‘The world is a poorer place’ Family and friends say farewell to comedian Caroline Aherne in a secret ceremony

SHE lived her life in the spotlight, but Caroline Aherne has been laid to rest in private.

The comedian passed away earlier this month after a battle with cancer.

Close friends and family gathered to say goodbye to The Royle Family star at a secret ceremony in Manchester.

TV producer Jeff Pope tweeted: “The funeral today of one of our greatest working class heroes. The world is a poorer place for the loss of the incomparable Caroline Aherne”.

A source close to Caroline's family confirmed to the Daily Mirror that the funeral had taken place in Greater Manchester.

Caroline was known for her work on The Mrs Merton Show, The Fast Show and most recently, she narrated the Channel 4’s Gogglebox.

Meanwhile, brave Caroline’s brother has talked of his heartbreak in losing his sister to cancer.

Patrick Aherne, said he had seen the Gogglebox star just before she died, and had a “last conversation” with her.

It’s reported the comedian, who died at the beginning of the month aged 52, remained upbeat despite knowing her illness was terminal.

Speaking to the The Mirror from his Cheshire home he said: “Caroline is everything to us.

“You can imagine how we are feeling.

“Yes I saw Caroline recently and had a last conversation with her.”

Patrick, who is 18 months older, suffered from retinoblastoma, a condition his sister also had.

Caroline had once spoken of how they bickered when they were kids, but then went on to become the “best of friends”.

Shortly after she died he released a statement saying: “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.

“I know Caroline would want everybody to be happy and not sad and I think we should now remember the comedy legacy that she has left for us.“RIP Caroline”.

It was revealed that Caroline kept the smiles coming even in the final days of her lung cancer battle.

When Caroline discovered two months ago that doctors could not cure her, she contacted close pals to tell them.

But while many of them broke down, the Mrs Merton star remained stoic and tried to console them instead.

A pal who spoke with Caroline said: “She was amazingly resilient and didn’t even cry as she told us she only had a matter of weeks to live."

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