Jane McDonald
Born
Jane Anne McDonald

(1963-04-04) 4 April 1963
Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Occupations
  • Singer
  • television presenter
Years active1998–present
Television
Spouse
Henrik Brixen
​
​
(m. 1998; div. 2003)​
PartnerWalter "Ed" Rothe (2008–2021; his death)
Websitejane-mcdonald.com

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 own 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.

Early life

McDonald was born in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire.[3]

Career

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]

Personal life

McDonald spent most of her early and adult life living with her mother, whom she regarded as her "best friend" latterly 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 Terrill's docusoap, 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 as a teenager. 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]

Discography

Albums

Title Details Peak chart positions Certifications
UK
[6]
Jane McDonald[20] 1
Inspiration[upper-alpha 1] 6
Love at the Movies[upper-alpha 2]
  • Released: 15 October 2001
  • Label: Universal Music TV
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 24
You Belong to Me
  • Released: 24 January 2005
  • Label: DMG TV
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 21
Jane
  • Released: 11 August 2008
  • Label: JMD
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 7
The Singer of Your Song
  • Released: 14 September 2014
  • Label: JMD
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 —
Hold the Covers Back
  • Released: 3 November 2017
  • Label: JMD
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 69
Cruising with Jane McDonald
  • Released: 22 June 2018
  • Label: Channel 5 Broadcasting
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 6
Cruising with Jane McDonald: Volume Two
  • Released: 28 October 2020
  • Label: Channel 5 Broadcasting
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 24
Let the Light In
  • Released: 20 August 2021
  • Label: JMD
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 21

Compilation albums

Title Details
The Collection
  • Released: April
 Because You Loved Me
  • Released: August 2007
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
Just for You[upper-alpha 3]
  • Released: October 2010
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
Is It Love You're After[upper-alpha 4]
  • Released: March 2014
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
Remixed
  • Released: September 2014
  • Formats: Digital download, CD

Live albums

Title Details Peak chart positions
UK
[6]
Live at the London Palladium[upper-alpha 5]
  • Released: October 2010
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 31

Extended plays

Title Details
From Me to You (limited edition)
  • Released: September 2006
  • Formats: Digital download, CD

Singles

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.

DVDs

  • Jane McDonald in Concert (1999)
  • Jane McDonald Live in Las Vegas (2001)
  • Being Jane (filmed 2005)
  • The Very Best of Loose Women (2008)
  • Late Night with the Loose Women (2009)
  • Jane McDonald – Live at the London Palladium (18 October 2010)
  • Jane McDonald – A Live Christmas Concert Special (15 November 2019) (No. 2 in the DVD music charts)

Books

  • Jane McDonald – Follow Your Dreams, autobiography (2000)
  • Jane McDonald – Riding the Waves: My Story, autobiography, Virgin Books (2019)

Awards

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]

Notes

  1. ↑ Co-produced by Ted Carfrae and Jamel Badaoui.
  2. ↑ Co-produced by David Sandcastle.
  3. ↑ Four-track CD available from concerts.
  4. ↑ Four-track CD available from concerts.
  5. ↑ Live recording of the DVD.

References

  1. ↑ "Jane McDonald: 7 facts about the cruise singer and TV presenter. She was famous on I'm a celebrity 2019". Smooth Radio. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  2. ↑ "Extract from BBC The Cruise docusoap". BBC. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "My Yorkshire: Jane McDonald". The Yorkshire Post. Yorkshire Post Newspapers. 22 December 2008. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  4. ↑ "Focus Music International".
  5. ↑ "Jane McDonald Album".
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Jane McDonald". Official Charts. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  7. ↑ "Introducing: Universal Music on Demand". 9 August 2016.
  8. ↑ "Splash – Universal Music On Demand".
  9. ↑ "'The time is right for me to step aside': Jane McDonald quits Loose Women after 10 years". Metro. 12 January 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  10. ↑ Dosani, Rishma (28 February 2020). "Jane McDonald quits Cruising With Jane McDonald and our hearts are sinking". Metro. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  11. ↑ Rackham, Annabel (1 June 2023). "Jane McDonald replaces Phillip Schofield as British Soap Awards host". BBC News. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  12. ↑ "My Yorkshire: Jane McDonald". Yorkshire Post. 23 December 2008. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  13. 1 2 Suffield, Alice (1 May 2022). "Jane McDonald on the reason she lived at home with her mum until she was 45". Wales Online. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  14. 1 2 Woodcock, Zara (13 January 2023). "Jane McDonald chokes up at mention of late partner Ed in emotional TV appearance". The Mirror. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  15. 1 2 Yeates, Cydney (12 January 2023). "Jane McDonald chokes up talking about late mum and partner on The One Show". Metro. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  16. ↑ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 10 July 1998.
  17. 1 2 Amy Hunt (29 March 2019). "Jane McDonald reveals that her second husband left her in order to save her career: 'It wasn't my decision'". Woman magazine. Archived from the original on 25 May 2018.
  18. ↑ Farquharson, Georgia (4 July 2020). "Is marriage still on the cards for Jane McDonald and Eddie Rothe?". Good to Know. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  19. ↑ Yeates, Cydney (7 April 2021). "Jane McDonald's partner Ed Rothe dies after lung cancer battle". Metro. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  20. ↑ Jones, Alan (29 June 2018). "Charts analysis: Greatest Showman set to surpass Adele's record-breaking run at top". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  21. ↑ "Jane McDonald – Dance Yourself Dizzy (7th Heaven Mirrorball Radio Edit) available digitally worldwide from iTunes, Amazon and all digital stores". YouTube. Jane McDonald Official YouTube Channel. 15 January 2016. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  22. ↑ "Wakefield Stars:- Jane McDonald, entertainer". Read the Plaque.
  23. ↑ "Cruising With Jane McDonald – Winner's Acceptance Speech, Features, Virgin TV British Academy Television Awards in 2018". www.bafta.org. 13 May 2018.
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