Janey Godley says watching new documentary was 'emotional'

But the world premiere of the engaging and insightful film, which interweaves stories from Janey’s life with footage from her Not Dead Yet tour in the wake of her terminal cancer diagnosis, will be the closing event at this year’s Glasgow Film Festival (GFF).  

"I’m absolutely gobsmacked [it will be the closing gala]," Janey says.  

"I kept asking ‘are you sure’?

"It’s just a wee film about a woman that talks a lot of s****. 

"I didn’t expect it to be in cinemas or on telly or anything.  

"I thought I was just going to make a film and then I would keep it like a wedding video."

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Young Janey (Image: Supplied)

The idea for the feature, which was directed by John Archer, came from Janey’s daughter Ashley Storrie at a time when Janey thought the Not Dead Yet tour could be her final live tour.   

"Ashely decided if this was going to be the last big hurrah then we should document it," she explains. 

"I spoke to my agent and he got in touch with John Archer and it all came together."

She added: "I wanted there to be some sort of testimony to me, some sort of way to round up this whole life I’ve lived."

As someone who has been very open about her life throughout her career, Janey didn’t find it hard to open up on camera and says the experience of filming the documentary was "nothing". 

"It was weird just me and Shirley talking and a camera being there," she says. 

"That was all it was – it was just an extra person in the room, and they were so unobtrusive.  

"There was no direction, John didn’t tell us what to talk about, John didn’t tell us how to approach it, John didn’t tell us what to wear – John didn’t tell us f***ing anything."

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Janey Godley and Nicola Sturgeon (Image: Supplied)

She continued: "I’ve always been okay about being very open about my life.  

"I think talking about child abuse was important, I thought talking about domestic abuse with my mammy was important, I thought speaking about cancer was important.  

"I think it's important to speak out about experiences you have that other people might be able to share with you."

Janey and Shirley (Image: Supplied)

Janey says she "loved" the film when she watched it but found it an "emotional" experience.  

She said: "I’ve seen it, and I loved it.  

"I loved watching me back in the pub and I think people will enjoy that part of it.  

"If they read my autobiography, they can now see the images of it." 

She continued: "It was definitely emotional watching it.  

"It’s me and I don’t know how long I’ve got left to live and watching her come through all that madness and still be her, I kind of detached myself from it."

Janey says she initially thought about cancelling the 2023 Not Dead Yet tour but was told by comedian Jimmy Carr to "go f***ing do the tour".  

She says it was "brilliant" and "energising" getting back out on the stage and praised her fans for the support they have shown her.  

"The absolute outpouring of love is never to be underestimated," Janey says.  

"They came out in their thousands to see me and cheer me on.  

"That is just amazing."

So what does Janey hope people will take away from the film? 

"I hope they see the friendship I have with my pals," she says. 

"I think it’s a testimony and it’s a homage to friendship.  

"I think they’re going to see somebody who's got good pals."

Following the premiere of Janey on Sunday, March 10, the film will be released in cinemas on March 15 with Janey also visiting cinema across Scotland for special screenings where she’ll do a live stand-up set post-film. 

This will include an event at Glasgow Film Theatre on Saturday, March 23.