Janey Godley
{{Short description|Scottish actor, writer and comedian (1961–2024)}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Janey Godley
| image = Janey Godley (9435792725).jpg
| caption = Godley in 2013
| birth_name = Jane Godley Currie
| birth_date = {{birth date|1961|1|20|df=y}}
| birth_place = Lennoxtown, Stirlingshire, Scotland
| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|11|2|1961|1|20|df=y}}
| death_place = Glasgow, Scotland
| alias = Janey Currie
Janey Storrie
| years_active = 1994–2024
| occupation = {{hlist|Comedian|actress|writer}}
| spouse = {{marriage|Sean Storrie|1980}}
| children = Ashley Storrie
| website = {{URL|janeygodley.com/}}
}}
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.{{cite web |last1=Duffield |first1=Scott |title=Janey Godley: 'I'm ashamed of tweets but I'm not a racist' |url=https://news.stv.tv/entertainment/janey-godley-im-not-racist-and-regret-taking-scottish-government-money |publisher=STV |access-date=8 November 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Webster |first1=Laura |title=Janey Godley issues statement as 'racist' tweets about black celebrities emerge |url=https://www.thenational.scot/news/19570447.janey-godley-issues-statement-racist-tweets-black-celebrities-emerge/ |publisher=The National |access-date=8 November 2024}} She was later diagnosed with ovarian cancer, from which she died in 2024.
Early life
Godley was born Jane Godley Currie, in Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire,{{Cite news |last=Healy |first=Rachael |date=2 November 2024 |title=Scottish comedian Janey Godley dies aged 63 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2024/nov/02/scottish-comedian-janey-godley-dies |access-date=2 November 2024 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}} on 20 January 1961.{{Cite web |title=Janey Godley, comedian reviews |url=https://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/j/508/janey_godley/review |access-date=2 November 2024 |website=Chortle: The UK Comedy Guide |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=McNeill |first=by Alastair |date=2024-03-28 |title=Outspoken Janey aims to up the ante as latest step of comedy tour hits Stirling |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/outspoken-janey-aims-up-ante-32459705.amp |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=Daily Record |language=en}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/aug/19/janey-godley|title='I joked about my life – Ma's murder, child abuse, gangsters': how Janey Godley became the queen of comedy|last=Brooks|first=Libby |website=The Guardian|date=19 August 2019|access-date=21 August 2020}} Her parents were alcoholics and her mother was also addicted to tranquilisers.{{cite news |title=Next to Godley |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/people/next-godley-2469794 |access-date=25 August 2021 |newspaper=The Scotsman |date=15 July 2006 |language=en}}{{cite news |last=Wilson |first=Louise |title=Black comedy: Interview with Janey Godley |url=https://www.holyrood.com/inside-politics/view,black-comedy-interview-with-janey-godley |access-date=25 August 2021 |website=Holyrood |date=5 May 2021 |language=en}} Her uncle molested her and her sister for a number of years during their childhoods, crimes for which he was charged in 1993, being sentenced to two years in prison in 1996.{{cite web |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12082040.prison-term-for-uncle-marks-an-end-to-the-ordeal-women-had-kept-to-themselves-abused-sisters-30-year-secret/ |title=Prison term for uncle marks an end to the ordeal women had kept to themselves; Abused sisters' 30-year secret |author= |date=5 November 1996 |newspaper=The Herald |access-date=21 August 2020}} Annie went missing and was found dead in 1982 by the River Clyde; Godley has stated that she believes that she was murdered by her abusive boyfriend Peter Greenshields.{{cite news |last1=McStay |first1=Kirsten |title=Janey Godley pays tribute to mum on what would have been her 86th birthday |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/janey-godley-pays-tribute-mum-23312596 |access-date=30 January 2025 |work=Daily Record |date=13 January 2021 |language=en}}
Career
For fifteen years Godley and her husband ran the Weavers Inn public house in Glasgow, where she learned to handle a crowd.{{cite web |url= https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/scotland-now/remembering-janey-godleys-glasgow-pub-34029989 |title= Remembering Janey Godley's Glasgow pub she owned in the 1980s |last1= Small |first1= Alexander |website=The Daily Record |date=4 November 2024 |access-date=20 November 2024}}
