As Coleen Nolan returns to The Real Full Monty to coach a new batch of celebrities, the Loose Women panellist revealed why the ninth instalment was the hardest one yet. The Christmas special will see the likes of Julia Bradbury, Paul Burrell, Pete Wicks and Gemma Collins bare all to raise awareness of important cancer checks.
However, Coleen said that there was an added “stress” put on the three-month filming period because the stars could not be together until the day of the show.
She told Express.co.uk and other press at the Best Heroes Awards: “It was a really hard one to do. It was stressful because we weren’t all together until the day of the actual show.
“Two of [the celebrities] got Covid so they were off and then other people were away working and we didn’t have a full team until the actual day. It was literally like squeaky bum time.
“Everyone made it and everyone pulled it out of the bag, but there was a part of me that thought, ‘Are we ever going to get this?’ But we did.”
This year’s full line-up is comprised of Ashley Cain, Ben Cohen, RuPaul’s Drag Race star Ella Vaday, Gemma Collins, Julia Bradbury, Paul Burrell, Pete Wicks, Sherrie Hewson, Vanessa Bauer and Victoria Ekanoye. Diversity’s Ashley Banjo is also returning as a coach alongside Coleen.
The 58-year-old added: “It’s a great group of people, there is something really special about this one. It’s always emotional, especially when you hear that everyone we meet seems to know somebody with cancer. Every year I think I’ve told my story, then [Linda] got it again.”
In 2017, Linda was diagnosed with incurable secondary cancer in her hip, and in 2020 she announced that she had liver cancer which has spread to her brain.
Cancer has plagued the Nolan family after first striking their father, Tommy, who died of liver cancer in 1998.
Coleen’s sister, Bernie, then tragically died from breast cancer in 2013, aged just 52. Anne Nolan has also beaten breast cancer twice after first being diagnosed in 2000 and again in 2020.
Positively, shows like The Real Full Monty are making a difference in encouraging viewers to get checked if they notice anything unusual with their bodies.
Coleen noted: “The amount of people over the years who have said that while they were watching the show, they checked themselves and found something that shouldn’t be there and went to the doctor and caught it early.
“I never thought that would happen, but it happens every single year. For me, if we save one life, then it’s worth doing, but we save more.”
The Real Full Monty: Jingle Balls airs Monday and Tuesday at 9pm on ITV.
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