Janey Godley

Janey Godley (born Jane Godley Currie; 20 January 1961) is a Scottish stand-up comedian, actress and writer from Glasgow.[2]

Janey Godley
Godley at the BAFTA Awards in 2008
Born (1961-01-20) 20 January 1961
Campsie, Stirlingshire, Scotland
Other namesJaney Currie
Janey Storrie
OccupationComedian, actress, writer
Years active1994–present
Political partyScottish National Party
Spouse(s)
Sean Storrie
​
(m. 1980)​
[1]
Children1
Websitewww.janeygodley.co.uk

Early life

Jane Godley Currie was born on 20 January 1961 in Campsie, then part of Stirlingshire. Her parents were James “Jim” Currie (died 2017), a chemical technician, and his first wife, Annie Fleming Currie (née Percy; 1935–1982). Godley's parents married in 1954 and went on to have four children together, of which Godley was the youngest. They separated in the mid-1970s.

Godley was raised on Kenmore Street in Shettleston, a district in the East End of Glasgow. Living in poverty, which was rife in the East End during that time, Godley left school at 16 with no qualifications.[3]

Godley and her sister, Ann Crawford, were sexually abused by their maternal uncle, David Percy. Percy, who was 12 years older than Godley, molested her and her sister for a number of years during their childhoods. Percy was charged for the crimes in 1993 after the sisters decided to come forward, and was later found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison in 1996.[4]

In 1980, aged 19, Godley married Sean Storrie. Storrie, who has Asperger syndrome,[5] was born into a Glasgow gangster family.[6] Godley and her husband have a daughter, Ashley (born 1986), who also has autism spectrum disorder like her father, and is also a stand-up comedian.[7] Alongside her husband and his family, she ran a public house in Calton, Glasgow for 14 years during the 1980s and 1990s.[8]

In 1982, when Godley was 21, her mother died after drowning in the River Clyde. Godley believes that her mother was murdered by her violent boyfriend, Peter Greenshields. Greenshields was never charged by police for Annie Currie's death despite calls for an investigation from her family.[3]

Career

Godley began her stand-up career in 1994.[9] Godley decided to use a stage name, saying to her husband: "I don't want to be Janey Storrie any more, because your family let me down, and I don't want to be Janey Currie because my family let me down. I'm going to use my middle name and legally become Janey Godley. The only family who haven't let me down are the Godleys because I don't know them."[10] She legally changed her name from Janey Godley Storrie to Janey Godley in 1995.[11]

She won an award for the "Best Show Concept" at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival in 2002, and the "Spirit of the Festival" in 2006.[12] In 2005 her autobiography Handstands in the Dark was published.[13] In 2006, she was a finalist for the Edinburgh Evening Times' "Scotswoman of the Year" award.[14] In 2002, 2006, 2008 and 2009, she was nominated as "Best International Guest" by the New Zealand Comedy Guild.[15]

Her TV appearances include River City, Sam Delaney's News Thing, The Alex Salmond Show and Have I Got News for You. She appears in the film Wild Rose.[16]

Godley often makes spoof voice-overs of videos.[17][18] In 2020, Godley wrote and starred in a series of short films titled Alone, about a recently widowed housewife whose abusive husband has died of COVID-19, as part of the National Theatre of Scotland's Scenes for Survival webseries.[19] In December 2020, the Royal Society of Edinburgh commended Godley's voice-overs of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's COVID-19 briefings for helping engage the public with the warnings.[8]

In 2020, she won the Scots Language Award's Speaker of the Year Award.[20][21]

Political activism

Godley is a supporter of the Scottish National Party, and Scottish independence.[22]

In February 2016, Godley joined a group of comedians on a tour of the UK in support of Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, although she is a supporter of the Scottish National Party.[22]

In 2016, Godley was pictured standing outside Donald Trump's Turnberry Golf resort holding a sign stating "Trump is a Cunt", which went viral. She was prevented from approaching her subject by Police Scotland.[23] Following a protest in Glasgow which she organised in November 2016 just prior to the election of Trump as President, she received rape threats through Twitter.[24]

Books
  • Godley, Janey (2005). Handstands In The Dark. Great Britain: Ebury Press. ISBN 9780091908775. OCLC 61175808.

References
  1. "'I'm rebelling against my upbringing': Ashley Storrie on being the daughter of a comedy legend". HeraldScotland.
  2. "Petrol bomb pensioner shows old gang hatreds die hard". The Scotsman. 6 January 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  3. Brooks, Libby. "'I joked about my life – Ma's murder, child abuse, gangsters': how Janey Godley became the queen of comedy". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  4. "Prison term for uncle marks an end to the ordeal women had kept to themselves; Abused sisters' 30-year secret". The Herald. 5 November 1996. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  5. https://medium.com/@janeygodley_42972/living-with-a-man-who-has-aspergers-b015c02f3798
  6. https://www.scotsman.com/news/mum-was-murdered-and-my-laws-are-gangsters-2463817
  7. "Interview: Ashley Storrie – 'I have been known to go a bit Tonto'". The List. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  8. Williams, Martin (11 December 2020). "Royal Society of Edinburgh acclaims Janey Godley's medicine for helping curb Covid-19 spread". The Herald. Herald and Times Group. Newsquest Media Group. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  9. Solutions, Powder Blue Internet Business. "Janey Godley, comedian : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  10. Glover, Gillian. "Working in a rough Glasgow pub gave Janey Godley the front to make a success of stand-up comedy - and put dark memories of a troubled childhood behind her, says Gillian Glover". www.janeygodley.com. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  11. https://medium.com/@janeygodley_42972/my-dad-said-was-i-a-good-dad-67f258b9cf82
  12. Solutions, Powder Blue Internet Business. "Janey Godley, comedian : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  13. "Handstands in the Dark listing at Random House". Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  14. Robertson, Linda (18 October 2006). "Last chance to vote for Scotswoman of the Year". Evening Times. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  15. "Janey Godley". Scottish Comedy Agency. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  16. "Janey Godley". IMDb.
  17. Aiken, Gregor. "Brexit breakdown as Prime Minister dwells on Snapchat group with Arlene Foster and Nicola Sturgeon".
  18. "Janey Godley – Loud and Live, The Soup Pot Sessions". Glasgow Life.
  19. "SCENES FOR SURVIVAL - ALONE PART II". nationaltheatrescotland.com. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  20. Ferguson, Brian (24 October 2020). "Comedy star Janey Godley named 'Scots Speaker of the Year'". The Scotsman. JPI Media. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  21. Hannan, Martin (26 October 2020). "Janey Godley and Stuart Paterson muckle winners o' Scots awards". The National. NewsQuest. NewsQuest Media Group Ltd. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  22. "Comedian on Jeremy Corbyn's #JC4PM tour has said she would never vote for him". The Independent. 3 February 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  23. "Comedian Janey Godley plans Glasgow Against Trump rally in George Square". The National. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  24. Gilbert, Julie (6 November 2016). "Glaswegian Janey Godley threatened with rape after George Square Trump protest". glasgowlive. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
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