Comedian Janey Godley’s funeral took place in Glasgow on Saturday.
A service was held at St Mary’s Cathedral in the city’s Westend before a private service at the crematorium.
The funeral of comedian Janey Godley has been brought to a close with her catchphrase “Frank, get the door”, as former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon was among the mourners.
Opening the funeral, the vicar said she would be remembered with “kindness and with love” and added “forgiveness” was among the themes of the service.
Godley’s daughter Ashley Storrie told the congregation she had been asked to “headline” the funeral, saying she would not be able to do any of her mother’s jokes as she was in “a house of God”.
Storrie, 38, a comedian and radio presenter, said: “My mum is very grateful to all of you who came out yesterday to Edinburgh and lined the Royal Mile and lifted your voices and song, and the people who’ve come today to remember her in the best way possible.
“My mum was very much a daughter of Glasgow, she loved her city dearly, it was her favourite place in the whole wide world.
“The emblem of Glasgow is the tree that never grew, and the bell that never rang, and the bird that never flew, and the fish that never swam, and I think she took that as a challenge.
“It felt like the world was telling her, be quiet, stay small, don’t get big, so she did the opposite.
“She ventured far from her shore, she swam very far indeed.
“She travelled across the world where she found people who loved her in every corner, in New Zealand and Australia and Canada.
“And we once went to a place called Salt Spring Island, where we ended up staying with women who stole credit cards and ran a crab shop. We had to do a gig there, so it was tax deductible.
“She never quieted, no matter how many people told her, I remember one of my earliest memories of my mum is her standing behind the bar and people telling her, ‘you talk too much’, and her talking more just to spite them, and she grew bigger than she could have possibly imagined.”
Becoming emotional as she finished her speech, she told mourners: “For one last time, can you please put your hands together, for my ma, Janey Godley.”
Also in attendance was actor Gavin Mitchell, who played Bobby the barman in BBC sitcom Still Game.
A prayer Godley wrote as a child was read out during the proceedings, and a vicar told the story of how he met her when she wanted to look in the church, but was worried it would “fall down” when she entered due to her jokes about religion.
He said she had been “making lists” of people she wanted to forgive before her death.
The vicar added: “Janey Godley died having forgiven everyone, but she still believed to her dying day that (Donald) Trump is a country mile away from being anyone who should ever have come near to power.”
The comment was greeted with cheers and applause from mourners, after Godley was photographed at Turnberry golf resort with her infamous “unwelcome” sign for the incoming US president in 2016.
As the funeral was brought to a close, her catchphrase, which was part of her voiceover parodies of Ms Sturgeon’s coronavirus news briefings that saw her achieve viral fame during the pandemic, was played over the PA system and the doors of the church were opened.
During the service, a vicar remarked of her pandemic videos and jokes: “It’s no exaggeration to say that it’s likely there are people alive today because of Janey Godley, because of funny wee videos, and because of the truth she told on stage.
“Because she kept them going through lockdown, and because people were able to make use of the advice that they were being given through what she said.”
Godley had said Frank was based on a man who read “cowboy books” in a pub she worked in. The phrase was also the title of her 2020 book.
The comedian befriended the former SNP leader following the videos, with Ms Sturgeon describing her as “a force of nature” and “one of the funniest people I have ever known” after her death.
Mourners followed as her coffin was then lifted out of the cathedral and into a hearse, and as the vehicle’s doors shut she was applauded by a crowd gathered around it.
Godley died at the age of 63 in November after receiving palliative treatment for terminal cancer.
The funeral was held on the same day as a memorial service for former first minister and SNP leader Alex Salmond, at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh.
Godley, 63, died on November 2 after receiving palliative treatment for terminal cancer.
On Friday, a hearse carrying her coffin travelled through Edinburgh – with a “pause for reflection” at St Giles’ Cathedral – as part of a two-day “final tour” of her favourite cities.
Hundreds of fans packed the Royal Mile for her “final tour” as the funeral procession travelled through the streets of her “beloved festival home”.
Getty ImagesFans held banners and flags emblazoned with phrases Godley was known for.
Fans had travelled from across the country to pay their respects.
One told STV News: “We couldn’t not be here. We came down from Aberdeen purely because she kept us going through lockdown.
“She’s just so funny and so lovely, and we felt it was right to come and pay our respects.”
Fans had travelled from across the country to pay their respects.
One told STV News: “We couldn’t not be here. We came down from Aberdeen purely because she kept us going through lockdown.
“She’s just so funny and so lovely, and we felt it was right to come and pay our respects.”
Godley, who found viral fame with her dubbed parodies of then-Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s coronavirus news briefings during the pandemic, revealed she had ovarian cancer in November 2021.
Despite her diagnosis in 2021, Godley returned to touring and was given the all-clear in 2022 – but later that year announced another scan had shown signs of the disease in her abdomen.
However, she said she would continue touring with her Not Dead Yet gigs.
In 2023, she won the inaugural Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival.
In September, she cancelled her autumn tour after her stage four ovarian cancer returned with what she said were added complications.
Godley died in the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow on November 2.
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