Our Manc of the Month series is back, but this time round, we wanted to do something a little bit different.
We all know that Manchester is home to plenty of special people, some born here and others drawn here, who have inspired and led us through tough times, so we decided to start a series that shines a light on those who should be celebrated.
Following on from our ‘The Mancs of the Year’ feature towards the end of 2020, Manc of the Month officially kicked off in July 2021 – with Marcus Rashford MBE, Manchester’s mural king Akse P-19, the local chef feeding the region’s vulnerable families Mary-Ellen McTague, and Manchester’s groundbreaking new Council leader Bev Craig among previous honourees.
In earlier editions, we had chosen to feature people who had an impact on our region in the recent weeks prior, but for this month, we want to cast our minds back and pay worthy tribute to an inspirational pair who are sadly no longer with us.
With International Women’s Day – a global holiday marked annually to commemorate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women – coming up on Tuesday 8 March, and Manchester getting ready to celebrate the females who have made our city what it is today, we cannot think of a better time to remember the careers of a duo who not only changed the comedy landscape for women, but changed the game entirely.
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Victoria Wood and Caroline Aherne truly left their mark.
Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV and The Mrs Merton Show / Credit: BBC
Although born in London to Irish parents, BAFTA award-winning actress, comedian, and writer Caroline Aherne moved to Manchester at the age of two, was raised in Wythenshawe, went to school in West Didsbury, and kick-started her illustrious career on the city’s comedy circuit by performing as a collection of characters, before developing the iconic ‘Mrs Merton’.
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Aherne developed her Mrs Merton character with Frank Sidebottom for his show on Piccadilly Radio, where she worked as a receptionist.
She made a number of television appearances as the hilarious character, before rising to prominence in 1994 with the mock chat show The Mrs Merton Show, where she was known for asking celebrity guests a series of outrageous fake questions – the most-memorable example being to the wife of magician Paul Daniels, Debbie McGee, asking: “So, what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?”.
Aside from the Mrs Merton character, Aherne was known for appearing on BBC comedy sketch programme, The Fast Show, and then cemented her place in the heart of us Mancunians when she co-wrote and starred as Denise in beloved Manchester-based sitcom, The Royle Family – which ran for three series from 1998 to 2000, and was a largely stereotypical portrayal of working-class family life at the turn of the millennium, with almost all of the episodes taking place in the Royles’ telly-centric living room and showing the hilarious conversations they’d have.
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The Royle Family could not be a more perfect lasting legacy for Aherne, as it’s often included in the conversation when it comes to Britain’s best sitcoms, and was named in BFI’s 100 greatest British television programmes of all time.
The Royle Family was co-written and starring Caroline Aherne / Credit: BBC
Known for having an instantly-recognisable voice, Aherne narrated the Channel 4 reality television series Gogglebox from its inception in 2013 up until her death in 2016.
She passed away from cancer on 2 July 2016 at her home in Timperley at the age of 52.
2016 was also the year that the world tragically lost the multi-talented Victoria Wood, who, just like Aherne, had a wealth of strings to her bow as a comedian, actress, lyricist, singer, composer, pianist, screenwriter, producer, and director.
Born in Prestwich, and raised and educated in the Greater Manchester borough of Bury, Victoria Wood was struggling with self-confidence, identity, and her place in the world when she discovered a love for performing after her father gifted her a piano for her 15th birthday and she joined the Rochdale Youth Theatre Workshop later that same year.
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Wood began her career in show business while she was undergraduate studying drama at The University of Birmingham in the 1970s.
Throughout her decorated and multi award-winning career that spanned over four decades, Wood wrote and starred in countless sketches, plays, musicals, films, and sitcoms, and she was particularly known for humour grounded in everyday life that included references to activities, attitudes, and products that are considered to be typically British, with eclectic live stand-up shows that were often interspersed with her own musical compositions that she performed at the piano.
