'She just lit up every room': Linda Nolan's celebrity friends pay tribute to her at Blackpool funeral

The singer’s pink sparkly coffin was carried from St Paul’s Church in Blackpool to applause from members of the public who had lined the streets while To Where You Are by Josh Groban was played.

EastEnders actor Shane Richie was among the first to arrive for the funeral, with Paul Elliott, the comedian better known as Paul Chuckle, paying tributes to Linda and sharing his memory of them working together on pantomimes and at charity functions.

Elliott said of Linda: “She was just a fun, bubbly person. The world’s a darker place without her.”

He said they had performed together in pantomimes and at charity functions, and last met for lunch in 2024, adding: “She was just a wonderful person, we always got on well.”

Charlotte Dawson, the daughter of comedian Les Dawson, also attended, along with Lee Brennan from boyband 911 and Coronation Street actress Jodie Prenger.

Before the service, Dawson said of Linda: “She touched so many hearts and she’s just fabulous.

“I’m in full glam for you Linda, because she’d love me in full glam.

“The sun is shining for her and she’s just such an amazing person. She just lit up every room she walked into.”

She added: “We just used to have so many different memories, travelling all around the country, having a laugh and just getting up to mischief.

“That was our favourite thing to do.”

Linda, Denise, Coleen and their sisters Bernie, Maureen and Anne formed the pop group The Nolans, recording hits like ‘Gotta Pull Myself Together’ and ‘I’m In The Mood For Dancing’ in the late 70s and early 80s.

In a eulogy, Nolan-Anderson said of Linda: “She really loved going to premieres and opening nights, having her beautiful hair and make-up done, and always was the life and soul of any big occasion.

“She would have loved all the fuss today.”

She said losing her hair following her cancer diagnosis was “the worst thing” for Linda, along with the deaths of her husband Brian and sister Bernie.

Nolan-Anderson said while it could have “destroyed” a lesser person, “not Linda, instead she chose to help raise millions for cancer research”.

She said Linda showed “courage in the face of adversity”, adding: “It’s time to rest now Linda. The battle is over, you are free.”

A recording of Linda singing When It’s Over was played after the eulogy.

Family members wore black but some had pink ribbons pinned to their outfits, or carried pink handbags.

They lined the path as the pink sparkly coffin topped with a floral arrangement was carried into the church as Faith Hill song There You’ll Be was played.

The Dublin-born star was admitted to Blackpool Victoria Hospital with double pneumonia earlier this month, before going into a coma, according to her manager Dermot McNamara.

He said she died “with her loving siblings by her bedside”.

Linda had made Blackpool her home, and her funeral was held in the church where she wed her late husband, Brian Hudson. They were married for more than two decades.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, which resulted in a mastectomy, Linda was a long-time campaigner and fundraiser for cancer awareness.

She was given the all-clear in 2011 but in 2017 was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer, which spread to her liver in 2020 and to her brain in 2023.

Linda helped to raise more than £20 million for numerous charities, including Breast Cancer Now, Irish Cancer Society and Samaritans.

The family are raising money for Trinity Hospice, which Linda supported, and have asked that donations and messages of condolence be sent to a memorial page in her memory.

More than £2,800 has been raised on the Much Loved site so far.

Linda appeared on Celebrity Big Brother and her musical theatre career included Blood Brothers, Pump Boys And Dinettes and Prisoner Cell Block H. She also wrote a Daily Mirror column.