Royle Family writer kept Blackpool Tower token

Craig Cash, who co-wrote and co-starred in classic comedy The Royle Family, said he kept a prop featuring the Blackpool Tower.
Liz Smith. The highlight of my career. The lovely Royle Family cast members. Raif Little, Caroline Aherne, Craig Cash, Sue Johnston and Ricky Tomlinson.Liz Smith. The highlight of my career. The lovely Royle Family cast members. Raif Little, Caroline Aherne, Craig Cash, Sue Johnston and Ricky Tomlinson.
Liz Smith. The highlight of my career. The lovely Royle Family cast members. Raif Little, Caroline Aherne, Craig Cash, Sue Johnston and Ricky Tomlinson.

Speaking of his agony at going through mementos following the death of co-star Caroline Aherne, who died from cancer aged 52 in 2016, he said the show’s famous couch was in a co-worker’s garage.

But he added: “But I kept a Charles and Diana plate and a felt wall hanging with Blackpool Tower on it.”

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Cash, who played Dave, the partner of Aherne’s character Denise in the sitcom, which ran from 1998 until 2000 with special episodes several years later, said it was “heartbreaking” to go through the props.

The Gogglebox narrator also revealed that Aherne “used to make us kiss the Royle Family script three times before we sent it to the BBC.”

He added: “Mind you, she kissed a lot of things. She was so in love with Hugh Grant that she kissed the TV screen when he was on it.”