The Krankies' lives now after health battles as stars unrecognisable

The Krankies were staples of comedy television in the 1980s, with the husband and wife duo Janette and Ian Tough becoming synonymous with their roles of Wee Jimmy Krankie and Ian Krankie. The Toughs began their career on the comedy circuit before getting their big break when they landed a spot on the Royal Variety Performance stage. Throughout the 1980s, they appeared in TV shows Crackerjack, The Krankies Klub, The Joke Machine, The Krankies Elektronik Komik, and KTV.

However, the act hasn't been seen in several years, and the couple behind it revealed that they had to retire due to health reasons. In 2019, after Christopher Biggins made claims that political correctness had killed off The Krankies' act, Janette and Ian, both now 78, shared the truth.

Janette told The Mirror in an exclusive interview that she had been diagnosed with osteoporosis. She said: "My back's not good and I can't do as much as I used to. So, when Ian and I went off on a Caribbean cruise to celebrate our golden wedding last month, we decided it's time to put our feet up."

Ian said that there "won't be another character like Wee Jimmy Krankie" because he would be called "transphobic". However, he insisted that the act was "just innocent fun" and "traditional pantomime humour".

The pair's most recent TV appearance was on GB News. They appeared on Mark Dolan's Mark Meets segment in April 2022, and later featured as panellists on Dolan's show in July of the same year. While on GB News, Ian said the act "wouldn't be allowed on your television today", adding that it was "sad" to see the impact cancel culture has had.

Janette, meanwhile, said she wouldn't be dressing up as Jimmy anymore, explaining: "I'm 75 and probably a bit too old to be throwing myself around on stage these days. But it was a wonderful time, and we made some great memories and hopefully made a lot of people laugh."

The pair most recently made headlines earlier this year after commenting on the comparisons made between Jimmy Krankie and Nicola Sturgeon, the former First Minister of Scotland.

Janette told The Sun that "not a day goes by" that she doesn't hear about the politician being compared to Jimmy. She added: "So I hope the fact she's retiring from politics brings an end to that because Jimmy - and me - have been retired for years."