Her very-own comedy variety sketch show, Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV, aired on the BBC from 1985 to 1987, undoubtedly making her a household name and paving the way for her to become a mainstay on our screens.
But if you ask Mancs what Wood’s career highlight is, most would point to the cult-classic sitcom, dinnerladies – which ran for two series from 1998 to 2000.
BBC sitcom dinnerladies ran for two series from 1998 to 2000 / Credit: BBC
Created, co-written, produced by, and starring Wood herself as Brenda “Bren” Furlong, dinnerladies is set entirely in the canteen of the fictional Manchester-based factory of HWD Components, features the caterers and regular customers as the show’s main characters, and was beloved for the fact that it depicted the lives, and social and romantic interactions of all of the staff.
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Victoria Wood also sadly died of cancer on 20 April 2016 at her London home, surrounded by her children and former husband.
Although we’ve done our best to take you through the lives of these two late local legends and give a worthy nod to everything they went onto achieve throughout their careers from humble beginnings, it’s almost impossible to truly sum-up the impact that Caroline Aherne and Victoria Wood had and quantify just what they mean to the people of our proud city.
Their talents will always live on, and Manchester will never forget our comedy heroines.
Featured Image – BBC
Feature
Review | ‘Hopefully!’, you get lucky enough to see the spectacle that is Loyle Carner live
The Manc
The O2 Victoria Warehouse in Manchester has this week played host to Benjamin Gerard Coyle-Larner this week, a.k.a. Loyle Carner, as he serenaded adoring listeners with his captivating lyrics, spine-tingling bass and drumlines, as well as his ever-laid-back warmth and charisma.
His stage name is the only spoonerism you’ll ever find in this man’s craft, as every syllable is as intentional and well-placed as the last.
Accompanied by an incredibly talented band and golden production, the night lends itself to a thought-provoking performance that leaves you wanting more. Consider me listening to nothing but this setlist for the foreseeable.
As the rumble of eager, loyal/Loyle – take your pick – listeners awaited his arrival, you could sense what this artist and his poetic music mean to people.
We've seen @LoyleCarner twice this week. We might even go again tonight – yes, he really is that good. 🎤
Opening with ‘in my mind’, just like that, you saw the crowd suddenly holding each other’s hands whilst comfortably sitting in the palm of Carner’s.
Let’s not forget his brilliant band, either, who all got their time in the spotlight and wowed as a collective.
Carner and the crowd definitely gave them the recognition they deserved, with piano solos throwing a blanket of respectful silence and tentative listening over the whole audience.
Loyle’s well-loved and special lyrics were echoed throughout the venue from start to finish.
He insisted (and not for the first time) that there’s “something special about playing in Manchester” – and we couldn’t agree more.
Carner’s vulnerability onstage opens a glowing portal for his listeners to do so as well. He encourages feeling. And as an audience, this is extremely clear in the room. It was a sea of warm embraces, agreeing heads and ignited eyes.
Loyle Carner was just as good on night two at Victoria Warehouse as he was on the first. (Credit: Audio North)
As the setlist crept towards the end, the crowd were not ready to say goodbye as the customary chants of ‘one more song!’ bounced off the Victoria Warehouse walls.
We were then blessed with a solo Loyle, who shared a typically creative and reflective spoken-word Carner special with us.
Without any demand, the crowd fell sweetly silent and absorbed his every word. A poet, pure and simple.
The 31-year-old rapper and wordsmith plays one more night at the venue to round off his mini residency tonight (Tuesday, 25 November 2025); you can try and grab last-minute tickets HERE.
Stockport town centre’s first ramen spot sat above a coffee shop that we can’t get enough of
Danny Jones
If you’re a local Stockport resident or have even walked along the increasingly cultured cobbles of Underbank, chances are you’ve passed a place called Ōdiobā, but did you know that by night, its loft turns into a stylish listening bar that also serves some of the best ramen around?
Seriously: not only is it, to our knowledge, the only venue serving traditional ramen in Stockport town centre, but it’s some of the best we’ve had in years. Literally, YEARS.
