Covid lockdowns prevented Jane McDonald paying tribute to her husband of 13 years after his death from cancer. Now she gives a tearful interview about caring for him alone in the pandemic… and why she is using her biggest ever tour to celebrate his life

• The singer and television presenter lost partner Ed Rothe to lung cancer in 2021
• READ MORE:  Jane McDonald leaves viewers in hysterics over ‘unfortunately placed’ microphones during the British Soap Awards

‘This is a celebration,’ says Jane McDonald, despite the tears in her eyes. ‘It’s not a mournful thing. I haven’t had a chance to celebrate his life, so here it is. I had 13 amazing years with that man.’

The singer and television presenter – one of Channel 5’s biggest stars with her Cruising series, Christmas specials and one-off travel shows – lost the love of her life Ed Rothe to lung cancer in March 2021 and the grief is clearly still strong, but then so is her gratitude. 

‘I think I had the best of him. I’m glad I was privileged enough to have that time. I should be grateful for that.’

Jane stayed away from singing live for a while after losing Ed, who was 67, but now she’s announcing the biggest tour of her career, headlining iconic venues like the London Palladium and the Blackpool Opera House. 

Called With All My Love, it will feature classic covers as well as some of the more personal songs she has written herself. She’ll perform for fans who have helped her so much over the past couple of years with their countless messages of support. 

Jane McDonald, 60, is one of Channel 5’s biggest stars with her Cruising series, Christmas specials and one-off travel shows

‘They have been amazing and this is my chance to be with them again in person. It will be emotional.’

Ed died during Covid so his funeral was very low-key. ‘I’ll be able to make the kind of tribute to him I couldn’t make then,’ she says. 

She threw herself into television work instead, travelling to Japan, talking sense on Loose Women and even stepping in to host the British Soap Awards at short notice after scandal forced Phillip Schofield to step down.

Now comes the big tour, but the sad irony is that it would probably not be happening if Ed was still alive as they had hoped to have retired by now. 

‘We made all these plans for the future we were going to have. We’d paid the house off, looked after everybody we needed to and it was our time to be together. Then he died. That’s when it hits you and you think, “Oh my God, all those plans. Why?”’

It’s clearly not easy for her to talk about Ed. ‘I don’t usually talk about this,’ says Jane at one point, after struggling to get the words out. ‘Do I have to do this?’ Of course not, I say. We can stop. But after recovering her composure, she does have things to say. ‘I don’t mind talking about him, really. It’s two-and-a-half years on.’

She’s curled up in an armchair at a studio in Leeds, nursing a mug of hot water and still laughing at herself. Jane is 60 now but looks younger in sneakers, dark jeans, a navy shirt and a chequered over-shirt. 

‘You’ve got to make a different life from what was planned, but they go with you. You move forward with them in your heart. This tour is happening because of Ed. He’s probably thinking, “Go on, you go for it.” I have this ultimate joy in my heart, because he’s still there.’

The pair first met in 1980 when she was 17 and working at a pub in her hometown of Wakefield and he came to play as the drummer with the band Liquid Gold. The relationship lasted 18 months but ended because Ed – known as Wally back then – enjoyed a rock’n’roll lifestyle in those days.

They lost touch and Jane went on to work as a singer on ocean liners, where she was spotted by the makers of a BBC documentary called The Cruise in 1998. Down-to-earth, warm and witty, she also had an astonishing voice and a drive to succeed that made her a favourite with viewers. 

In October and November 2024, Jane will be travelling the UK with her With All My Love tour, which she describes as a tribute to her late partner Ed Rothe

‘I’d love to make it, be rich and famous, so I can get my brother out the pit,’ she said on camera. ‘He works 12-hour shifts down the hole all day.’

Jane did just that, employing her miner brother Tony as her driver when her new fame translated into No 1 albums and more work in television. 

Even her wedding took place in front of cameras, when she married a ship’s engineer called Henrik Brixen. He became her manager, although the marriage ended at the same time as the professional partnership five years later.

‘Everything was falling apart around me,’ she recalls. ‘But I thought, “Hang on a minute. You are the common denominator here, sort yourself out.” And that’s what I did.’ 

The big shift was realising that every performance should be about the fans rather than herself, she says. ‘It’s about making them feel something. If they cry, if they laugh, if they feel something that night, then that’s my job done.’

Gold records and sell-out tours followed, along with a screen career that made the most of her ability to get on with anyone, have a giggle and raise an eyebrow at the absurdities of life. 

There was even a BAFTA for Cruising With Jane McDonald, which she accepted with raucous laughter and a gleeful, ‘Flippin’ ’eck! Mum, look what I’m bringing home!’

