Linda Nolan

The Nolans

In 1981, Nolan scored a minor hit with her sister Coleen as part of the Young & Moody Band, with "Don't Do That" (UK number 63), which also featured Lemmy from Motörhead and Cozy Powell.^[4]

She left The Nolans in December 1983 and quickly gained the label "Naughty Nolan" due to her posing in risqué publicity photos.^[2][5] The Nolans reunited as a five-piece (Bernie, Anne, Coleen, Maureen, and Linda) for one-off performances of "I'm in the Mood for Dancing" first for BBC One's All Time Greatest Party Songs, hosted by Tess Daly, which aired on 17 December 2005^[6] and again on 9 August 2007 on Loose Women.^[7]

Four of the sisters (Linda, Bernie, Coleen, and Maureen) reunited in 2009 for a successful tour of the UK and Ireland. They also released an album I'm in the Mood Again, which reached number 22 on the UK Albums Chart.^[8]

Theatre work and television

On leaving the group, Nolan went on to play the role of Maggie May at Blackpool's Central Pier for eight summer seasons (1986–1993), completing more than 1,000 performances.^[9]

From 1996 to 1997, Nolan starred as the prison governor in two UK tours of Prisoner: Cell Block H – The Musical, alongside Paul O'Grady.^[10]

From 2000, Nolan starred as Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers for three years in the West End, and regularly played the role in the UK touring production until 2008. She was the third Nolan sister to play the role, after Bernie and Denise. Maureen Nolan has also since played the role in the West End on the UK tour for several years,^[11] earning the sisters a place in the Guinness World Records, as the most siblings to play the same role in a musical.^[12] Nolan also appeared on Blankety Blank,^[13] with sister Anne and niece Alex on Celebrity Pressure Pad^[14] and with sister Bernie on Pointless Celebrities.^[15]

In January 2014, Nolan participated in the 13th series of Celebrity Big Brother. Prior to this, her sister Coleen had participated in and achieved second place in the 10th series.^[16]

Jim Davidson, who was also a contestant in the house that year, had history with Linda Nolan; in 1995, Nolan's husband Brian Hudson was caught red-handed stealing money from comic Frank Carson's dressing room at the South Pier Theatre Blackpool. This raised the ire of Davidson, who was playing up the road at the time. He lost his temper, yelling, "no one steals from my mates", and threatening to punch Hudson. Davidson was promptly thrown out of the nightclub.^[17] On Day 15, Davidson reminded Nolan of her husband's antics, prompting an argument.^[18] She was evicted on Day 22.^[19]

Illness and death

In 2005, Nolan was diagnosed with breast cancer. As part of her treatment, she underwent a single mastectomy in 2006.^[22] She was given the all-clear from cancer in 2011. In 2007, she was diagnosed with cellulitis and lymphedema in her arm.^[20]

In 2017, Nolan fell on her hip and was taken to hospital, where doctors discovered a form of incurable secondary breast cancer on her pelvis.^[23] She began undergoing regular radiotherapy treatment to make sure that the cancer would not spread, but said that she would reject chemotherapy if the cancer were found to be terminal, after seeing how her sister Bernie was in pain from her chemotherapy shortly before Bernie's death in 2013.^[24][25] In 2020, Nolan stated that the cancer had spread to her liver.^[22] On 27 March 2023, she stated that the cancer had now metastasised to her brain, with a tumour discovered on the left side of her brain, resulting in balance loss on her right side, which led to her using a wheelchair.^[26] She was prescribed the experimental drug Tucatinib to treat her brain cancer followed by Enhertu.^[27][22]

In January 2025, Nolan was admitted to Blackpool Victoria Hospital with double pneumonia and subsequently fell into a coma. She died on the morning of 15 January 2025, aged 65.^[28]