Connect with us

Published

on

Mourners have been paying their last respects to the comedian Janey Godley at her funeral in Glasgow.

She died earlier this month aged 63 after receiving palliative treatment for terminal cancer.

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon was among those to attend the service at St Mary’s Cathedral in Glasgow.

Godley found surprising fame with her impression of Ms Sturgeon’s COVID-19 news briefings during the pandemic.

The ex-SNP leader described her as “a force of nature” and “one of the funniest people I have ever known”.

Other mourners have also attended the service wearing bright colours in line with Godley’s wishes.

Nicola Sturgeon leaving the funeral of Scottish comedian Janey Godley at St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow. Picture date: Saturday November 30, 2024
Image:
Nicola Sturgeon became friends with Janey Godley, who revoiced the first minister’s pandemic briefings – with comic effect. Pic: PA

Godley and Nicola Sturgeon pictured in 2023. Pic: PA
Image:
Godley and Nicola Sturgeon pictured in 2023. Pic: PA

The Very Reverend Kelvin Holdsworth began by telling the congregation that Godley would be remembered with “kindness and with love” and added that “forgiveness” would be among the themes of the service.

Her daughter, Ashley Storrie – who is also a comedian – spoke during the service and said her mother “asked that I headline her funeral” but “I can’t do any of her jokes cause ‘house of God’ and that”.

“She was a comedian, that was her thing first and foremost. She tried acting, she hated it. She was a terrible singer. She couldn’t knit, she tried. There’s pictures of Liam Neeson with a hideous scarf to prove it. But what she was, was a comedian,” she added.

She concluded – her voice breaking – by asking “for one last time… please put your hands together for my ma, Janey Godley”.

Mourners arriving for the funeral of Scottish comedian Janey Godley at St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow. Picture date: Saturday November 30, 2024
Image:
The service took place at St Mary’s Cathedral in Glasgow. Pic: PA

Mourners arriving for the funeral of Scottish comedian Janey Godley at St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow. Picture date: Saturday November 30, 2024. Pictured is Ashley Storrie (Janey's daughter)
Image:
Janey Godley’s daughter Ashley Storrie was comforted before the service. Pic: PA

The congregation then rose to their feet, cheering and applauding.

Gavin Mitchell, who played Bobby the barman in the TV sitcom Still Game, was also among the mourners.

As the coffin was lifted out of the church, a recording of Godley’s famous catchphrase was played to the congregation: “Frank, Get the Door”.

Janey Godley's coffin leaving St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow. Pic: PA
Image:
Her famous catchphrase featured in the service: “Frank, Get the Door”. Pic: PA

Godley’s coffin took a two-day “final tour” of Edinburgh and Glasgow ahead of her funeral service on Saturday, before a private cremation.

Godley revealed she had ovarian cancer in November 2021, but despite being given the all-clear in 2022 the disease returned.

Janey Godley's coffin leaving St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow. Pic: PA
Image:
Crowds applauded as Godley’s coffin left St Mary’s Cathedral in Glasgow. Pic: PA

Mourners arriving for the funeral of Scottish comedian Janey Godley at St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow. Picture date: Saturday November 30, 2024.
Image:
Mourners gathered outside to pay their respects. Pic: PA

Read more from Sky News:
The rise and fall of celebrity hotspot The Groucho Club
CCTV released in e-bike hit-and-run murder investigation

She died at a hospice in Glasgow on 2 November, shortly after being awarded an honorary degree from the University of Glasgow.

Known for her stand-up career, including several radio shows and numerous TV appearances, Godley did not shy away from openly discussing cancer or controversial topics.

She secured worldwide fame in 2018 after protesting at Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf resort, holding a sign which read “Trump is a c***”

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Banksy’s piranhas police box put in protective storage ahead of museum display

Published

on

By

Banksy's piranhas police box put in protective storage ahead of museum display

A Banksy artwork, where a glass police box looks like a tank of piranhas, has been moved into protective storage ahead of its display at the London Museum’s new location.

The artwork made headlines last summer when it featured as part of the street artist’s animal-themed collection in the capital, which concluded with a gorilla appearing to lift up a shutter on the entrance to London Zoo.

The piranhas piece is now in the care of the London Museum and will be kept in secure storage before it becomes accessible to the public as part of a permanent display at the museum’s Smithfield location, which is opening in 2026.