Jane has a bungalow in Wakefield where she lived with just her late mother Jean for many years. But then she reunited with her old boyfriend in 2008. 

‘I was getting my make-up done in the Loose Women studios and there he was on the monitor. The Searchers were bringing out a new album and he was playing with them. I said to Donna, our make-up girl, “Oh my God. I used to go out with him.” She said, “You have to go and say hello.”

‘I said, “He’s probably got a wife and kids and everything,” and she said, “That doesn’t stop you from saying hello.” She dragged me out of the chair and up to the next studio and I knocked on the door and said, “Do you remember me?” Bang! It was like we’d never been apart.’ She smiles. 

Jane pictured with her late partner Ed Rothe in 2018. Rothe died of lung cancer in March 2021, during the Coronavirus pandemic

‘He picked me up, swung me around, and everybody went, “Aww.” And that was it. We were together from that moment.’

He proposed to her that Christmas Eve, although they never actually got round to getting married before he was taken by cancer. 

‘It wasn’t slow, because we didn’t know. He had no symptoms. As daft as it sounds, I’m thankful it was during Covid because I was there with him. Nobody else was. But that was the hardest thing. I had no nurses or doctors come in. I had to learn how to do it all myself.

‘I had him at home as long as I could. Then I took him to the Wakefield Hospice, which is a beautiful place. I’ll be forever grateful to them. I was with him all the time there.’ 

His funeral took place under pandemic restrictions. ‘It was a tragedy, because nobody could come to see him.’

Now, though, she has the chance to share her feelings about Ed with her fans, in much the same way she did after her beloved mother died in 2018. 

‘I wrote a song about her called The Hand That Leads Me and I was singing it on stage soon after she died. I turned around and saw my director had put up pictures of my mother on the screens behind me. I just went,’ she says, miming tears. 

‘It was a beautiful moment. So no doubt there’ll be pictures of Ed this time.’

I ask if she thinks it will ever be possible for her to find love again? ‘Oh gosh. There’s so much capacity for love. We must chase joy. I’ll never say, “I’m never going to meet anyone else.” But I’m fine if I don’t. I’m fine because I’ve got so much love anyway. 

Jane in 1998’s The Cruise, the show that made her a star. Down-to-earth, warm and witty, she also had an astonishing voice and a drive to succeed that made her a favourite with viewers of the BBC documentary 

‘And I’ve got great friendships. I laugh a lot because of my friends and I’m so grateful to them.’

Many of them are in Yorkshire. ‘I love Wakefield. My friends and family are here and I’ve got a nice house. I’ve worked hard to get that and I love every brick. Recently I’ve paid off the mortgage and when you get to that stage it’s like, “Wow, I’ve done it!”’

Another sign of success was being asked to host the Soap Awards this year. ‘I was at a wedding in Croatia and my agent rang and said, “Can you get on a plane?” And I said, “No. This is my first break in eight years.” 

‘He said, “It’s hosting the Soap Awards” and I said, “Which plane do you want me to get on?” I love the soaps. We had such a laugh, so I really hope I get that gig again.’

The organisers have since said the event will not return until 2025, but Jane proved that hosting a major awards show holds no fear for her. 

‘I’m used to rebellious crowds. I’ve worked Blackpool, love!’ Why does she think ITV chose her? ‘Auntie Jane, isn’t it? Safe pair of hands. I’m not going to muck up or say anything controversial and I’ll be full of excitement. I got a new frock and everything.’

Her appearances on Celebrity Gogglebox have also been a hit. ‘I said I’d come on if I could bring my mate Sue. We’ve had such a laugh and got such a response from people.’

Jane would rather be at home than at a glamorous party. ‘I’m really not showbiz. I’m bread-and-butter Yorkshire. I’m very quiet.’ That’s helped her deal with life after Ed, she says. ‘I’m happy with my own company. Everyone thinks I’m drinking champagne in a club somewhere but I’m in my bed with my Yorkshire tea, reading.’

She remembers being painfully shy as a child. ‘I still am, a little bit. Mum saw something in me that I never saw. She took two jobs to send me to singing and piano lessons. I thank her every minute of every day for the gentle push she gave me.’

The tears are drying as she looks forward to being face to face with her fans again, singing for some of her biggest-ever audiences. 

‘Every part of my life now is due to Ed and my mum and my dad, because without them I wouldn’t be in this position,’ she says, grateful, still grieving but glad of what’s coming. 

‘I cannot feel anything but utter joy for the life I had with Ed, but also utter joy for the life I’m still going to have.’

• Jane is travelling the UK with her With All My Love tour in October and November 2024. For tickets visit cuffeandtaylor.com.

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