Nicola Sturgeon breaks silence on Janey Godley's death after comic found fame mocking her

Former First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon has spoken out following the death of Janey Godley

Nicola Sturgeon has spoken out to share her condolences following the death of Janey Godley.

Scottish comedian Janey died at the age of 63 three years after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Janey found fame in the Covid lockdown after her videos mocking Nicola went viral.

Speaking out today, Nicola wrote: "Knowing for the past few weeks that this moment was fast approaching didn’t make it any less heartbreaking to hear the news early this morning that Janey had died.

"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.

"A bond was forged between us in the darkest days of Covid when her famous voiceovers of my daily briefings went viral. In the toughest of times, she made people laugh - and that was precious. She did more that that though. In managing to project the serious public health messages of my briefings to a much wider audience than I would have managed alone, she helped save lives.

"The photos on this post are from an event we did together last year - it was a special night. I was so proud to call Janey a friend and will miss her hugely. My heart goes out to her family and many friends - they are in my thoughts today. I know Frank will have been there, holding the door for her as she went - with a tear in his eye, as I have in mine. RIP my friend."

Godley found viral fame with her dubbed pastiches of then-Scotland first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s coronavirus news briefings during the pandemic.

This is a breaking news story.