Coleen Nolan broke down in tears as she attended her sister Linda’s funeral in Blackpool on Saturday.
Linda tragically died on January 15, 2025 aged 65 following a 20-year breast cancer battle and suffering from double pneumonia.
Loose Women star Coleen, 59, wiped away tears with a tissue as she arrived at St Paul’s Church in their hometown with her sisters Maureen, 71, Anne, 74, and Denise, 72.
Her sons Shane Jr, 36, and Jake, 32, acted as pallbearers at the funeral, solemnly carrying their beloved aunt’s pink coffin through the crowd.
They were among the seven male members of the Nolan’s family and friends who hoisted the coffin, which was covered with bouquets of pink flowers, on their shoulders.
Shane also manned the door for his aunt while Denise read the eulogy.
Coleen Nolan broke down in tears as she attended her sister Linda’s funeral in Blackpool on Saturday
Her sons Shane Jr, 36, and Jake, 32, acted as pallbearers at the funeral, solemnly carrying their beloved aunt’s pink coffin through the crowd
Coleen looked upset as she walked past mourners who had gathered to pay their respects
The devastated TV personality wiped away her tears with a tissue
She wore a black furry jacket over a black dress
Coleen, who wore a black furry jacket over a black dress, kept her head down and fought back tears as she walked past mourners who had gathered to pay their respects.
The four surviving Nolan sisters went into the church, greeted and clapped by friends and family who lined the walkway.
Linda’s former brother-in-law Shane Richie cut a sombre figure as he arrived ahead of his ex-wife.
Shane, 60, who was married to Linda’s sister Coleen between 1990 and 1999, was one of the first to arrive to pay his respects, as he hid his eyes behind brown tinted shades.
The funeral was attended by several famous faces, including Grammy nominated singer, Lisa Matthew, who was part of the noughties band, Milkshake, actor Tommy Canon, and Coronation Street star Jodie Prenger.
The last surviving Chuckle brother, Paul Harman Elliott, 77, paid an emotional tribute to Linda outside the church.
The comedian, 77, said the ‘world will be a darker place without Linda’ and recalled their fondest memories, adding that ‘we used to enjoy our life’ together.
He called her a ‘fun bubbly person’ as he looked back on their 40 years of friendship.
The singer tragically passed away on January 15 2025 aged 65 following a 20-year breast cancer battle and suffering from double pneumonia (pictured in 2020)
Coleen pictured with her older sister Linda in 2023
Shane (left) and Jake (right) acted as pallbearers
They were among the seven male members of the Nolan’s family and friends who carried Linda’s coffin
Linda picked out the pink glittery coffin herself before her death
Linda passed away earlier this month at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
She died from double pneumonia, where she entered into end-of-life care and then into a coma.
She was living with secondary breast cancer, which had spread to her hip, liver and brain, but cancer was not the cause of death.
The surviving sisters of the Irish eighties pop group, The Nolans – Maureen, Anne, Denise, and Coleen – have raised £2,670 for Trinity Hospice.
The funeral service, which was due to begin at 10.30am, was held in the same church on Honister Avenue where Linda married her beloved husband Brian Hudson in 1981.
The church is also where she held Brian’s funeral, after she lost him to skin cancer in 2007 when he was 60 years old.
The Irish singer previously recalled Linda’s heartfelt plans for her own funeral
She said it would be a ‘pure showbiz’ funeral because Linda ‘loved bling’
A private service followed at a crematorium nearby, with Linda laid to rest with Brian’s ashes.
Coleen previously explained how they had decided on Linda’s final resting place, telling The Mirror: ‘My first thought after she died was to put Brian’s ashes with Linda’s.
‘So that’s what we’re doing. In life they were never apart, so I’m glad they’ll be together again.’
In the wake of her death, Linda’s sisters Anne, 74, Denise, 72, Maureen, 69, and Coleen, 59, extended an invitation to her fans to say their goodbyes and celebrate ‘her remarkable life’.
Fans gathered outside St Paul’s in designated areas, joining in with the family’s final farewell.
Shane and Jake looked emotional as they carried Linda’s coffin out of the church after the funeral
Her coffin was covered with floral tributes
Mourners signed a book of condolence outside the church
The order of service for the late star was seen held by mourners outside the church
Linda was first diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer in 2005 before getting the all-clear in 2006 – but in 2017 she was diagnosed with a form of incurable secondary cancer in her hip, which spread to her liver in 2020.
Three years later she shared the news that the cancer had spread to her brain, with two tumours discovered on the left side of her brain which left her struggling with her speech and balance.
And she issued an update last August that the tumours – which were thought to be stable – had grown.
Weeks before her death, the former Nolans star wrote in the Mirror that she was beginning to feel better after contracting double pneumonia, but two days later she was rushed to hospital with breathing problems.
Linda had heartbreakingly planned her own funeral in the years before her death, right down to her glittery pink coffin.
Writing in her autobiography From The Heart in 2018, she explained: ‘I want to get all my affairs ‘in order’, as they say. I’ve caused my family enough worry over the years and so I want everything I can decided now so they don’t have to if I become very poorly.’
She added: ‘I’ve chosen the songs for my funeral… I would like There You’ll Be from Pearl Harbor sung by Faith Hill.
‘The words couldn’t be more fitting for the moment when I’ll finally be going to meet Brian again.’
Coleen recently confirmed the heartfelt plans for her sister’s funeral and revealed Linda had planned some details before her death, creating a list of requests for her sisters.
She told how Linda wanted them to ‘wear mantillas’ and black outfits, while her coffin was to have a showbiz twist.
Coleen laughed: ‘I remember saying, “You are joking, Linda! If I see all my sisters in mantillas, I’m going to laugh the whole way through the funeral! We’ve decided not to do that, but we are wearing black.
‘Her coffin is pure showbiz – bright pink and sparkly, just as she wanted. The one thing my sister loved was bling so it feels right that she has a glittery pink coffin.’
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