Scots comedian Janey Godley has opened up about historic tweets which brought her career to a halt six months ago. 

Speaking on STV's Scotland Tonight, she insisted she is "not a racist" as she offered an apology for the "really offensive and hurtful" statements. 

The comedian saw gigs cancelled and a Scottish Government Covid information campaign axed after the tweets emerged. 

The government described the posts as a "series of unacceptable tweets" before withdrawing the public health adverts featuring Godley. 

Ms Godley revealed mental health charity Samaritans saved her life when she considered suicide amid the backlash. 

She told Scotland Tonight: “I really hurt people, I made people feel othered. I made people so upset and said things which were really offensive and hurtful.

“I’m not the victim here – the victims are the people I hurt and it’s for them to consider my apology. I won’t ever stop being ashamed of what I said.”

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The 61-year-old added: "I’m not a racist. I have never believed that people of colour deserve less than anything we have. I have supported Black Lives Matter, I have marched against fascists.”

Last year, historic tweets emerged where the comedian used derogatory language about black celebrities Kelly Rowland and Snoop Dogg, as well as other tweets about disabled people and Chernobyl victims. 

In the interview, Ms Godley revealed she felt ashamed when she was reminded of the "hurtful, shameful words which hurt people of colour.”

She added: "You get to a point of privilege where you think you can say anything and people will take it at face value because they know you’re not a racist – you’ve marched for immigrants, you’ve supported refugees.

“It was wrong and that’s why I’ve apologised. I apologised immediately and profusely, and I’ll always apologise for that. I think that even back then, 11 years ago, there were words and phrases I did in comedy that I wouldn’t do now.”

Speaking of the shame she felt after the Tweets were unearthed, she revealed she considered taking her own life. 

“I had a very bad night,” she said. “I’ve spent my whole life being ashamed and fighting – I fought off a child abuser when I was five…

“When I was faced with it [the tweets] the shame was overwhelming and I tried to… contemplated ending my life, and the Samaritans saved my life.”

If you are affected by the issues in this article or need help, you can contact Samaritans on 116 123 or online at www.samaritans.org.

The comedian also spoke about her battle with ovarian cancer as she continues to undergo chemotherapy. 

She said: “I’m going through chemo just now, so the symptoms are many and varied.

“At the beginning, it really affected my mental health, which I wasn’t prepared for.

“But I’m feeling physically okay. I had a full hysterectomy, so hopefully everything has gone and I don’t have cancer anymore.”