After building a career as a comedian, actress and writer, Janey Godley did not let a terminal cancer diagnosis in 2021 stand in her way. Godley, from Glasgow, even found dark humour in her illness, naming the tour she was due to embark on this autumn Why Is She Still Here?. Born on January 20 1961 as the youngest of four children, Godley was raised in Shettleston in the East End of the city, and attended Eastbank Academy.
She left school aged 16 with no qualifications, but went on to become a highly renowned comedian, first starting her career in the business in 1994. Janey Godley arrives for the Pride of Scotland awards in 2021 (Andrew Milligan/PA) Having regularly performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, she won the Fringe Report Award after being crowned best performer at the 2008 festival. Godley found viral fame with her dubbed pastiches of then-Scotland first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s coronavirus news briefings during the pandemic, but her career has not been without controversy.
Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon and comedian Janey Godley (Robert Perry/PA) Godley profusely apologised for the tweets and donated the fee she was paid (£12,000) to charity. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in November 2021 but later returned to touring and told how comedian Jimmy Carr encouraged her to continue performing despite her diagnosis. In a March 2024 episode of ITV’s Lorraine, Godley said: “The year before last, before I got into the tour, I was told that the cancer had.