Coleen Nolan speaks for first time since sister Linda's funeral

On Saturday, singer Linda Nolan was laid to rest at a packed funeral service held at St Paul’s Church in Blackpool - the seaside town she had made her home.

The 65-year-old sadly passed away two weeks ago from double pneumonia after battling with cancer for the past two decades.

Attending the funeral were hundreds of local people, keen to pay their respects, as well as famous friends and of course Linda’s family including the four remaining Nolan sisters: Coleen, Maureen, Denise and Anne.

Yesterday, the youngest sister - singer and TV presenter Coleen- was the first to speak out following the funeral.

Posting on Instagram on Sunday, 59-year-old Coleen shared a message with her followers which not only reflected on the day just gone, but also shared unseen footage of Linda singing in the past.

In the caption to the video, she wrote: “Yesterday, we said a heartbreaking goodbye to my sister Linda for the last time, and it was a truly beautiful send-off. A couple of weeks ago, I came across an unreleased recording of Linda singing 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' and I wanted to share it with you all alongside some cherished old photos and videos. Thank you all for your continued support, love Col xx”

The video depicts Linda peforming the song - first made famous by Judy Garland in the 1939 film Wizard of Oz- on stage at the Central Pier.

Over the top of this original video, Coleen also shared a variety of videos and pictures of Linda over the years, many of which feature her sisters and her late husband, Brian.

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The other Nolan sisters have not spoken publicly since the funeral but Maureen and Anne did reshare Coleen’s post on their own Instagram pages.

Linda was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 and was given the all-clear in 2011, but in 2017 was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer, which began to spread in 2020, and was in her brain by 2023.

She is the second sister lost to the Nolans, who also had to say farewell to Bernie in 2013 after she too lost her battle with cancer.