After "Dossa and Joe", Aherne avoided media attention. When "The Fast Show" was featured on the BBC One show "Comedy Connections", Aherne was the only cast member not interviewed. In April 2006, the BBC said Aherne and Cash were developing a script for a one-off special of "The Royle Family". "The Royle Family: The Queen of Sheba" was broadcast on 29 October 2006, to an audience of 7.8 million. Aherne subsequently made few TV appearances. On 14 October 2008 she appeared in the BBC comedy drama "Sunshine", written by Cash and Phil Mealey, as a barmaid. She appeared in "The Royle Family, The New Sofa" on Christmas Day 2008. In 2009, she appeared in a "Royle Family" special for Comic Relief as well as another Christmas Day special of "The Royle Family" entitled "The Golden Eggcup". She co-wrote the ITV comedy-drama "The Fattest Man in Britain", which was broadcast in December 2009.