{"id":40749,"date":"2023-11-29T13:40:32","date_gmt":"2023-11-29T12:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1936218"},"modified":"2023-11-29T14:10:12","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T13:10:12","slug":"bbc-announces-caroline-aherne-film-featuring-royle-family-co-stars","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/bbc-announces-caroline-aherne-film-featuring-royle-family-co-stars\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC announces Caroline Aherne film featuring Royle Family co-stars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aherne is set to be celebrated in a new Arena documentary, with Noel Coward and Kae Tempest also set for their own films. <\/p>

By Lidia Molina-Whyte\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 29 November 2023 at 12:40 PM<\/p>

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The late Caroline Aherne will be the subject of a BBC Arena film this Christmas.<\/p>\n

Caroline Aherne: Comedy Queen will take a look at the life and career of the writer and actress, who passed away in 2016 at the age of 52. The film will feature unseen photographs and contributions from The Royle Family cast, as well as colleagues and friends.<\/p>\n

Aherne co-created the series alongside long-term collaborator Craig Cash, and starred as the Royles\u2019 laid-back daughter Denise.<\/p>\n

Steve Coogan, Jon Thompson, Craig Cash, Sue Johnston and producer Andy Harries have all been confirmed to appear.<\/p>

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Aherne\u2019s film is one of three new additions to the BBC\u2019s Arena series. Noel Coward will also be celebrated in Mad About The Boy: the Noel Coward Story. The film will be narrated by Alan Cumming, with actor Rupert Everett contributing as Coward\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Harold Pinter, Frank Sinatra, Lauren Bacall, Michael Caine and Lucille Ball will all appear in footage taken from Coward\u2019s own home movies.<\/p>\n

Being Kae Tempest is the third of the films, and the first one to air (today, Wednesday 29th November on BBC Two). It will feature \u201cintimate insights\u201d into the writer\u2019s life in a \u201cperiod of profound personal and artistic change,\u201d the BBC confirmed in a statement.<\/p>\n

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The Royle Family cast.<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

To celebrate the release of the new films, the BBC is also adding archival Arena content to iPlayer and BBC Four.<\/p>\n

More than 50 films will be added to the content library, many of which haven\u2019t been seen in decades. They include the likes of Elvis-centred documentary The Burger and the King, Many Lives of Richard Attenborough, Martin Scorsese\u2019s No Direction: Bob Dylan, and Delia Derbyshire: The Myths and the Legendary Tapes.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n