Scottish comedian Janey Godley has died at the age of 63 after undergoing palliative treatment for terminal cancer.
Former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon paid tribute to the legend on her social media account X (formerly Twitter).
She said, “Knowing for the past few weeks that this moment was fast approaching didn’t make it any less heartbreaking to hear the news early this morning that Janey had died.”
Nicola went on to share, “Janey Godley truly was a force of nature, and one of the funniest people I have ever known. I was able to visit her in the hospice a couple of weeks ago and though she was fragile, she still had me in stitches.”
Praising the comedian she further said, “Janey was also incredibly kind. And she made the world a better place.A bond was forged between us in the darkest days of Covid when her famous voiceovers of my daily briefings went viral.”
“In the toughest of times, she made people laugh – and that was precious. She did more than that though,” Nicola continued.
Expressing her pride, she said, “I was so proud to call Janey a friend and will miss her hugely. My heart goes out to her family and many friends – they are in my thoughts today.”
“I know Frank will have been there, holding the door for her as she went – with a tear in his eye, as I have in mine. RIP my friend,” she concluded.
Scottish First Minister John Swinney also paid tribute to her, saying, “Very sorry to hear of the death of Janey Godley. She brought joy and laughter on many occasions when we needed it most. My condolences to her family. May she Rest in Peace.”
Godley began her stand-up comedy career in 1994. She was also an actress, writer and political activist.
She found viral fame during COVID-19 through her dubbed parodies of Ms Sturgeon’s coronavirus news briefings during the pandemic.
