'It would be great to have a local acknowledgement of all she achieved'

Wythenshawe’s MP has backed plans to erect a statue to Caroline Aherne in the town she grew up.

Comedian Lucy Beaumont this week floated the idea of erecting a memorial to the Royle Family and Mrs Merton star in the Manchester district where she lived from the age of two.

Now the suburb’s Labour MP Mike Kane – who was born and raised in the area – has thrown his weight behind the plan.

He told Chortle: ‘I knew Caroline growing up in Wythenshawe and was very proud of all that she achieved. It would be great to have a local acknowledgement of all she achieved and her connection to Wythenshawe.’

Richard Townshend/CC-by-SA-3.0

Kane, above,  joined the Commons in 201, having previously served on Manchester City Council, and is a junior transport Minister.

Last Sunday, Beaumont posed on social media that  ‘it upsets me massively that no-one has [put up a statue] yet so I thought maybe I should.’

She accepted it would be a ‘long process’ – starting wit getting council permission and commissioning an artist to come up with a mock-up design – but vowed to put some of her own money into the project.

A fundraising gig may also be scheduled next year.

Aherne started her career as a stand-up on the Manchester circuit in the 1980s and early 1990s before finding fame as Mrs Merton. She died of cancer at her home in Timperley, about four miles from Wythenshawe, on July 2. 2016, at the age of 52.

Published: 22 Nov 2024