Singer Linda Nolan was brought to her funeral in a pink sparkly coffin as a large crowd of family and friends gathered.
Members of the public applauded as the hearse carrying the coffin arrived at St Paul’s Church in Blackpool, with her sisters Anne, Maureen, Coleen and Denise walking towards the church with other family members.
Loose Women panellist Coleen, 59, wiped a tear from her eye.
They lined the path as the coffin, topped with a floral arrangement, was carried into the church as Faith Hill song There You’ll Be was played.
In a eulogy, her sister Denise Nolan-Anderson said of Linda: “She really loved going to premieres and opening nights, having her beautiful hair and make up done, and always was the life and soul of any big occasion.
“She would have loved all the fuss today.”
Elliott said of the singer as he arrived: “She was just a fun, bubbly person. The world’s a darker place without her.”
He said they had performed together in pantomimes and at charity functions, and last met for lunch in 2024, adding: “She was just a wonderful person, we always got on well.”
A framed photo of Linda was placed on an easel outside the church with mourners signing a book of condolence.
Linda and her sisters Coleen, Bernie, Maureen, Anne and Denise formed the pop group The Nolans, recording hits like Gotta Pull Myself Together and I’m In The Mood For Dancing in the late 70s and early 80s. Bernie died of breast cancer in 2013 aged 52.
Nolan had made Blackpool her home, and her funeral was held in the church where she wed her late husband, Brian Hudson. They were married for more than two decades.
Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, which resulted in a mastectomy, Nolan was a long-time campaigner and fundraiser for cancer awareness.
She was given the all-clear in 2011 but in 2017 was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer, which spread to her liver in 2020 and to her brain in 2023.
The family are raising money for Trinity Hospice, which Nolan supported, and have asked that donations and messages of condolence be sent to a memorial page in her memory.
More than £2,800 has been raised on the Much Loved site so far.
Nolan appeared on Celebrity Big Brother and her musical theatre career included Blood Brothers, Pump Boys And Dinettes and Prisoner Cell Block H. She also wrote a Daily Mirror column.
