Jane McDonald | |
---|---|
Born | Jane Anne McDonald 4 April 1963 Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1998–present |
Television |
|
Spouse | Henrik Brixen (m. 1998;div. 2003) |
Partner | Walter "Ed" Rothe (2008–2021; his death) |
Website | jane-mcdonald |
Jane Anne McDonald (born 4 April 1963) [1] is an English singer and television presenter. Born and raised in Wakefield, McDonald spent much of her early career performing in local clubs and pubs before landing work as a singer on cruise ships. McDonald became known to the public in 1998 following her appearance on the BBC show The Cruise . [2] The same year, she released her self-titled debut album Jane McDonald (1998), which topped the UK Albums Chart and remained there for 3 weeks.
The singer has had a total of four top 10 albums in the UK in addition to performing in live concerts and her tours at venues across the UK, including the Royal Albert Hall and the London Palladium, as well as at the MGM Grand Las Vegas. In 2015, McDonald performed the role of Grizabella in the musical Cats . McDonald has also co-presented a number of daytime television shows, including Loose Women between 2004 and 2014, and the ITV programme Star Treatment (2013). Her TV travel show Cruising with Jane McDonald, which debuted in 2017 on Channel 5, has spawned eight series and earned her a British Academy Television Award. She has also presented her own shows Jane & Friends, Holidaying with Jane McDonald and Jane McDonald: My Yorkshire on Channel 5.
McDonald was born in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire. [3]
After appearing on Chris Terrill's docusoap The Cruise , she was taken on by independent record label Focus Music International [4] to make a covers album [5] and a Christmas single. The self-titled album Jane McDonald spent three weeks at number one on the UK Albums Chart, while the single "Cruise into Christmas" (a medley of Christmas classics) reached the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart. [6]
After her number one success on an independent label, McDonald signed a recording contract with UMTV (Universal's catalogue and compilations division), [7] [8] and appeared as a guest presenter on BBC's National Lottery.
Beginning in 2004, McDonald was a regular presenter on the ITV daytime television programme Loose Women , appearing on the show three times a week. It was confirmed on 16 July 2010 that McDonald would depart Loose Women in the summer, for at least a year to concentrate on her music career and to tour Australia and New Zealand. Although an Australian tour never developed into anything official, she proceeded to tour the United Kingdom in 2011. She returned in 2012 before leaving the series permanently in January 2014 to focus on her music career. She has since made many guest appearances. She continues to tour the UK with her solo shows & has introduced Christmas themed arena shows into her work schedule. [9]
Cruising with Jane McDonald won the 2018 BAFTA Award for Best Feature, making it the first win for a Channel 5 show. [10]
On 1 June 2023, McDonald was announced as Philip Schofield's replacement as the host of the 2023 British Soap Awards. [11]
McDonald spent most of her early and adult life living with her mother, whom she regarded as her "best friend". They shared a bungalow near Newmillerdam [12] in Wakefield, until Jean died in 2018. [13] [14] [15]
In 1998, McDonald married Henrik Brixen, a ship's plumbing engineer, from Denmark, who later became her manager. Their relationship was detailed in a special edition of The Cruise, called The Cruise Special: Jane Ties the Knot, [16] which was broadcast on BBC One on 10 July 1998. Brixen later admitted that he did not understand the music industry. The couple divorced in 2003, largely for the sake of her career. [17] [15] [13] [14]
In 2008, McDonald was reunited with musician Eddie Rothe, whom she briefly dated at seventeen, in 1980. He was a drummer and member of The Searchers. They became engaged on 24 December 2008 after Rothe proposed. [17] [18] Rothe died of lung cancer on 26 March 2021. [19]
Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
---|---|---|---|
UK [6] | |||
Jane McDonald [20] |
| 1 |
|
Inspiration [upper-alpha 1] |
| 6 | |
Love at the Movies [upper-alpha 2] |
| 24 | |
You Belong to Me |
| 21 | |
Jane |
| 7 | |
The Singer of Your Song |
| — | |
Hold the Covers Back |
| 69 | |
