Comedian Lucy Beaumont reveals she wants to raise money for a statue of the late Royle Family actress Caroline Aherne to be erected in Manchester

Lucy, 41, shared a post on Twitter on Sunday where she explained her hopes to pay tribute to the star.  

Caroline was raised in Wythenshawe and started her career as a stand-up comic in the night clubs of Manchester. 

The 52-year-old actress and writer passed away at her home in Timperley, Cheshire on July 2 2016, following a battle with cancer.

Lucy wrote on her social media this weekend: ‘As the next project I want to do in the new year is raise money (I’ll put my own in don’t worry!) for a statue in Manchester for Caroline Aherne.

‘It upsets me massively that no-one has done it yet so I thought maybe I should! More to come in the new year!’

Caroline was known for her work in The Royle Family, The Mrs Merton Show and The Fast Show. She also narrated the Channel 4 reality TV series Gogglebox.

Caroline and her brother Patrick were both born with retina cancer and she later suffered from the disease in her bladder and her lungs.

Speaking in 2014, she said: ‘My brother and I were born with cancer of the eyes, the retina, my mum told us only special people get cancer. I must be very special because I have had it in my lungs and bladder as well.’

Caroline’s brother Patrick paid tribute to his sister following her death, saying in a statement: ‘My heart is broken as I loved her so much. But she is now in a better place and most of all she has no pain.

‘I have lost a beautiful sister and the world has lost an amazing talent.’

The star announced she was battling lung cancer in 2014 and at a Macmillan Cancer charity event, she explained how she felt when she was first diagnosed.

‘When you hear them [doctors] telling you you have cancer, it’s true that you really don’t take it in properly, you just don’t think of the questions,’ she revealed.

She went on to explain that humour had helped her deal with her illness, as she revealed how grateful she was to be able to share a joke with the hospital staff.

‘So many funny things happen when you’re in there and, looking back, you do have a right laugh with the nurses,’ she said. ‘Although I was on morphine, so maybe it was just me laughing.

‘But that’s a way you can cope with it. If you can separate yourself from it, a sense of humour really, really helps.’

She ended her speech with a light-hearted joke, quipping: ‘My wig stayed on.’

The star’s diagnosis with lung cancer – which she claimed at the time was not related to her former smoking habit – marked the third time she was forced to confront the disease.

As a baby she had a rare cancer of the retina, retinoblastoma, which left her nearly blind in one eye, and she also later suffered from bladder cancer.