Paul Whitehouse misses Caroline Aherne 'terribly'

Paul Whitehouse thinks \'The Fast Show\' will always be synonymous with Caroline Aherne.

The comedy star died of lung cancer, aged 52, in 2016, and Paul thinks the programme\'s legacy will always be connected to her career.

He said: "You can\'t mention \'The Fast Show\' without thinking of Caroline."

The cast of the long-running comedy recently reunited to shoot \'The Fast Show: Just A Load of Blooming Catchphrases\', which features interviews and new sketches.

And Paul revealed that his late co-star\'s character Renee - the woman who talks non-stop to her husband Roy - is referenced in a moving new skit.

Teasing the sketch, he told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "Let\'s say the spirit of Caroline imbued us all with that idea.

"She would have laughed at the sadness of it. She\'d have loved it."

Paul thinks the character of Renee underlined the breadth of Caroline\'s comedy talents.

He said: "We talked about Roy and Renee and we just went, \'Oh my God, it\'s just Roy\'. Those sketches were some of the earliest ones we did and they stand up so well. They were so funny.

"The breadth of what she was able to do! \'Mrs Merton\', \'The Fast Show\', \'The Royle Family\'.

"To dominate in those three types of comedy and to be a woman. Not that she was held back at all, but you probably had to push a little bit harder as a woman.

"We miss her terribly and I know we had a soft spot for each other, her and me."

John Thomson has also hailed his former \'Fast Show\' co-star, describing Caroline as "sharp" and admitting she was "sorely missed at the reunion".

The actor told The Sun newspaper: "She was very talented. She used to play ditzy but she was so sharp.

"She was sorely missed at the reunion but we filmed it separately over two days so in that sense her absence wasn\'t as noticeable."