Caroline Aherne had a sad final Gogglebox request before she died

The Royle Family star Caroline Aherne had a sweet final request for Gogglebox before she passed away.

The beloved actor and comedian died in 2016 aged just 52 after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

Aherne had a lengthy and impressive career appearing in The Mrs Merton Show, The Fast Show and, of course, The Royle Family, which she also wrote alongside her long-running writing partner Craig Cash, who played her on-screen husband Dave.

Aherne also voiced the hit Channel 4 show Gogglebox from when it first arrived on our screens in 2013 until shortly before her death in 2016.

Prior to her death, Aherne had made a special request to the makers of the show that Cash should be the person to take over if she became too ill to continue narrating the show.

And Cash was happy to help out - as fans will know, the 63-year-old voiced Gogglebox on and off between 2013 and 2015, before taking over full-time in 2016.

BBC

Cash told the Radio Times: "In November 2013, when she was gravely ill with cancer, Caroline asked if I'd narrate Gogglebox when she wasn't up to it.

"Of course, I said yes; it was a very sad time and I wanted to do right by her and by the programme. Caroline was well and then unwell, well and unwell, so I filled in whenever she needed me to."

Cash has previously said the show feels like a ‘gift’ from his late friend.

"It was really lovely, because it feels like a gift she has left me and I'm very grateful," he said.

"It felt like only natural I should keep doing it and I feel like she's with me sometimes.

"When I go in the studio where we used to record it, I can feel her presence sometimes.

BBC

"That feels a bit weird but true."

A documentary celebrating Aherne’s life - titled Caroline Aherne: Queen of Comedy - aired on the BBC yesterday (25 December), featuring those who knew her best, including Cash.

In one particularly emotional part, Cash recalled the moment he was told Aherne had just months left to live.

“I was just in denial,” he said. “I just kept saying, ‘no’, just kept repeating, ‘no’. There’s a lot to be said for denial.

“And she was like, ‘but we had some laughs though didn’t we, Cashy?’”

Cash became tearful remembering the interaction and had to leave the interview to give himself a moment.