prize, she said "This is going to beryllium my tombstone."