Ralf Little and Ricky Tomlinson hope the late Caroline Aherne would "proud" of their new show.
‘The Royle Family’ co-stars have embarked on a journey across the north of England in a campervan to discover the wonders the UK has to offer for their show ‘Ricky And Ralf’s Very Northern Road Trip’.
And along the way, Ricky and Ralf have shared memories of their time working with one another and remembered Caroline – who starred and co-wrote the show with Craig Cash – after she passed away from lung cancer in 2016 at the age of 52.
Ricky, 80, told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "She’s missed. Not just her incredible talent … the way she went about things.
"I used to drink Sainsbury’s mild so when we finished filming on a Friday night she would have a crate of that for me, some crates of lager and bitter for the crew, a couple of bottles of wine for the make-up girls and a bottle of champagne for her and Sue Johnston.
"She would also give everyone a lottery ticket. That was just her little way of saying thank you … and I think that’s why we all worked so hard, she was tremendous."
However, Ralf believes if she was able to see their new show she would be "extremely sardonic" as no one would want to watch the two men in a campervan, but still hopes she would be proud.
The 40-year-old actor explained: "If I’d told her I was going to be driving round the North with Ricky for six weeks, Caroline would be like, ‘Oh, that will be a good show, you and Ricky with your arses out, hanging around in a caravan, who wants to watch that?’ She’d probably be a bit proud but extremely sardonic at the same time."