JANEY Godley, the comedian who developed her craft on the streets of Glasgow before making millions of people smile with her wit shining brightest on dark days, died on Saturday morning in palliative care. She was 63.

Announcing her death in a statement, her manager Chris Davis said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our client Doctor Janey Godley on November 2.

“Janey died peacefully in the wonderful Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow surrounded by her loved ones. She will be hugely missed by her family, friends and her many fans.

Her daughter, Ashley Storrie, said in the brief one-and-a-half-minute clip that she believed in her “heart of hearts” her mum “felt every bit of love” she was sent by supportive fans and that she kept going for longer because of it.

Ending the video, she said: “Bye ma. Frank, get the door.”

The phrase “Frank, get the door” is just one part of Janey’s inspiring legacy she leaves behind, taken from her infamous voiceover of Nicola Sturgeon during the pandemic.

The youngest child of Jim and Annie Currie, Janey grew up watching her father’s hard work and alcoholic temper beside her mother’s abuse and drug addiction, while her brothers Mij and David, and sister Ann grew up in a small two-bedroom flat on Kenmore Street which was constantly invested with fleas and lice.

Her maternal uncle David Percy sexually abused her from a young age, as well as her sister. He was convicted in 1996 when Janey was 35. The two sisters waived their right to anonymity.

Jim Currie was described by Janey as well-read and hard-working at the local steel foundry. Like many of his generation, he was prone to alcohol abuse which culminated in the abuse of his wife. Later in life, Jim moved to North Yorkshire after separating from Janey's mother and managed to remain sober.

Her mother Annie Currie was from Ayrshire and had four children by the time she was 26. She relied on Valium and was hospitalised in Janey's youth after becoming dependent on the drug. After she separated from Jim, she remained in Shettleston before starting a relationship with Peter Greenshields.

Annie was believed by Janey's family to have been murdered by Greenshields in 1982 however, the police never charged him on grounds of lack of evidence.

But Janey didn’t want her life to be thought of as sad. She wanted it to be remembered as happy, as one with protective dogs, a husband who chased away her nightmares, and a daughter, a “fierce female”, taking her own steps into comedy.

“The women in my family are warriors – we aren’t beaten by life”.

Janey attended primary school in Shettleston before going onto Eastbank Academy. She left school at 16 with no qualifications but had aspirations to be on the stage from a young age.

Married at 19, Janey ran a pub in Glasgow’s east end in Calton with her husband Sean Storrie and his family in the 1980s and 1990s. Despite the drugs and gangs literally littering the streets, her father having a drinking problem before getting sober, and her mother addicted to Valium, Janey never touched drugs or drink.

The couple welcomed their only child Ashley Storrie into the world in 1986. Ashley created and starred in a Scottish comedy drama television series set in Glasgow , and it was nominated for four BAFTA Scotland 2024 awards. Janey shared online that the pair cried when the nominations were announced this year.

In 1994, Sean’s family attempted to take the couple’s money and pub after the death of his father, and so they packed up and Janey turned to comedy. In 1995, Janey decided to drop Storrie from her name “because your family let me down”, she said to her husband.

“I don't want to be Janey Currie because my family let me down. I'm going to use my middle name and legally become Janey Godley. The only family who haven’t let me down are the Godleys because I don't know them."

Her shows went from the Edinburgh Fringe to London’s West End with critical acclaim while she also starred in TV and film.

Janey went on to be nominated for "Best Show Concept" at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival in 2002, and the "Spirit of the Festival" in 2006. In 2006, she was a finalist for the Edinburgh Evening Times' "Scotswoman of the Year" award. In 2002, 2006, 2008 and 2009, she was nominated as "Best International Guest" by the New Zealand Comedy Guild.

In 2023, she won the Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival, and days before her death, she was awarded with an honorary degree of Doctor from the University of Glasgow.

On and off stage, she was known for her stories of Glasgow’s and her own home’s dark corners, quick wit with audience members, and as never one to mince her words.

Her 2016 stunt which introduced her to millions was just that. Janey decided to say the thing many all over the world were thinking when Donald Trump visited his golf course in St Andrews – Trump is a cunt - leading to her receiving a ban from entering the United States.

READ MORE: Janey Godley pokes fun at Donald Trump from hospice bed

As a fierce campaigner, she believed “collective voices calling for change can make a stronger society, which can hold a mirror up to prejudiced views. That’s what good comedy, and good writing, does too.”

In the 90s, she hosted HIV awareness nights at her pub. She also supported Scottish independence and the SNP after a stint of supporting the Conservatives when she was younger. In 2016, she toured the UK with other comedians in support of Jeremy Corbyn while he was leader of Labour.

The comedian played at hundreds of gigs and events before finding viral fame during the pandemic, dubbing former first minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon’s coronavirus news briefings - which the Royal Society of Edinburgh commended her for helping engage the public with the warnings. Her over-the-top Scottish accent with quick wit and unapologetic humour brought light in some of the darkest periods the country had faced in modern times.

Sturgeon was just many fans turned friends online. Billy Connolly was another, with the comedy giant calling his fellow Glaswegian in her last few months, leaving her in stiches with his "same old darkest, offensive, humour and plethora of disgusting swearing as always!”.

“May comedy always be as offensively funny now and forever,” she said after their call.

Janey was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2021 with fans and loved ones providing support online. She was given the all-clear before the cancer returned in 2023.

However, while Janey documented her treatment and deterioration into palliative care and end-of-life care, she never failed to bring a smile to millions who followed her journey. She continued touring around Scotland until she physically could do so no more.

Janey was never one to avoid talking about death, laughing at aged seven when she realised real fun was an anagram of funeral. Towards the end of her life, she told her followers online of the importance of talking about death with family before death. “You got to know it is hard,” she said, “but these are conversations we all have to have at some point, or not, but I’m sending you all my love.”

Writing an updated introduction to her memoir in 2020, Janey reflected: “I am very lucky. I will always be grateful for the chance to tell my story, to let people know that the wee scruffy girl with untameable curly hair and a good dog would be heard. I hope you find it uplifting.”