Godley began her stand-up career in 1994 using her middle name as both the Storrie and Currie families had disappointed her{{Cite web|url=https://janeygodley.com/jg/NewscuttingsDocs/scotsman.html|title=Working in a rough Glasgow pub gave Janey Godley the front to make a success of stand-up comedy – and put dark memories of a troubled childhood behind her, says Gillian Glover|last=Glover|first=Gillian|website=www.janeygodley.com|access-date=20 August 2020}}{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} and changed her name from Jane Godley Storrie to Janey Godley the following year.{{cite web |last1=Delaney |first1=Zoe |title=Janey Godley shares poignant wedding anniversary celebration on the ward amid end of life care |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/janey-godley-shares-poignant-wedding-33766458 |publisher=Mirror |access-date=8 November 2024}} 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. She published her autobiography Handstands in the Dark in 2005.{{cite web|url=http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/catalog/author.htm?authorID=5302|title=Handstands in the Dark listing at Random House|access-date=14 February 2016}} In 2006, she was a finalist for the Edinburgh Evening Times' "Scotswoman of the Year" award.{{Cite news|url=http://www.pressreader.com/uk/evening-times/20061018/281977488114311|title=Last chance to vote for Scotswoman of the Year|last=Robertson|first=Linda|date=18 October 2006|newspaper=Evening Times|access-date=19 February 2017}} In 2002, 2006, 2008, and 2009, she was nominated as "Best International Guest" by the New Zealand Comedy Guild.{{Cite web|url=http://www.scottishcomedyagency.com/janey-godly|title=Janey Godley|website=Scottish Comedy Agency|language=en-US|access-date=19 February 2017}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/politics/1611134/brexit-breakdown-as-prime-minister-dwells-on-snapchat-group-with-arlene-foster-and-nicola-sturgeon/|title=Brexit breakdown as Prime Minister dwells on Snapchat group with Arlene Foster and Nicola Sturgeon|first=Gregor|last=Aiken|date=16 November 2018 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/event/1/janey-godley-loud-and-live-the-soup-pot-sessions|title=Janey Godley – Loud and Live, The Soup Pot Sessions|website=Glasgow Life}}
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.{{cite web |url=https://www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/latest/alone-part-ii |title=Scenes For Survival – Alone Part II |author= |date=30 July 2020 |website=nationaltheatrescotland.com |access-date=10 September 2020 |archive-date=20 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920072434/https://www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/latest/alone-part-ii |url-status=dead }} 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. That year, she won the Scots Language Award's Speaker of the Year Award.{{cite news |last=Ferguson |first=Brian |title=Comedy star Janey Godley named 'Scots Speaker of the Year' |url=https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/comedy-star-janey-godley-named-scots-speaker-year-3013569 |access-date=27 October 2020 |work=The Scotsman |publisher=JPI Media |date=24 October 2020}}{{cite news |last=Hannan |first=Martin |title=Janey Godley and Stuart Paterson muckle winners o' Scots awards |url=https://www.thenational.scot/news/18821205.janey-godley-stuart-paterson-muckle-winners-o-scots-awards/ |access-date=27 October 2020 |work=The National |agency=NewsQuest Media Group Ltd |publisher=NewsQuest |date=26 October 2020}}
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.{{cite news |last1=Brooks |first1=Libby |title=Janey Godley dropped from Scottish Covid ads after 'unacceptable' tweets |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/sep/09/janey-godley-dropped-from-scottish-covid-ads-after-unacceptable-tweets |access-date=9 September 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=9 September 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Webster |first1=Lauren |title=Tory MSP writes to theatre with 'concerns' over Janey Godley's panto role |url=https://www.thenational.scot/news/19566049.tory-msp-tells-aberdeen-theatre-concerns-janey-godleys-pantomime-role/ |access-date=8 September 2021 |work=The National |agency=Newsquest Media Group |date=8 September 2021 |language=en}} Godley apologised for the tweets{{cite news |last1=Cochrane |first1=Angus |title=Janey Godley apologises for 'horridly offensive' historic tweets |url=https://www.thenational.scot/news/19565772.janey-godley-apologises-horridly-offensive-historic-tweets/ |access-date=8 September 2021 |work=The National |agency=Newsquest Media Group |date=8 September 2021 |language=en}} and Public Health Scotland dropped her from a campaign.
