Coleen Nolan fired back at social media trolls on today’s Loose Women after cruel remarks were made online about her sister Linda’s funeral.
Nolan, who shot to fame in the late 1970s as part of the Nolans girl group, died aged 65 in January after a 20-year long battle with cancer.
Coleen and her four other sisters, including Linda Nolan, achieved three top 10 singles between 1979 and 1981, including disco hit I’m in the Mood for Dancing.
Nolan was first diagnosed with cancer in 2005, being given the all-clear in 2011 – but in 2017 it was found the cancer had returned and metastasised.
Her funeral was held in Blackpool, Lancashire, where the Dublin-born singer had spent most of her life after moving there with her family in 1962.
She was laid to rest in a sparkly pink coffin at the service in the seaside town earlier this month, which was attended by sisters Coleen, Anne, Denise, and Maureen.
However, Coleen has revealed that vile social media trolls attacked her for daring to smile at the 2,000 people who had travelled to say farewell to one of their favourite popstars.
After discussing Warwick Davis’ emotional speech at the Baftas on Sunday night, following the death of his wife in 2024, she then gave her thoughts on how people can sometimes react negatively to different displays of grief.
‘We’ve got to stop judging how people deal with grief,’ she began, speaking passionately to the audience. ‘And I’ve got to stop caring how people are judging me.’
She continued: ‘[At Nolan’s funeral] I got out of the car smiling because there were about 2,000 people there, looking and smiling. And then I got slated on social media. [People were asking] “What’s she smiling about?”‘
At first, she doubted herself: ‘[I was thinking] I don’t know what people want me to do. And it bothered me at first, but then I thought I’ve got to stop caring what people think.
‘We all deal with grief differently. I didn’t want to get out the car and not acknowledge [the crowd]. I saw all those people and it made me cry because Linda would have loved it. And I’m so glad they turned out for her.’
She concluded with a defiant message to any trolls who might have been watching Loose Women on Monday: ‘I got out [and smiled] to show my gratitude.’
The service for Nolan took place at St. Paul’s Church in Blackpool, where she had married her husband Brian Hudson in 1981. Hudson died in 2007, aged, 60, after his own battle with cancer.
Her family explained their choice, writing on Instagram: ‘St. Paul’s Church holds a deeply special place in Linda’s heart. It is where she married the love of her life, Brian Hudson, with whom she shared 26 wonderful years of marriage.’
On X, Mickey supported Coleen’s comments: ‘Spot on, grief is personal and individual. There is no right or wrong way. I’ve known people who have literally died of a broken heart.’
JessAcc2 concurred: ‘Coleen – you do what you want to do.’
Loose Women airs weekdays at 12.30pm on ITV and ITVX.
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