Central Manchester has the benefit of being spoiled by numerous noodle masters – New Wave, Ramenshop (formerly known as Tokyo Ramen), Shogun, etc. – but we’d genuinely wager that this relative newcomer known simply as Uma is right up there with them.
In fact, it might currently be vying for the top spot itself.
We really try our best to shy away from the most ultimate of superlatives where we can, especially because we’re lucky enough to come across so many culinary gems and new restaurants all the time, but the more we’ve revisited this place, the more we’re convinced it’s utterly brilliant.
On a personal note, in a post-Cocktail Beer Ramen + Bun world, we feel like we’ve come very close to finding a new go-to that’s on a par with the late, great CBRB; perhaps we’ll never quite get there, or maybe we’re falling victim to the rose-tinted lens of nostalgia, but Uma is at least in the conversation.
Something we can say for sure is that they’ve gone with the tried and tested method of doing just a few things extremely over trying to cater to everyone.
Offering a small but stunning menu, with just three small plates and three options when it comes to ramen, each one is well-balanced and portioned, guaranteeing a filling bowl of ramen finished with great quality toppings.
You’re not left needing a single noodle more, nor do they cut you a single spring onion shy – but let’s be honest, this cuisine also leaves you craving more broth.
This might be a small thing, but we even like how the deep bowls come with built-in grooves/utensil holders for you to rest your spoons and chopsticks in. It’s only a little extra, we know, but it’s a nice touch, nevertheless.
Having now done a couple laps of the menu over the course of just a handful of visits, there are few taste bud journeys as satisfying as those gently-seasoned edamame beans, with the vibrant, lightly-acidic pickled daikon radishes and cucumber cutting through, before the savoury bomb of those mains.
And above all else, it’s the broth. My word… that broth.
Most impressively of all, perhaps, is that while we were expecting to enjoy the shoyu or red miso option the most, it’s the vegan ramen that we found to be the most flavourful.
The white miso and vegetable soup base is about as rich as you could hope for from any broth, as are the surprisingly satisfying slices of sweet soy tofu.
The smell of this freshly-charred chashu. Wow. The ideal thickness – great, minimal chew, too.Is Stockport town centre’s first ramen spot also one of the best in Greater Manchester right now? It might just be. (Credit: The Manc Eats)
Put simply, this particular bowl truly puts the Uma in umami.
It really is perfect as is, complemented by the shitake mushrooms, mustard greens, bamboo shoots and aromatic roasted sesame.
However, we honestly believe we have mastered a flawless order: choosing the vegan bowl and then adding pieces of chashu pork, a gooey ramen egg and maybe some chilli oil for good measure.
Try it for yourselves and tell us we’re anything other than absolutely bang on.
As for the space itself, you’ll struggle to find another spot as simultaneously casually aesthetic and atmospheric as the top floor of this building.
It’s well worth a visit to try the sophisticated selection of cocktails co-curated by founder Nam Tran – who first won over foodie fans with his conveniently self-titled Vietnamese venue in Ancoats, which sadly closed in 2024 – or sample his handmade hi-fi system alone, but the bonus of ramen takes the cake.
With DJ sets from the man himself as well as other selectors and artists, not to mention jazz nights and other live music during the week, it’s an effortlessly cool couple of floors that just so happens to serve some of our favourite food to the highest order.
Now, we will confess that we’ve only seen Ōdiobā in its ‘shadow self’ form, for lack of a better phrase, and are yet to sample the artisan café side of this business, but we assure you that it is a failure on our part and one we’ll be making up for as soon as possible.
Let’s just say, if the coffee is as good as the other liquids we’ve drunk here, be it the booze or the very last drop of broth from the bottom of the bowl, it’s probably some of the best in Stockport.
You can guarantee we’ll be coming back to this place time and time again whenever we visit the borough.
Emily Sergeant -
25th February 2022 
