Soap superfan Jane McDonald is the perfect choice to host the British Soap Awards and the presenter will be in her element for the major ceremony.
The star has already dazzled us in her off-the-shoulder pink satin gown, but despite her joy at the event, the 61-year-old has sadly had to face some difficult moments in her life, whether it’s from the loss of her mother and fiancé to selling her beloved Yorkshire home to make way for a new life beside the sea.
However, Jane has never let the difficulties she’s faced in her life weigh her down. Speaking exclusively to HELLO! last year, she reflected: “Everything’s going to be alright, everything happens for a reason.
“What’s for you doesn’t go by you, I don’t worry anymore because I think this is how it’s meant to be. I tend to be a lot more laid back than I ever used to be.”
Losing her mum
Jane’s mum, Jean, was always her biggest fan, with the star once reflecting that her mum disagreed with a piano teacher who claimed that a young Jane didn’t have a “musical bone” in her body.
Sadly, Jean died in 2018. Sharing a tribute, Jane said: “A light in my heart has gone out for a short while. […] I am very grateful to my mother for believing in me because she could see something that I couldn’t.”
© InstagramThe loss continued to hit Jane, and during an appearance on The One Show in 2023, she choked up while speaking about her series, Holidaying with Jane McDonald. “It was because I had just recently lost my partner and my mother at the same time,” she said before taking a moment to recompose herself.
“Sorry, my throat went there. It always does when I talk about them.”
Death of her fiancé
Jane’s path to love hasn’t been easy, with the singer having been married twice before Eddie Rothe proposed to her in 2008. The pair had previously dated in the 1980s when Jane was a teenager before they lost contact, eventually reconciling in 2008 when they crossed paths again on the set of Loose Women.
Although Eddie proposed in 2008, the couple didn’t walk down the aisle, with the former Searchers drummer passing away from lung cancer in 2021.
© InstagramAnnouncing the news of her fiancé’s death, a post on Jane’s social media accounts read: “It is with immense sadness that we share the news that Jane’s beloved life partner, Ed, passed away on Friday 26th March.
“He had been battling lung cancer for the last few months. We would like to thank everyone for all their help and support during this very difficult time, especially the NHS staff and the wonderful team at The Wakefield Hospice.”
© David Fisher/ShutterstockSpeaking to HELLO! three years after his death, Jane said: “It’s the biggest shock ever because your life completely changes. You have to rebuild and I was very grateful that I had another life besides Ed. My career was still going on and my friends were there.”
She continued: “There’s no way of dealing with it. You just have to rebuild [your life] in the best way you can. For me, that’s going out and seeing my fans again and saying to those who have gone through the same as me, I know what you’re feeling.”
Moving home
Jane has been living in her beloved Wakefield for years, but earlier this year, she revealed that she was leaving behind her bungalow to make a new life by the coast.
© Channel 4She told The Times: “I had everything done and it’s gorgeous, but now it’s far too big. All I do is clean. I’ll probably downsize. The sea is calling.”
She’d previously hinted at her plans to move on, telling HELLO!: “I wouldn’t mind downsizing. I think the older you get, the less you think you need, and I’ve certainly got to that stage in my life.”
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