A Royle appearance

Aherne crowned comedy queen

Caroline Aherne made a rare public appearance last night to receive the Les Dawson Award for services to comedy in the North West.

She also recieved the writing award at the North West Comedy Awards, shared with her Royle Family co-creators Craig Cash and Phil Mealey .

At the event in Manchester, Aherne said: ' Les Dawson was one of my heroes. It's lovely to be back here to see all my old mates. I have been out of showbusiness now for a few years but it's lovely to be back.'

Les Dawson's widow Tracey added: 'Les would have been delighted - he was a big fan of Mrs Merton.'

Aherne has been something of a reculse in recent years after battling depression, but turned out last night alongside such comedy stars as Johnny Vegas and Dave Spikey.

The other winners were:

Best Stand Up on the North West Comedy Circuit: Jason Manford

Best Breakthrough Act: Sarah Millican

Best Comedic Performance in Film and TV: David Threlfall for Shameless

Best Radio Comedy: Chris Addison and Carl Cooper for Civilization

Best Comedy Writing for Film and Television: Caroline Aherne, Craig Cash and Phil Mealey for The Royle Family

Best North West Comedy Club: Frog and Bucket

Best Comedic Performance in a Soap: Antony Cotton, who plays Sean Tully in Coronation Street

Les Dawson Award for Services to North West Comedy: Caroline Aherne

Published: 26 Jan 2007

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