Nicola Sturgeon looks emotional leaving Janey Godley’s funeral in Scotland

Countless fans paid tribute to the late Scottish comedian Janey Godley during her ‘final tour’ of Edinburgh – including former minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Godley died on November 2, aged 63, from stage four ovarian cancer, and was fondly remembered by many public figures including Sturgeon, Denise Welch and Nigella Lawson.

After finding viral fame with her witty online skits mimicking Sturgeon at Covid-19 briefings during the pandemic, she became a regular on BBC radio.

She was praised for her vocal pro-trans stance, always showing solidarity with the community, and for being an outspoken critic of Donald Trump since 2016.

Earlier today her hearse – which was engraved with her catchphrase ‘Frank, Get The Door!’ -travelled along the Royal Mile towards St Giles Cathedral where it would ‘pause for reflection’.

Sturgeon was photographed looking emotional as she departed the funeral for the woman who made her all the more famous with her hilarious impersonation.

The hearse was accompanied by a 100-strong female Sound House choir and close friend Shirley Doig.

The choir sang a medley of songs including Movin’ On Up by Primal Scream and One Day Like This by Elbow.

Her daughter Ashley Storrie was also present and shared a sweet message of remembrance on social media to explain the reasons for the public procession.

She posted: ‘For the past few years of Ma’s life it was important to her that she shared her journey with everyone, to offer support for others on the same path and to highlight the symptoms of Ovarian Cancer – all of course in her very singular Janey style, with laughter and candour.

‘So many of you who have travelled with us on this journey wish to be bid her a final farewell…’

The hearse will then travel onto Glasgow so that she could do a ‘final tour’ of the ‘two cities she loved with all her heart’. A private crematorium will take place on Saturday.

As hundreds lined the streets to say their last goodbye multiple rounds of applause were heard and roses thrown, with people travelling from as far as Germany to pay their respects.

‘A great send off for Janey Godley in Edinburgh this afternoon…’ X user Mike McNulty shared.

‘Edinburgh gave Janey Godley a good send off today!,’ Angie Brown agreed.

Godley was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2021 and was public about her diagnosis.

She died peacefully at Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow ‘surrounded by loved ones’.

In a messages to her 202k followers, her daughter wrote: ‘I want to thank all of you for all of your kindness and your support. I believe in my heart of hearts that she felt every bit of love sent to her and I think it kept her going.

‘I think it genuinely got her longer because of all of the support and love in the world, but that’s it, it’s over now so thank you once again and bye Ma.’

Former First Minister of Scotland Sturgeon, who later become friends with Godley, also posted a touching tribute.

In a heartfelt Instagram post, she wrote: ‘Janey Godley truly was a force of nature, and one of the funniest people I have ever known. I was able to visit her in the hospice a couple of weeks ago and though she was fragile, she still had me in stitches.

‘Janey was also incredibly kind. And she made the world a better place.’

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