Filmography
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2004
| Herself/Performer | Television Special |
| 2009
| Maris MacKinnon | Guest Role (1 Episode) |
| Rowspan=3| 2012
| Timeshift | Comedian/Landlady | Contributor (1 Episode) |
| Chris Ramsey’s Comedy Fringe
| Performer | TV Movie |
| British Passions on Film
| Herself | All 3 Episodes |
| Rowspan=2| 2017
| Performer | Guest Panelist (2 Episodes) |
| The Alex Salmond Show
| Rowspan=2| Herself | Guest (1 Episode) |
| 2018-2021
| Regular Panelist (4 Episodes) |
| Rowspan=2| 2018
| Super November | Donna | Rowspan=2| Supporting Role |
| Wild Rose
| Jackie |
| 2019-2020
| Traces | Clare Tindall | Recurring Role (2 Episodes) |
| Rowspan=3| 2019
| The Comedy Underground | Performer | Contributor (1 Episode) |
| Breaking the News
| Herself | Guest Panelist (1 Episode) |
| The Last Mermaid
| Pearl | Main Role |
| Rowspan=3| 2020
| The Sarah O’Connell Show | Rowspan=3| Herself | Guest (1 Episode) |
| Billy and Us
| Contributor (All 6 Episodes) |
| This Morning
| Guest (1 Episode) |
| Rowspan=3| 2021
| Herself/Comedian | Contributor (1 Episode) |
| Lorraine
| Herself | Guest (1 Episode) |
| Dregs
| Mum | Main Role (All Episodes) |
| 2024
| Janey | Herself | Television Documentary |
Political activism
Godley was a strong advocate for the transgender rights movement, actively supporting protections for the international transgender community. She was also a supporter of Scottish independence.{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/comedian-janey-godley-on-tour-to-make-jeremy-corbyn-prime-minister-admits-to-being-an-snp-member-a6852336.html|title=Janey Godley: Comedian on tour to make Jeremy Corbyn Prime Minister admits to being an SNP member
|date=3 February 2016|newspaper=The Independent|access-date=19 February 2017|language=en-GB}} 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,{{cite book |last1=Godley |first1=Janey |title=Handstands in the dark : a true story of growing up and survival |date=2005 |publisher=Ebury Publishing |location=London |isbn=978-1-4481-1754-3}} 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.
Godley went viral that year after being pictured standing outside Donald Trump's Turnberry Golf resort holding a sign stating "Trump is a Cunt", having been prevented from approaching her subject by Police Scotland,{{Cite web|url=http://www.thenational.scot/news/14896567.Comedian_Janey_Godley_plans_Glasgow_Against_Trump_rally_in_George_Square/|title=Comedian Janey Godley plans Glasgow Against Trump rally in George Square|website=The National|date=19 October 2016 |language=en|access-date=19 February 2017}} and organised a protest in Glasgow just prior to the election of Trump as president.{{Cite news|url=http://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/glaswegian-comedian-janey-godley-threatened-12136634|title=Glaswegian Janey Godley threatened with rape after George Square Trump protest|last=Gilbert|first=Julie|date=6 November 2016|newspaper=glasgowlive|access-date=19 February 2017}}
Personal life
Godley married Sean Storrie in 1980.{{cite web|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15442369.ashley-storrie-on-being-the-daughter-of-a-comedy-legend-and-taking-her-on-at-her-own-game/|title='I'm rebelling against my upbringing': Ashley Storrie on being the daughter of a comedy legend|website=HeraldScotland|date=30 July 2017 }} Storrie, who is autistic{{cite web |last1=Banim |first1=Julia |title=Janey Godley's selfless act for husband as he struggled with her cancer treatment |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/janey-godleys-selfless-act-husband-34021840 |publisher=Daily Record UK |access-date=8 November 2024}} was born into a Glasgow gangster family.{{Cite web|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/mum-was-murdered-and-my-laws-are-gangsters-2463817|title = Mum was murdered and my in-laws are gangsters}} Their daughter, Ashley Storrie (born 1986), who also has autism spectrum disorder, is a stand-up comedian and BBC Radio Scotland presenter.{{Cite news |last1=Donaldson |first1=Brian |url=https://list.co.uk/news/10027/interview-ashley-storrie-i-have-been-known-to-go-a-bit-tonto|title=Interview: Ashley Storrie – 'I have been known to go a bit Tonto'|date=8 June 2016|newspaper=The List|access-date=29 September 2024|language=en-GB}}{{cite news |last1=Hinds |first1=Alice |title=Comedian Ashley Storrie on why playing an autistic young woman in her first dramatic role has helped her open up about her own diagnosis |url=https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/comedian-ashley-storrie/ |access-date=25 August 2021 |work=The Sunday Post |date=30 May 2021}} Godley lived in Glasgow's West End.{{Cite web |date=2014-01-21 |title=Mum's not an easy word for comic Janey |url=https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/lifestyle/spring-in-the-city/13271910.mums-not-an-easy-word-for-comic-janey/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=Glasgow Times |language=en}}
