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Sue Johnston paid tribute to her The Royle Family co-star and show co-creator Caroline Aherne on what would have been her 61st birthday on Christmas Eve.
The iconic actress and writer tragically passed away at the age of 52 In July 2016 following a battle with cancer.
Sue, 82, who played Caroline’s onscreen mother Barbara Royle in the BBC sitcom from 1998-2012, took to Instagram with a sweet snap of the pair.
She captioned the post: ‘Happy heavenly Birthday, Caroline, we love and miss you so much. X’.
Fans and famous friends were quick to send their best wishes, with Carol Vorderman commenting: ‘What a stunning pic Sue xxx by hell we loved the Royle Family at Christmas time, Caroline still so sorely missed’.
While Eamonn Holmes added: ‘Beautiful pic my friend . A Happy and Holy Christmas to you x’.
Sue Johnston, (left), paid tribute to her The Royle Family co-star and show co-creator Caroline Aherne on what would have been her 61st birthday on Christmas Eve
As well as creating The Royle family with co-star Craig Cash and starring as Denise, she Caroline was also known for her roles in The Mrs Merton Show and The Fast Show and narrated Gogglebox.
She announced her battle lung cancer two years before her death, and at a Macmillian Cancer charity event, she explained how she felt when she was first diagnosed.
‘When you hear them [doctors] telling you you have cancer, it’s true that you really don’t take it in properly, you just don’t think of the questions,’ she revealed.
She went on to explain that humour had helped her deal with her illness, as she revealed how grateful she was to be able to share a joke with the hospital staff.
‘So many funny things happen when you’re in there and, looking back, you do have a right laugh with the nurses,’ she said. ‘Although I was on morphine, so maybe it was just me laughing.
‘But that’s a way you can cope with it. If you can separate yourself from it, a sense of humour really, really helps.’
She ended her speech with a light-hearted joke, quipping: ‘My wig stayed on.’
The star’s diagnosis with lung cancer – which she claimed at the time was not related to her former smoking habit – marked the third time she was forced to confront the disease.
The iconic actress and writer tragically passed away at the age of 52 In July 2016 following a battle with cancer (L-R) Craig cash, Caroline and Sue in The Royle Family in 1999
Fans and famous friends were quick to send their best wishes
As well as creating The Royle family with co-star Craig Cash and starring as Denise, she Caroline was also known for her roles in The Mrs Merton Show (pictured 1990)
As a baby she had a rare cancer of the retina, retinoblastoma, which left her nearly blind in one eye, and she also later suffered from bladder cancer.
During the 1990s, she also suffered from depression and alcoholism and in 1998 had to be treated at The Priory following a suicide attempt. She later moved to Australia to avoid the glare of publicity.
The star previously insisted that her illnesses had squashed her desire to work, and last year she made an appearance on screens in a brief cameo for Sky 1’s After Hours.
The star also had a string of failed relationships – her marriage to former New Order guitarist Peter Hook ended and she began a romance with TV researcher Matt Bowers.
They split but she was devastated when he died of cancer at the age of 28. Aherne admitted alcohol was an attempt to block out her problems.