Cruising with Jane McDonald |
| 6 | |
Cruising with Jane McDonald: Volume Two |
| 24 | |
Let the Light In |
| 21 |
Title | Details | ||
---|---|---|---|
The Collection |
| Because You Loved Me |
|
Just for You [upper-alpha 3] |
| ||
Is It Love You're After [upper-alpha 4] |
| ||
Remixed |
|
Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
UK [6] | ||
Live at the London Palladium [upper-alpha 5] |
| 31 |
Title | Details |
---|---|
From Me to You(limited edition) |
|
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [6] | |||||||||||||||||||
"Cruise into Christmas Medley" | 1998 | 10 | Non-album single | ||||||||||||||||
"You're My World" | — | Jane McDonald | |||||||||||||||||
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" | 2000 | — | Love at the Movies | ||||||||||||||||
"The Hand That Leads Me" | 2001 | — | Inspiration | ||||||||||||||||
"Winner" | — | ||||||||||||||||||
"Doctors Orders" | 2008 | — | Jane | ||||||||||||||||
"It's Getting Better" | 2010 | — | Non-album single | ||||||||||||||||
"The Singer of Your Song" | 2014 | — | Singer of Your Song | ||||||||||||||||
"Dance Yourself Dizzy (7th Heaven Mirrorball Radio Edit)" [21] | 2016 | — | Non-album single | ||||||||||||||||
"You Still Lead Me" | 2021 | — | Let the Light In | ||||||||||||||||
"The Hand That Leads Me (Acoustic)" | — | ||||||||||||||||||
"Let the Light In" | — | ||||||||||||||||||
"You're My World (Piano Sessions)" | — | ||||||||||||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
In 2011, Wakefield Council awarded her a star in the form of a pavement plaque for outstanding achievement from an entertainer. [22]
In 2018, McDonald was awarded a British Academy Television Award for her television series Cruising with Jane McDonald. [23]
Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is one of the most popular vocalists in Britain.
Lulu Kennedy-Cairns is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality. Her career has spanned six decades. Her debut single, a cover version of The Isley Brothers song "Shout", reached the top ten of the UK Singles Charts in 1964. In 1967 she rose to international prominence after appearing in the film To Sir, with Love singing the theme song, which topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks.
Toyah Ann Willcox is an English singer, actress, and TV presenter. In a career spanning more than 40 years, she has had eight top 40 singles, released over 20 albums, written two books, appeared in over 40 stage plays and 10 feature films, and voiced and presented numerous television shows.
Emma Lee Bunton is an English singer, songwriter, media personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Baby Spice, reflecting the fact that she was the youngest member. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, the Spice Girls are the best-selling female group of all time.
Anne Jennifer Dudley is an English composer, keyboardist, conductor and pop musician. She was the first BBC Concert Orchestra's Composer in Association in 2001. She has worked in the classical and pop genres, as a film composer, and was one of the core members of the synth-pop band Art of Noise. In 1998, Dudley won an Oscar for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score for The Full Monty. In addition to over twenty other film scores, in 2012 she served as music producer for the film version of Les Misérables, also acting as arranger and composing some new additional music.
Myleene Angela Klass is a British musician, singer, television presenter and model. She was a member of the pop group Hear'Say, and later released two solo classical crossover albums in 2003 and 2007. More recently, Klass has been a television and radio presenter. She has hosted television series including Popstar to Operastar (2010–2011) and BBQ Champ (2015) on ITV and The One Show (2007) on BBC One. She was a regular panellist on the ITV lunchtime chat show Loose Women in 2014 and again from 2024 onwards. In 2006, Klass was runner-up on the sixth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, and returned in 2023 for the "all-stars" series I'm a Celebrity... South Africa, which she won.
Aled Jones, is a Welsh singer, radio and television presenter, and actor. As a teenage chorister, he gained widespread fame in 1985 with his recording of "Walking in the Air", which reached the UK top five. Since then he has worked in television with the BBC and ITV, and on radio.