The artwork is moved from London's Guildhall. Pic: PA
Image:
The artwork is moved from London’s Guildhall. Pic: PA

The police box had stood in Ludgate Hill since the 1990s before it was painted to resemble a fish tank.

The box was temporarily relocated by the City Of London Corporation to Guildhall Yard, where thousands of visitors viewed it from behind safety barriers, after Banksy confirmed he was responsible for the artwork.

It was later moved to Guildhall’s South Ambulatory.

Banksy’s London animals collection was made up of nine works including a rhino seemingly mounting a silver Nissan Micra, two elephant silhouettes with their trunks stretched out towards each other, and three monkeys that appeared as though they were swinging on a bridge.

More from UK

Some of the works, which also included a howling wolf on a satellite dish, were removed, covered up or vandalised, after being painted across the city from 5 to 13 August 2024.

Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, said: “Banksy stopped Londoners in their tracks when this piece appeared in the Square Mile – and now, we’re making it available to millions.

“By securing it for London Museum, we’re not only protecting a unique slice of the City’s story, but also adding an artwork that will become one of the museum’s star attractions.”

The artwork after it first emerged. Pic: PA
Image:
The artwork after it first emerged. Pic: PA

Brendan Barns, chairman of the City of London Corporation’s culture, heritage, and libraries committee, said: “Banksy’s Piranhas are already part of City legend – and soon, they’ll be part of London’s story, too.

“Moving this piece into the care of London Museum guarantees that millions of people will be able to enjoy it, alongside an extraordinary collection that celebrates the capital’s creativity and diversity.”

Read more:
Latest Banksy street art located after speculation

Blink-182 star to auction rare Banksy worth millions
Two men charged with stealing Banksy painting

Glyn Davies, head of curatorial at London Museum, added: “With the arrival of Banksy’s Piranhas, our collection now spans from Roman graffiti to our first piece of contemporary street art.

“This work by one of the world’s most iconic artists now belongs to Londoners, and will keep making waves when it goes on show next year in the Museum’s new Smithfield home.”

London Museum’s London Wall site opened in 1976 and closed in December 2022 in preparation for the move to Smithfield.

London Museum Docklands remains open.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Taylor Swift announces engagement to boyfriend Travis Kelce

Published

on

By

Taylor Swift announces engagement to boyfriend Travis Kelce

Taylor Swift has announced she is getting married to her NFL star boyfriend, Travis Kelce.

The pop star and Kansas City Chiefs tight end shared the news in a joint post on Instagram, with the caption: “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”

The announcement was liked more than 1.7 million times just over 30 minutes after it was posted.

Pic: Instagram / @taylorswift
Image:
Pic: Instagram / @taylorswift

Swift and Kelce started their relationship in 2023, after the three-time Super Bowl winner said on his podcast New Heights that he tried and failed to meet the singer at her Eras Tour concert in Kansas City.

Rumours grew that the couple were dating after Swift was spotted at a number of Chiefs games. On her seventh time in the stands, she brought her father, Scott Kingsley Swift, along.

Kelce told the Wall Street Journal in November 2023: “There were definitely people she knew that knew who I was, in her corner [who said]: ‘Yo! Did you know he was coming [to the Eras Tour]?’

I had somebody playing Cupid… She told me exactly what was going on and how I got lucky enough to get her to reach out.”

More on Taylor Swift

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

From January: Taylor cheers on Travis after Chiefs win

Earlier this month, Swift appeared on Kelce’s podcast, New Heights, and announced her 12th album, titled The Life Of A Showgirl.

Speaking to Kelce and his brother Jason, Swift said it was inspired by the Eras Tour – and also talked about his attempt at meeting her two years ago.

While she said his plan to give her his number on a friendship bracelet was a “wild, romantic gesture,” she joked he “didn’t do any proper logistical planning” and thought he would be allowed backstage.

“Because he knows the elevator lady, he thought he could talk to her about just getting down to my dressing room,” she added. “That’s how it works in 1973.”

Read more about Taylor Swift:
Swift’s final London show was the ‘best’
The impact of the ‘excruciating’ Era’s tour
Her new chart record

The new album, which will be released on 3 October, marks her first release since she took back control over her entire back catalogue from private equity firm Shamrock Capital.

