Tributes pour in for Caroline Aherne after her death at age 52

Caroline Aherne has been remembered as an "incredibly funny" comedian and a "raw talent" by one of her co-stars on The Fast Show.

John Thomson said that Aherne could be relied upon to make him "roar with laughter" but had become a "virtual recluse" in recent years as she struggled with the demands of fame.

Thomson said he had last seen Aherne while they were working on Sky comedy After Hours in 2014.

He said she was "painfully thin" but on "amazing form".

"This was the last time I saw her. I'm grateful for that fact, as that was how I would want to remember her."

Actor Ricky Tomlinson has paid tribute to Caroline Aherne, saying that she was "a true professional and one of the most generous people I have ever worked with".

Speaking to The Sunday Mirror, he called her "kind, funny, witty" and said he was "so bloody shocked" at her death.

Tomlinson, 76, co-starred in Aherne's televison show The Royle Family.

He told the paper Aherne had been "absolutely wonderful and amazing to work for", and that over the two years she was battling cancer she he could "never, ever remember her complaining".

Actor and comedian, Steve Coogan, has paid tribute to the "incredibly funny" Caroline Aherne who has died aged 52.

The 50-year-old spoke of how he first met the comedian when she was a secretary at the BBC looking to appear on the television.

The actor paid tribute to his friend who he said would leave him crying with laughter.

"She was a grounded, decent person," he said, adding: "I'll miss her terribly".

Fellow comedians Lenny Henry, Miranda Hart and The League of Gentlemen's Reece Shearsmith have tweeted their respects to Caroline Aherne.

Little Britain's Matt Lucas said Aherne "moved television comedy on to a new place".

Debbie McGee, the widow of magician Paul Daniels who was at the receiving end of one of Mrs Merton's most famous lines, said her creator Caroline Aherne was "wonderful".

Aherne's Mrs Merton famously asked McGee in a 1995 episode: "What first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?"

TV presenter Keith Chegwin, who was also a 'victim' of Mrs Merton said: "Even though she was taking the mickey out of me. I never laughed so much."

McGee's husband Paul Daniels died in April, also of cancer, in a year that has seen the death of scores of big names in entertainment.

Caroline Aherne, who died on Saturday after battling cancer, had paid tribute to her fellow comedian Victoria Wood who died of the disease in April.

She released a statement saying Wood had a "rare gift of making us laugh at the mundanities of life with a humour that was never cruel and only ever warm. A true comic genius".

Aherne is the latest big name in entertainment to have passed away in 2016.

• Read more: Celebrities we have lost so far in 2016

Producers of the Channel 4 television reality show Gogglebox have paid tribute to Caroline Aherne, who was the narrator since the first episode in 2013.

Other stars of the show have paid their respects to Aherne on social media.

Actress Sue Johnson who played Caroline Aherne's on-screen mother Barbara in The Royle Family said in a statement she was "devastated" and "numb with grief" to learn of her death.

Ralf Little who starred as her brother Antony in the hit sitcom described it as a "sad, sad day" and said she had a "big heart".

Coronation Street's Andrew Whyment, who played Darren in The Royle Family, said she was a "very talented woman".

More stars have paid tribute to comedian Caroline Aherne who lost her battle with cancer on Saturday.

Fellow comedian David Baddiel described her as "vulnerable and complex and damaged but lovely".

Aherne had fought depression and drink problems and spent time in the Priory clinic following a suicide attempt, before moving to Australia to avoid the glare of publicity.

Comedian David Walliams called her a "true comedy genius".