Ricky Tomlinson has revealed that he never knew his Royle Family co-star Caroline Aherne was gravely ill and said her sudden death came as a surprise.
Aherne passed away in July, aged 52, after a battle with lung cancer. Tomlinson said he was "so glad" he was unaware that she was sick because it would have been "painful" to see her go through it.
During an emotional interview on ITV Tomlinson said "I never knew until the morning she died and I got a phone call off a newspaper reporter and I'm so glad I didn't know as it would have been painful to work with her and to see her."
Aherne played Tomlinson's on-screen daughter in the much-loved comedy sit-com which she co-created and wrote with Craig Cash.
The actor fondly remembered his former co-star and said "she was fabulous. Her skills of watching people and making a joke out of it was unbelievable.
"But there was nothing sacred, there was no sort of boundaries that she wouldn't have a go at . . and now and again I do little speeches and little talks and I tell some stories about Caroline which I couldn't repeat on your programme this morning because they're very rude, but they're very funny.
"She was a wonderful person and very generous ... I will love her forever."
Prior to being diagnosed with lung cancer, Aherne had been treated for bladder and eye cancer.
Aherne's brother Patrick told Good Morning Britian that "it just seems so unfair that somebody can get cancer three times."
"At first I thought she was going to get through with it all and she would be OK. I will never forget ... when she told me she had three months to 12 months - it was just a horrible, horrible day in my life", he said.
"You've got to really understand what an impressive person she was to deal with things like this, she had so many problems in her life. She made me laugh purely by being herself. She was such a funny person, such a clever person."
in an emotional interview, saying he will "love her forever".
