Janey Godley: Scottish comedian awarded honorary doctorate from University of Glasgow amid end-of-life care

Her daughter, Ashley Storrie, shared the heartwarming news on X (formerly Twitter). She wrote: “Thank you @UofGlasgow for bestowing upon my mum the honorary degree of Doctor of the University of Glasgow. This has brought her so much joy in the final beats of her life. Janey is so honoured, and I am so immensely proud of her. Congratulations Doctor Godley.”

The honour comes as Godley, 63, continues to receive palliative care following a terminal diagnosis of ovarian cancer. She first shared her diagnosis in 2021, undergoing multiple rounds of chemotherapy that initially brought hope before doctors informed her this year that the cancer had returned and spread.

Reflecting on the difficult journey, she told The Times: “The worst part was having to tell Ashley. She has always been a catastrophiser; telling her was like throwing a hand grenade.” She described the end-of-life stage as “devastating news,” while also acknowledging, “we all come to an end sometime.”

Godley jokingly told her daughter how to cope with the situation. She said: “I tell Ashley that she is likely to feel a sense of relief once it’s finally done and I'm dead: no more chemo, no more hair loss, no more vomiting, no more worry.”

Ashley, who has supported her mother throughout, recently gained recognition for her work in the BBC series Dinosaur, earning a Bafta Scotland nomination.