Godley ran a public house in Calton, Glasgow, with her husband and his family for 14 years during the 1980s and 1990s.{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Martin |title=Royal Society of Edinburgh acclaims Janey Godley's medicine for helping curb Covid-19 spread |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18936564.royal-society-edinburgh-acclaims-janey-godleys-medicine-helping-stop-covid-19-spread/ |access-date=11 December 2020 |work=The Herald |agency=Newsquest Media Group |publisher=Herald and Times Group |date=11 December 2020}} 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. On 31 December 2010, her brother Mij Currie died from a drug-related illness.{{cite news |last1=English |first1=Paul |title=Janey Godley is an artist at the peak of her vocal powers |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/janey-godley-is-an-artist-at-the-peak-of-her-vocal-powers-hzmjwdsvv |access-date=25 August 2021 |work=The Times |date=27 December 2020 |language=en}}
=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,{{Cite news|date=19 November 2021|title=Comedian Janey Godley reveals she has ovarian cancer|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-59344461|access-date=19 November 2021}}{{Cite web|title=Janey Godley: Scottish comedian reveals she has ovarian cancer and cancels final tour dates|url=https://news.sky.com/story/janey-godley-scottish-comedian-reveals-she-has-ovarian-cancer-and-cancels-final-tour-dates-12472246|access-date=19 November 2021|website=Sky News|language=en}} 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.{{cite web |title=Janey Godley tells fans that her cancer has returned |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/comedy/news/janey-godley-cancer-back-b2244893.html?amp |website=The Independent |access-date=14 December 2022 |language=en |date=14 December 2022}} After her cancer spread, she began to receive palliative care and moved into a hospice in September 2024.{{Cite web |last=Franklin |first=Beth |date=25 September 2024 |title=Janey Godley receiving 'end-of-life' care after cancer spreads |url=https://news.stv.tv/entertainment/janey-godley-announces-devastating-news-she-is-receiving-end-of-life-care-after-cancer-spreads |access-date=2 November 2024 |website=STV News |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |date=25 September 2024 |title=Comedian Janey Godley receiving end-of-life care |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd7xv79dp0jo |access-date=25 September 2024 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}} She was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Glasgow on 31 October 2024.{{cite news |date=31 October 2024 |title=Comedian Janey Godley given honorary doctorate in hospice bed |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy91r7lp8lo |access-date=1 November 2024 |work=BBC News}}
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.{{Cite web |date=2 November 2024 |title=Scottish comedian Janey Godley dies aged 63 |url=https://news.sky.com/story/scottish-comedian-janey-godley-dies-aged-63-13246433 |access-date=2 November 2024 |website=Sky News}}
Books
- {{Cite book |first=Janey |last=Godley |year=2005 |title=Handstands in the Dark |url=https://janeygodley.com/product/handstands/ |location=London |publisher=Ebury Press |isbn=978-0-09-190877-5 |oclc=61175808}}
- {{Cite book |first=Janey |last=Godley |year=2020 |title=Frank Get the Door! |url=https://janeygodley.com/shop/frank-get-the-door-book/ |others=Illustrated by Christina Connelly |location=Edinburgh |publisher=Luath Press |isbn=978-1-910022-14-6 |oclc=1198558126}}
- {{cite book |first=Janey |last=Godley |year=2022 |title=Nothing Left Unsaid |url=https://janeygodley.com/shop/nothing-left-unsaid/ |location=London |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |isbn=978-1-5293-5712-7 |oclc=1308460883}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{official|https://janeygodley.com/}}
- {{IMDb name|1742842}}
- {{British Comedy Guide|people|janey_godley}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Godley, Janey}}
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Category:21st-century Scottish autobiographers
Category:21st-century Scottish comedians
Category:21st-century Scottish women writers
Category:Comedians from Glasgow
Category:Deaths from ovarian cancer in Scotland
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Category:Scottish women comedians