Room 101 with Paul Merton: Julian Clary

Janey Godley doesn’t know how long she’s got left, so she’s telling ALL the jokes! This is her extraordinary story. Fearless and unflinching, yet life affirming stand-up at its very best. In this episode, we hear how Janey became an unlikely teen bride for a shy autistic 16 year-old who dressed like insurance salesman, and how a mixed marriage that seemed doomed before it even began, has lasted for over 43 years. Oh, and there’s that time they met Prince. With added insight from Janey’s daughter Ashley Storrie, who helps her mum remember the stories of their life together with humour and love. Relentlessly authentic, she's also had to face up to her own mistakes - taking responsibility and apologising both publicly and onstage, as well as sharing the shame of being ‘cancelled’ and the very dark place that took her to. Then, just months later, the hand grenade of a cancer diagnosis forced her to start fighting for her life. Now, after finally admitting that after everything she’s been through in life, maybe she‘s not “fine”, and with a terminal diagnosis, she’s submitted to the ultimate ‘C bomb' for many men and women of her generation - counselling. And as a result of this insight, she’s more hilarious and compelling onstage than ever. Janey’s experienced a life of extremes but has come out the other side with rare insight, still able to make light of all its trials and tribulations in her signature dark and uncompromising style. Recorded live in front of an audience in her hometown, Glasgow. A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4