Caroline Aherne

My comedy hero: Lucy Porter on Caroline Aherne

Comedian Lucy Porter shares some favourite memories of one of her biggest influences.

Liam Williams on Caroline Aherne

'The Bambi-eyed princess of northern naturalism'.

Why the Mrs Merton Show changed TV forever

Twenty years have passed since the launch of The Mrs Merton Show in February 1995. The series which saw then thirty something comedy actress Caroline Aherne adopting the guise of a sweet old lady to interview real life celebrities was an instant hit. Yet two decades on, we can now see it changed the world of TV chat forever.

The Katie O'Brien three minute interview

What if Caroline Aherne, Peggy Mitchell and Frida Kahlo teamed up and reared the orphans of Milton Keynes? The children have grown up and arrived! Welcome to Katie O'Brien's first mixed character show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Caroline Aherne: Humour helps deal with cancer

Caroline Aherne has spoken about how "brilliant" treatment and a sense of humour have helped her as she has battled cancer three times.

BBC Two took the opportunity to celebrate another anniversary, twenty years of The Fast Show, by airing the sketches that the team produced for the Fosters' website a couple of years ago. The Fast Show Special aired an hours' worth of sketches in two thirty minute instalments and as ever there were some hits and misses. It's always a joy to see Ted and Ralph and their conversations about Twitter and Facebook were priceless. Similarly seeing John Actor's Monkfish being the butler on a Downton Abbey-style show was brilliantly accurate. In fact the best sketches involved the characters attempting to deal with modern day situations whether it was Ron Manager's struggles with his new chair or Billy Bleach's thoughts on smart phones. Less successful was Bob Fleming's take on The Trip and the Jazz Club segments which appeared to go on forever. I personally felt the highlights were the return of Caroline Aherne, who hadn't been part of the later series of the show, and even hearing her say 'Scorchio!' brought a smile to my face. Seeing the characters of Janice the schoolgirl and Roy and Renee after a long time away was perfect especially the fact that the former had now started an online relationship with a convict. Conspicuous by his absence this time around was Mark Williams who is obviously too busy filming BBC One's daytime output to participate in a new 'Suit's You' segment. The major problem for regular fans of The Fast Show is that they will already have seen these sketches almost three years ago and the fact that the BBC was presenting them as new programmes was a bit misleading. But, just like with Harry and Paul's Story of the 2s, it was great to see the ensemble do what they're best at and if I did have an iPhone I know I'd be downloading the Cheesy Peas app straight away.

It was one of the most successful sketch shows of its time and spawned a host of catchphrases (and a taste for cheesy peas). Seeing the Fast Show back tonight, as part of BBC2's 50th anniversary celebrations, is a bit like stepping back into a much loved pair of comfortable old slippers you've found at the back of the wardrobe.

Charlie Higson and Paul Whitehouse are still as loveable as upper crust Ralph and the subject of his devotion, loyal estate worker Ted, although times have moved on and the topic of stilted conversation is now Lady Gaga, Twitter and Facebook.

Caroline Aherne will always be inexplicably funny as the "Scorchio" forecasts weather girl and it's great to see Swiss Toni back on fine (and even ruder) form telling a young protege how riding a bike, "is like making love to a beautiful woman".

It's a lovely treat to have the team back. And no, Arabella Weir, your bum doesn't look big in that!

Caroline Aherne: the reclusive comic superstar

The Royle Family star quit TV at the height of her fame. But now she's back in the public eye, offering her support for a new cancer campaign and revealing her own illness.

The Security Men was a one-off comedy thriller about a quartet of feckless shopping-mall security guards, who, following a raid on a jewellery store under their protection, decide to re-stage the robbery to disguise their own incompetence. Actually, they aren't entirely feckless, as Brendan O'Carroll - escaping from under Mrs Brown's skirts - is given plenty of 'feck'-peppered dialogue to deliver.

Written by Caroline Aherne and Jeff Pope, The Security Men started out promisingly but ultimately disappointed on almost every level. It needed either more time to build up the characters, plot and tension or less time, so it could have focused solely on the better jokes. It was neither thrilling nor funny. But, for all its shortcomings, I feel a spin-off series coming on.