Sky News culture and entertainment reporter Gemma Peplow said after her globe-trotting tour and a swathe of re-releases over recent years, the new album cemented Swift’s reputation “as the hardest-working star in pop”.

Despite rumours he would retire after losing this year’s Super Bowl, Kelce will play for the Kansas City Chiefs again this season.

He told GQ magazine his on-field performances “slipped a little bit” as he started acting, and added: “I’m just saying that my work ethic is such that I have so much pride in how I do things that I never want the product to tail off, and I feel like these past two years haven’t been to my standard.”

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Men should ‘demand’ prostate cancer test, ex-Sky presenter says – as he speaks about his stage-four diagnosis

Published

on

By

Men should 'demand' prostate cancer test, ex-Sky presenter says - as he speaks about his stage-four diagnosis

Former Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan has called on men to “demand” a prostate cancer test and for the government to actively offer screenings, after his own stage-four diagnosis.

Speaking to Anna Jones on Sky News, Murnaghan said he didn’t have any of the usual prostate cancer symptoms – such as frequent or urgent urination or the occurrence of blood – but “fell very ill on a foreign holiday”.

Upon being treated by the NHS, he was diagnosed with stage-four cancer.

Pointing to how prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests are getting more accurate, Murnaghan said they should be offered in the same way as screenings for other cancers are.

“They might cost a little bit more money, but think about the money you save,” he said.

“Treating people who get to my stage, there’s an awful lot of things that are being thrown at me that are costing a lot of money.

“As in so many other cancers, if you are diagnosed much, much earlier, then of course you save money much further down the line.”

Symptoms of prostate cancer

According to the NHS, symptoms will usually occur only once the cancer has grown or spread.

People may notice changes to the way they urinate, such as:

• Finding it difficult to start urinating or straining to urinate

• Having a weak flow of urine

• “Stop start” urinating

• Needing to urinate urgently or often, or both

• Feeling like you still need to urinate when you’ve just finished

• Urinating during the night

Other symptoms can include:

• Erectile dysfunction (being unable to get or keep an erection)

• Blood in your urine or blood in your semen

• Lower back pain and losing weight without trying to (these may be symptoms of advanced prostate cancer)

He said he finished chemotherapy in early July and is currently waiting to see what the effect has been.

It comes as a coalition of more than 60 cancer charities, known as One Cancer Voice, is warning the government must take urgent steps to tackle cancer care in England – including faster diagnosis targets and better prevention policies.

According to analysis carried out by the charities, more than six million new cancer cases could be diagnosed in England between now and 2040.

This would equate to a diagnosis every two minutes, which is up from one every four minutes in the 1970s.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Cancer cases to rise in England

Murnaghan said there is “no formal screening programme” for prostate cancer and men “actually have to ask for it rather than be offered it as so often happens with other cancers”.

In the absence of a screening programme, he said he would advise men of a certain age to “go and demand it”.

‘A real bolt from the blue’

Speaking of how he put off screening, Murnaghan said: “In my own case, I fell through those gaps.

“I foolishly sat in your [presenter Anna Jones] position for many many years speaking to people about this very issue and talking about men, particularly over the age of 50, men in high risk groups who may have a history of it in their family, to go and ask for this screening…

“And I kept thinking you know ‘once I got over that age I will go and do that’,” he said.

“I kept thinking, ‘okay well you know I’ll get round to it’, life intervenes, jobs, children, holidays…all kinds of things and I never did…

“So what happened was at the end of last year I fell very ill on a foreign holiday and kind of rushed back here to get treated by a wonderful health service and was diagnosed, a real bolt from the blue.”

Read more:
England warned it faces six million new cancer cases by 2040

The former Sky News presenter is planning to join Sir Chris Hoy on a charity bike ride to raise money for cancer charities.

Sir Chris was himself diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer in September 2023.

Murnaghan is a familiar face to Sky News viewers as one of its main presenters from 2007 until 2023.

In September 2022, he announced the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II on the channel.

Before joining Sky, he presented ITV’s News At Ten and the BBC Ten O’Clock News – now known as BBC News At Ten – as well as Channel 4 News.

Murnaghan also presented the quiz show Eggheads on BBC Two for 11 years.

Continue Reading

Trending