Janey Godley

Jane Godley Currie (20 January 1961 – 2 November 2024), known professionally as Janey Godley, was a Scottish stand-up comedian, actress, writer and political activist. She began her stand-up career in 1994, and won various awards for her comedy in the 2000s.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she made a series of voice over clips of politicians and other well known personalities. The following year, she was dropped from a pantomime performance of Beauty and the Beast after a series of controversial racist tweets emerged, for which Godley later apologised. She was later diagnosed with ovarian cancer, from which she died in 2024.

Early life Godley was born Jane Godley Currie, in Lennoxtown, Stirlingshire (now part of East Dunbartonshire) on 20 January 1961. The youngest of four children born to Annie and Jim Currie, she was raised on Kenmore Street in Shettleston, a district in the East End of Glasgow, and attended Eastbank Academy. Living in poverty, which was rife in the East End during that time, Godley left school at 16 with no qualifications. Her parents were alcoholics and her mother was also addicted to tranquillisers. Her uncle molested her and her sister for a number of years during their childhoods, crimes for which he was sentenced to two years in prison in 1996. Annie went missing and was found dead in 1982 by the River Clyde; Godley said that she believed that her mother had been murdered by her abusive boyfriend Peter Greenshields.

Career For fifteen years Godley and her husband ran the Weavers Inn public house in Glasgow, where she learned to handle a crowd.

Godley began her stand-up career in 1994 and changed her name from Jane Godley Storrie to Janey Godley the following year. She won an award for the "Best Show Concept" at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival in 2002 and the "Spirit of the Festival" in 2006. In 2006, she was a finalist for the Edinburgh Evening Times''' "Scotswoman of the Year" award. In 2002, 2006, 2008, and 2009, she was nominated as "Best International Guest" by the New Zealand Comedy Guild. Her TV appearances include River City, Sam Delaney's News Thing, The Alex Salmond Show, Have I Got News for You, and Traces, and she appeared in the film Wild Rose. Godley often made spoof voice-overs of videos.

In 2020, Godley wrote and starred in a series of short films titled Alone, about a recently widowed housewife whose abusive husband has died of COVID-19, as part of the National Theatre of Scotland's Scenes for Survival webseries. In December 2020, the Royal Society of Edinburgh commended Godley's voice-overs of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's COVID-19 briefings for helping engage the public with the warnings.

In September 2021, tweets Godley had sent in 2011 were publicised by The Daily Beast, leading MSP Douglas Lumsden to question the decision to cast her in a pantomime performance of Beauty and the Beast''. Some of these tweets included insults based on the Chernobyl disaster and disabilities, and racial insults towards African American musicians Kelly Rowland, 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg in 2011. Godley apologised for the tweets and Public Health Scotland dropped her from a campaign. Initially a supporter of the Conservatives in her youth, once going so far as to meet Margaret Thatcher at a Scottish Conservative Party Conference in Perth, she later became a supporter of the Scottish National Party and toured the UK in February 2016 in support of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. and organised a protest in Glasgow just prior to the election of Trump as president.

Personal life Godley married Sean Storrie on 27 September 1980. Storrie, who is autistic was born into a Glasgow gangster family. Their daughter, Ashley Storrie (born 1986), who is also autistic, is a stand-up comedian and BBC Radio Scotland presenter. Godley lived in the Woodlands area of Glasgow's West End.

Godley ran a public house in Calton, Glasgow, with her husband and his family for 14 years during the 1980s and 1990s. In 1982, when Godley was 21, her mother died after drowning in the River Clyde. Godley believed that her mother was murdered by her mother's boyfriend, who she claimed was violent. He was never charged by police for Annie Currie's death despite calls from her family for an investigation.

Illness and death In November 2021, Godley announced via Twitter the cancellation of the last weekend of her tour, explaining that she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and was being treated in hospital, and underwent a full hysterectomy in January 2022. In June that year, she announced that she was cancer-free. In December, she announced that her cancer had returned and that she would need further chemotherapy. After her cancer spread, she began to receive palliative care and moved into a hospice in September 2024. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Glasgow on 31 October 2024.

Godley died at The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow, on 2 November 2024, aged 63. Former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon paid tribute to her. Her funeral was held at St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow and was officiated by Kelvin Holdsworth. Mourners included Nicola Sturgeon and Gavin Mitchell. The funeral ended with a recording of Godley saying her catchphrase, "Frank, get the door" before the cathedral doors opened.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes 2004 Kings of Comedy Herself/Performer Television Special 2009 River City Maris MacKinnon Guest Role (1 Episode) 2012 Timeshift Comedian/Landlady Contributor (1 Episode) Chris Ramsey’s Comedy Fringe Performer TV Movie British Passions on Film Herself All 3 Episodes 2017 The Blame Game Performer Guest Panelist (2 Episodes) The Alex Salmond Show Herself Guest (1 Episode) 2018-2021 Have I Got News For You Panelist (4 Episodes) 2018 Super November Donna Supporting Role Wild Rose Jackie 2019-2020 Traces Clare Tindall Recurring Role (2 Episodes) 2019 The Comedy Underground Performer Contributor (1 Episode) Breaking the News Herself Guest Panelist (1 Episode) The Last Mermaid Pearl Main Role 2020 The Sarah O’Connell Show Herself Guest (1 Episode) Billy and Us Contributor (All 6 Episodes) This Morning Guest (1 Episode) 2021 Kay Burley Herself/Comedian Contributor (1 Episode) Lorraine Herself Guest (1 Episode) Dregs Mum Main Role (All Episodes) 2024 Janey Herself Television Documentary

Books