Raw, northern and working class – no wonder so many TV luvvies didn’t get Caroline Aherne

The Mrs Merton star wrote the kind of euphemism-free banter exchanged among friends and colleagues, but judged harshly by outsiders

Caroline, who died aged 52, disguised her intelligence but was razor sharp and had a brain the size of a planet

The first time I met Caroline Aherne was in late 1989, at a meeting about a new radio station, KFM, due on air in early 1990. I felt I'd known her all my life.

Chatty, friendly and extremely funny and warm, immediately we bonded because of our council estate, Irish catholic and 11-plus grammar school backgrounds – and even over our mums being dinner ladies. Within 10 minutes of being introduced to Caroline and the soon to be co-host on her radio show, Craig Cash, we were in the pub.

It was mesmerising. Craig is one of the funniest people ever and Caroline, well, she was even funnier and smart as a whippet. The station boss Steve Toon was the one who put the two together. “Terry, we've got a radio show with the funniest bloke and funniest woman in Manchester on,” he whispered in my ear. I didn't know the half of it.

Caroline had already been involved in doing bits of stand-up that involved dealing with comedian, poet and writer Henry Normal, who I'd known since 1985. Henry was a working class lad from a Nottinghamshire mining town. He’d moved up to Manchester in 1987 and became a kind of Tony Wilson-type cultural catalyst, often writing for the local comedy circuit with characters such as Steve Coogan, John Thompson and, of course, Caroline.

Henry brought a sort of Calvinistic work ethic into that hedonistic and often unfocused raw talent in Manchester, and to Caroline. “Yes that's funny,” he’d say, “but how about you write it down and put it into some kind of structure.”

Like a lot of very smart working class people, Caroline disguised how clever she was, but no-one could be that razor sharp without a brain the size of a planet.

The courage of the format of her breakthrough show Mrs Merton was her brain and comic genius versus all – no props, no set-up questions, no prompting of guests. I don't think anyone else in comedy, male or female, could have worked off the cuff in that way.

Her comedy was raw, northern and working class, the kind of euphemism-free banter exchanged among friends and colleagues, but which could be judged very harshly by outsiders. It was extremely brave. Caroline, Craig and Henry had to fight tooth and nail to protect it from editors and executives from posh backgrounds who didn't quite get it.

All Caroline's writing was a celebration of working class life. I remember laughing when some of the luvvy-types in media land liked the Royle Family but didn't quite understand that it was actually a comedy imbued with reality, not a docu-drama about northern life.

Craig Cash cheekily stole the scene where the grandmother will only drink out of a china cup from my mum – he found it hilarious that we had a special cup for my mother who wouldn't drink out of a mug, as it was too thick between her lips. The Royles were all about the details and the authenticity, and that's why it resonated with viewers.

Caroline's life was turbulent, ravaged with problems that she never liked to talk about. She shied away from the ‘being famous’ circus. The high regard and esteem and love the public have for her will be off the scale this week.

A true working class hero the likes of which I fear we’ll never see again, it was impossible to know her and not be a bit in love with her. In Manchester, there'll be proud tears shed for one of our own.