Janey Godley has colourful comedy send-off at funeral in Glasgow

Comedian Janey Godley has been given a colourful comedy send-off in Glasgow, with Scotland’s former first minister Nicola Sturgeon among the mourners.

The funeral at St Mary’s Cathedral in Glasgow saw many family and friends wear colourful outfits and ended with her catchphrase “Frank, get the door”.

The Scottish comedian died earlier this month at the age of 63, after receiving palliative treatment for ovarian cancer.

Godley found viral fame by making voiceover parodies of Sturgeon’s news briefings during the Covid pandemic, before the pair became friends.

Godley’s daughter Ashley Storrie spoke at the service, 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 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.

Storrie also thanked hundreds of mourners who lined the streets of Edinburgh on Friday, to see the hearse carrying Godley on her “final tour” ahead of the service.

Gavin Mitchell, who played Bobby the barman in BBC sitcom Still Game, was also among the mourners at St Mary’s Cathedral.

The funeral was held on the same day as a memorial service for former first minister Alex Salmond, at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh

Godley’s service ended with a recording of her saying, “Frank, get the door” before the church doors opened.

The comedian used the catchphrase to end each of her Nicola Sturgeon Covid parodies. The phrase was also the title of Godley’s 2020 book.

At the service, the vicar had praised her pandemic comedy videos.

He said: “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.

“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 her Frank catchphrase was based on a man who read “cowboy books” in a pub she worked in.

Born in the east end of Glasgow in 1961, Godley was a landlady before establishing herself on the comedy circuit.

She became known to a wider audience across the world for her protest against Donald Trump’s 2016 visit to Scotland, where she held up a sign with an offensive word describing the then president.