JANEY Godley is many things to many people. A Glaswegian, a mother, a wife, a comedian, the woman behind the “Trump is a c**t” sign, a mouthy barmaid (in real life and in an Oscar-nominated movie), and Nicola Sturgeon’s cutting inner monologue, to name but a few.
Whichever version of Godley you know, it’s her special affinity for a great story that has come to define her.
“Upon reflection, I really shouldn’t have gotten rid of my [married] name Janey Storrie, it was absolutely perfect,” she deadpans from her home in Glasgow.
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The stand-up comedian has just finished touring Not Dead Yet, the show inspired by her terminal ovarian cancer diagnosis, around 19 English cities and is, understandably, feeling a little run-down.
“I’ve got a cold and I’m still getting treatment for cancer, which I’ll always be in treatment for,” she says, as if they are both similar levels of severity. “But other than that, I’m fine!”
Godley is the subject of a new documentary called Janey, directed by John Archer and premiering at Glasgow Film Festival, which combines behind-the-scenes footage from the Scottish leg of the tour with personal archive video.
The film offers audiences a guided tour of Godley’s early life and career, while tenderly capturing recent unseen moments between the comic and her daughter Ashley, as well as her friend Shirley who she has recently made TikTok-famous through videos of the pair singing Taylor Swift songs in car parks.
“[Shirley] doesn’t realise how big of a part she’s got in the film. She’s gonna f**king die when she sees it!” Godley chuckles.
Jokes aside, through tough periods of mass online trolling and long chemotherapy appointments, we see the importance of these women in Godley’s life.
“I’ve come to realise it’s a film about women and friendship in Glasgow. There’s an awful lot of Glasgow history entrenched into the film. I was thinking a lot about my mammy, and the River Clyde, and about my childhood.”
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Readers of Godley’s 2005 memoir Handstands In The Dark will be all too familiar with the heart-wrenching story of how her mother – a complicated woman Godley paints as fiercely protective but also totally neglectful – was murdered by her partner and found several days later in the Clyde.
The upcoming documentary recounts Godley finding out the news while on a shift at the pub she owned with her husband – the same pub her family (including a very young Ashley) end up having to leave with little more than the clothes on their back.
When asked if she’s ever regretted sharing personal details with her large fanbase, Godley said: “I’ve always been a great believer in smashing your own windows before somebody does it for you.
“I’ve always lived my life like I’m running out of time, like maybe this is the last time I’ll speak. So I may as well tell you everything!
“But I do preserve things just for me. There’s a side of my life that nobody gets to see.”
One form of self-preservation is Godley’s recent resignation from Twitter/X – a platform she has been hugely active on for more than a decade. “I really loved it but it became too toxic. I had people telling me that I was faking cancer. They were mocking up pictures of my grave and saying that my mum wasn’t murdered.
“Plus the fact that Elon Musk is gonna start charging people to be on it – I’m not paying money for people to call me a fake cancerous cow!”
Many will remember Godley’s tweets through the face of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, who makes an appearance in the film. But was she as complimentary about the comic’s mocking voiceovers in person as she has been online?
“Oh yeah, she loves the videos! She’s always been fair game. I’ve got nothing but admiration for her.
“She’s gone through so much. I mean, to have everything pulled out of your house – I’ve had the police raid my house, it’s fucking horrible.
“But she’s still standing. And I’m still standing, too.”
Janey comes out in cinemas on March 15; Janey Godley will tour cinemas across Scotland for her On Screen & On Stage Tour from March 16-April 20.
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