Janey Godley is ‘in the final beats of her life’, her daughter has revealed in a new social media post about the comedian who is being treated in a hospice.
Ashley Storrie, 38, told how ‘immensely proud’ she was of her 63-year-old mother, who has been suffering from stage three ovarian cancer and receiving ‘end-of-life care’.
Fans have been sending best wishes and praising Godley’s bravery in opening up about her plight and as her condition deteriorated in recent months.
The Scottish comic had revealed last month she would be getting palliative care for ovarian cancer and going into a hospice in a video shared to social media.
Now her actress daughter has announced on Instagram how Godley has just been awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Glasgow, sharing a photo of her mother lying in bed holding the accompanying certificate.
Janey Godley’s daughter revealed in an Instagram post how her mother had been awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Glasgow ‘in the final beats of her life’
The new update on Janey Godley (left), 63, was provided online today by her actress daughter Ashley Storrie (right), 38
The post was also shared on Godley’s own account on X, formerly Twitter.
Ashley wrote this morning: ‘Thank you @uofglasgow for bestowing upon my mum the honorary degree of Doctor of the University of Glasgow.
‘This has brought her so much joy in the final beats of her life. Janey is so honoured, and I am so immensely proud of her. I am always proud of her.
‘Congratulations Doctor Godley.. Thank you for all your kindness and support to our family in this very difficult time.’
Among those replying online were writer and broadcaster Richard Coles, who called the doctorate award ‘Excellent news’, while celebrity chef Nigella Lawson wrote: ‘This is heartbreakingly beautiful. All love to you.’
There had previously been an outpouring of love and support when Godley updated her followers on her condition last month after going into a hospice.
She said: ‘The chemo ran out of options and I just couldn’t take any more of it and the cancer has spread,’ she told followers to an outpouring of love and support.
‘So it looks like this will be getting to near the end of it and it’s really difficult to speak about this and say to people.’
Ashley said of the doctorate: ‘Janey is so honoured, and I am so immensely proud of her’
Glasgow-born comedian Janey Godley has been admitted to a hospice while suffering from ovarian cancer – having previously been hospitalised with sepsis
She won fans during lockdown with her online spoof voiceovers accompanying footage of politicians such as Nicola Sturgeon – the pair are seen here at the Aye Write book festival at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall in May last year
Janey Godley previously held an ‘unwelcome’ message for then-US president Donald Trump at the opening of his Turnberry golf resort in Ayrshire in June 2016
Ashley’s message was shared on Janey Godley’s page on X, formerly Twitter, and attracted many messages of congratulations and support in response
Janey Godley, pictured in November 2021, was forced to cancel a scheduled UK tour this autumn after her cancer returned
She has kept fans updated on social media, revealing how she had gone into a hospice to receive palliative care after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer
Wellwishers have been sending messages of support and sympathy in response to her posts
That update came after the Glasgow-raised comedian had announced the cancellation of an upcoming UK tour called ‘Why Is She Still Here?’ amid ongoing treatment.
‘It is devastating news to know that I’m facing end-of-life but we all come to an end sometime.
‘I want to thank everybody for supporting the family, especially (her daughter) Ashley and my husband.
‘The overwhelming support has been amazing, and I don’t know how long I’ve got left before anybody asks. I’m not a TikTok.
‘So I just want you to know that I appreciate all the love you’ve gave me and all the support. Cancer affects two in one people, and it’s affected me.’
She also thanked charities who have supported her throughout her health journey.
Responding to her latest video, Scotland’s former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wrote: ‘Sending you so much love, my friend. You are an inspiration.’
Godley, who found viral fame with her dubbed pastiches of Sturgeon’s coronavirus news briefings as well as other comic voiceovers during the pandemic, revealed she had ovarian cancer in November 2021.
Janey Godley, a former pub landlady, took up stand-up comedy in the 1990s
The popular comic is seen here at the London Film Festival at the Embankment Garden Cinema in London in October 2018
Godley said in a message to fans last month: ‘It is devastating news to know that I’m facing end-of-life but we all come to an end sometime’
In 2022 the comedian was given the all-clear and said in a post to X, formerly Twitter, that a scan showed ‘no evidence of disease’.
However, she later announced that another scan had shown signs of the disease in her abdomen but added that she would continue touring.
But the gigs were cancelled last month after she was treated in hospital for sepsis before learning her cancer had returned with added complications.
Godley, born in poverty in Glasgow in 1961, took up stand-up comedy in 1994 and went on to become a regular co-presenter on BBC Radio 4’s Loose Ends, as well as fronting BBC Radio 4 series The C Bomb.
She has also appeared on panel shows such as Have I Got News For You.
The comedian was photographed at Turnberry golf resort in Ayrshire, on Scotland’s West Coast, with her infamous ‘unwelcome’ sign for the course’s owner Donald Trump in June 2016 – bearing the message: ‘Trump is a c**t.’
She faced controversy in 2021 after Scottish Government coronavirus adverts in which she featured were pulled after offensive tweets by her in the past came to light following an investigation by the Daily Beast website.
Godley profusely apologised for the tweets and donated the £12,000 fee she was paid to charity.
Janey Godley (right) is pictured here with her daughter Ashley Storrie at the British Academy Scotland Awards in Glasgow in November 2019
Godley cancelled planned gigs last month after she was treated in hospital for sepsis before learning her cancer had returned with added complications.
Last year she became the winner of the inaugural Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival.
Godley, who has been married to her husband Sean Storrie for 44 years, spoke publicly in early October about how the ‘worst part’ of her ordeal was having to tell her autistic daughter Ashley, 38, that she had cancer.
The comedian told the Times: ‘She has always been a catastrophiser – telling her was like throwing a hand grenade.
‘I tell Ashley that she is likely to feel a sense of relief once it’s finally done and I’m dead: no more chemo, no more hair loss, no more vomiting, no more worry. And she was just, like, “Ah, f***, I’ve been waiting for that to happen for ages already!”‘
Talking to MailOnline in January this year, Godley told of feeling comforted that her husband and daughter would be financially secure after her death.
She said: ‘I worked hard. I have a great daughter. I’ve got a marriage that’s lasted 43 year. I’m proud of the fact that despite all the s***e that was flung at me I managed to make my family financially secure which was very important to me.
‘[It’s because] I came from such poverty. It’s very important that my daughter will never have to worry about the electricity bill or being evicted or the rent not being paid. She will never have to worry about her dinner.
‘Level six has been achieved so I can leave the game.’