Fly on the wall is a style of documentary-making used in film and television production. The name derived from the idea that events are seen candidly, as a fly on a wall might see them. In the purest form of fly-on-the-wall documentary-making, the camera crew works as unobtrusively as possible; however, it is also common for participants to be interviewed, often by an off-camera voice.
Michael Ashley Ball is an English singer, presenter and actor. In 1985, he made his West End debut as Marius Pontmercy in the original production of Les Misérables. In 1989, he reached number two in the UK Singles Chart with "Love Changes Everything", from the musical Aspects of Love, where he played Alex Dillingham. He played the role in the West End and on Broadway. His album Coming Home To You reached number one in the UK making it his 4th number one album to date. On 24 April 2020, Ball and Captain Tom Moore entered the UK Singles Chart at number one with a cover of "You'll Never Walk Alone", with combined chart sales of 82,000 making it the fastest-selling single of 2020.
Michelle McManus is a Scottish singer, columnist, and television presenter who won the second and final series of the UK talent show Pop Idol in 2003. In January 2004, McManus made history when she became the first Scottish female artist to debut atop the UK Singles Chart with a debut single.
Sheridan Smith OBE is an English actress, singer, and television personality. Smith came to prominence after playing a variety of characters on sitcoms such as The Royle Family (1999–2000), Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps (2001–2009), Gavin & Stacey (2008–2010), and Benidorm (2009). She co-starred as Joey Ross in the drama series Jonathan Creek between 2009 and 2013, and went on to receive acclaim for starring in a succession of television dramas, such as Mrs Biggs (2012), Cilla (2014), The C Word (2015), Black Work (2015), The Moorside (2017), Cleaning Up (2019), and Four Lives (2022). Her film credits include Tower Block (2012), Quartet (2012), The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016), and The Railway Children Return (2022).
Katherine Jenkins is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.
Loose Women is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about aspects of their lives, and discuss topical issues ranging from politics and current affairs to celebrity gossip and entertainment news. The 3,000th episode of Loose Women was broadcast on 15 May 2018.
Jane Gazzo is an Australian radio and television presenter, performance and club DJ, television personality, voice artist, author, and music journalist.
Daniel Francis Noel O'Donnell, MBE is an Irish singer, television presenter and philanthropist. After rising to public attention in 1983, he has since become a household name in Ireland and Britain; he has also had considerable success in Australia. In 2012, he became the first artist to have a different album in the British charts every year for 25 consecutive years. This record has been extended and as of 2021, O'Donnell has had an album in the Official Albums Chart each year for the last 33 years.
Deborah Lee Duffield, known professionally as Debra Stephenson, is an English actress, comedian, impressionist and singer, best known for her roles as Diane Powell in Playing the Field (1999–2000), Shell Dockley in Bad Girls and as Frankie Baldwin in Coronation Street (2004–2006).
Debbie Wiseman, OBE is a British composer for film, television and the concert hall, known also as a conductor and a radio and television presenter.
Ashley Allyn Roberts is an American singer, dancer, and media personality. She is a former member of the pop group The Pussycat Dolls, who sold over 55 million records worldwide, becoming one of the world's best-selling female groups of all time. Roberts also had a brief career as a solo singer when she released the album Butterfly Effect (2014).
Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer, songwriter, actress, and model. Born and raised in Islington, Inner London, she later attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieved national recognition when she won the third series of the television talent show The X Factor in 2006, winning a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music. Her winner's single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", peaked at number one for four weeks on the UK Singles Chart and broke a world record by reaching 50,000 digital downloads within 30 minutes. In February 2007, Lewis signed a five-album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records.
Stacey Chanelle Clare Solomon-Swash is an English television personality, presenter and singer. She was a contestant on the sixth series of the ITV singing competition show The X Factor in 2009, which she finished in third place. The following year, Solomon appeared on the tenth series of the ITV reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! which she won.