After Dinner Speakers: Caroline Aherne, Allan Pease, John McCririck

both The Fast Show and The Mrs Merton Show. Though Checkout Girl was a popular character in the Fast Show, it was Mrs Merton who really made her name. The sweet old lady would ask the most outrageous, below-the-belt questions to her guest stars. "So, what attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?" she famously asked of Debbie McGee. As Mrs Merton's popularity diminished, Aherne struck gold a second time with The Royle Family. This was an unusual sit-com format: A working class family sat in front of the TV, and not much happened. When it did, you noticed. The secret of its success was its keen writing and perfect casting. In 2001 Caroline Aherne announced her retirement from TV and emigrated to Australia. Within a year she had written and produced Dossa and Joe - a sit-com about an Aussie couple who don't do very much.