Sue Johnston has honoured her former Royle Family co-star Caroline Aherne with a heartfelt social media post on Christmas Eve, which would have marked the comedy writer's 61st birthday.
The 82-year-old actress, who portrayed Barbara Royle opposite Ms Aherne's Denise in the beloved BBC sitcom from 1998 to 2012, shared a photograph of the pair on Instagram.
"Happy heavenly Birthday, Caroline, we love and miss you so much. X," Johnston wrote alongside the image.
The tribute prompted an outpouring of affection from fellow celebrities.
Sue Johnstone paid tribute to her late co-star, Caroline Aherne
|Carol Vorderman responded: "What a stunning pic Sue xxx by hell we loved the Royle Family at Christmas time, Caroline still so sorely missed."
Eamonn Holmes also commented, describing it as a "Beautiful pic" and wishing Ms Johnston a happy Christmas.
Ms Aherne, who died in July 2016 at the age of 52 following a battle with cancer, left behind an extraordinary body of work in British comedy.
She co-created The Royle Family alongside Craig Cash, with whom she also starred in the groundbreaking sitcom that ran for over a decade.
Caroline Aherne died in 2016
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Beyond her role as Denise, Ms Aherne became a household name through The Mrs Merton Show, where she portrayed the sharp-tongued chat show host, and appeared in The Fast Show.
Her distinctive voice also became familiar to millions as the narrator of Channel 4's Gogglebox.
The Manchester-born performer's talent for observational comedy and her ability to capture working-class family life made her one of British television's most celebrated writers and performers.
Ms Aherne's cancer diagnosis in 2014 was not her first encounter with the disease. As an infant, she battled retinoblastoma, a rare cancer affecting the retina, which left her with significantly impaired vision in one eye.
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Sue Johnstone paid tribute to her late co-star
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She subsequently overcame bladder cancer before receiving her lung cancer diagnosis, which she maintained was unconnected to her previous smoking.
Speaking at a Macmillan Cancer charity event, Ms Aherne reflected on the importance of humour during treatment.
"So many funny things happen when you're in there and, looking back, you do have a right laugh with the nurses," she said.
"Although I was on morphine, so maybe it was just me laughing. But that's a way you can cope with it. If you can separate yourself from it, a sense of humour really, really helps."
Sue Johnstone also paid tribute to Liz Smith, another late Royle Family co-star
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Ms Aherne's personal life was marked by considerable hardship beyond her physical health battles. During the 1990s, she struggled with depression and alcoholism, leading to treatment at The Priory in 1998 following a suicide attempt.
She subsequently relocated to Australia to escape media attention.
Her romantic relationships also brought pain. Her marriage to former New Order guitarist Peter Hook ended, and she later began a relationship with television researcher Matt Bowers.
The couple separated, but Ms Aherne was left devastated when Mr Bowers died from cancer aged just 28.
The star previously acknowledged that alcohol had been her way of blocking out her difficulties.
Despite these challenges, she made a brief return to screens with a cameo appearance in Sky 1's After Hours.