Linda Nolan spent her final moments bringing joy and laughter to those around her, her sister Denise has revealed on Saturday.

The talented singer, who sadly passed away on Wednesday (January 15) at the age of 65, had been hospitalised over the weekend with breathing problems – years after being diagnosed with secondary breast cancer.

Doctors discovered she was battling double pneumonia and placed her on oxygen, urging her to rest and allow her body to recover.

But Linda, known for her playful and spirited personality, couldn’t resist making those around her smile.

Rather than following medical advice to take it easy, she chose to spend her final hours spreading happiness and making people laugh.

Denise, 72, reflected on her sister’s unwavering zest for life, describing how Linda embraced every moment and left behind memories of love, humor, and light.

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Linda Nolan spent her final moments bringing joy and laughter to those around her, her sister Denise has revealed on Saturday

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Denise (pictured right), 72, reflected on her sister’s unwavering zest for life, describing how Linda embraced every moment and left behind memories of love, humor, and light

Recounting the last few hours in the life of her ‘beautiful, brave, hard-working and talented sister’, Denise told the Mirror: ‘She’d been laughing and joking, although the medical team had told her she had to stay quiet to let her treatment do its job. Everyone was being quietly optimistic as she’d seemed so cheerful.

‘Then at 3.30am on Tuesday, we got the dreaded call, ‘Get to the hospital asap’.’

Linda was first diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer in 2005 before getting the all-clear in 2006 – but in 2017 she was diagnosed with a form of incurable secondary cancer in her hip, which spread to her liver in 2020.

Three years later she shared the news that the cancer had spread to her brain, with two tumours discovered on the left side of her brain which left her struggling with her speech and balance.

And she issued an update last August that the tumours – which were thought to be stable – had grown.

The Irish star was part of family group the Nolans, alongside her sisters Coleen, Maureen, Denise, Anne and Bernie – who died of breast cancer in 2013 aged 52.

It comes just days after the star shared her fears about dying of breast cancer like her sister Bernie as she battled a ‘bad case of flu’ in the weeks before she died at the age of 65.

In a newspaper column published just days ago, Linda described how a debilitating bout of sickness for 11 days over Christmas made the festive period ‘a complete wipe out’.

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Linda was first diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer in 2005 before getting the all-clear in 2006 – but in 2017 she was diagnosed with a form of incurable secondary cancer in her hip, which spread to her liver in 2020

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The Nolans are pictured here performing in November 1981 – left to right: Coleen, Maureen, Bernie and Linda – Linda said last week she feared she was nearing the end like tragic Bernie

In what would be her final column for the Mirror, she wrote: ‘The doctors say it’s been a bad case of flu. I’d walk a few steps and struggle to catch my breath.

‘My legs were even more wobbly than usual and, although I try not to, I thought of how Bernie was at the end. You think, ‘Oh my God, is this it?’

‘It was only on Monday I felt well enough to venture out. It feels like a whole new world out there. There’s nothing like the sensation of starting to feel better after an illness.

‘You’ve forgotten what it feels like to feel normal (well, I say normal?).’

In an especially poignant final line, she added: ‘I’m no fan of resolutions but here’s one: It’ll take more than flu to finish me off.’

Linda also described not being able to eat anything over Christmas, before she did finally enjoy indulging a surprise craving on New Year’s Eve.

She told of tucking into chicken curry with pineapple after her sister Denise and Denise’s husband Tom were ordering a curry, with Linda saying: ‘Suddenly that’s what I fancied.

‘Pineapple in a curry. That was the foil container to finally tempt me out of my fast. My very own Chinese New Year.

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Linda, pictured here at the Bold x Pink Ribbon Foundation Party at the Century Club in London last February, wrote last week about suffering a ‘complete wipeout’ over Christmas

‘I hadn’t eaten for 11 days – what a Christmas! A complete wipe out. Everyone’s been so worried. The girls have been bringing me energy drinks and that’s all I’ve been able to get down.’

Linda’s sisters have a history of cancer, with herself, Coleen and Anne all receiving diagnoses as well as Bernie passing away from the disease.

Linda had admitted last November she ‘never expected to make it to Christmas’, meaning that the festive period meant all the more to her.

She said at the time: ‘I can’t wait. Not to be morbid, but I didn’t think I’d make Christmas, so it’s a real bonus.

‘We love Christmas as a family and we’re all going to gather at Denise’s. It will be great. We all have such a good time when we get together so I can’t wait. I especially love seeing all the little ones and how excited they get.’

And just before the festive season she admitted to OK! magazine she was afraid of death, saying: ‘What scares me the most? Dying. I am sad that it is going to happen.

‘When people start talking about ‘putting things in order’ – I don’t want to talk about that. I don’t want to think about my affairs. It’s so final.

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The Irish star pictured in a 1984 magazine feature entitled ‘Linda Nolan at home’

‘Every birthday and every Christmas, I want to make it to the next one. This year, for instance, I will certainly raise a glass and say, ‘Here’s to 2025’.

‘I have to be like that, I can’t be a grey cloud of doom.’

Linda had appeared on ITV’s GMB last August, revealing how she was being set on a new course of chemotherapy – and sharing the news that she could face losing her hair once again.

She also described the physical toll the ongoing treatment was taking on her smile, pointing to a gap in her teeth and exclaiming: ‘Look, I’ve lost a tooth!’

Linda said of cancer’s prevalence in her family: ‘I’m just like everybody else really, I just want it to go – or leave us alone for a little while at least.’

GMB host Richard Madeley asked whether she got angry at how the disease had impacted her family, telling her: ‘You would be entitled to feel a rage at the universe that your family has been cursed by the big C.’

Linda replied: ‘I asked Bernie one time – somebody said to her, ‘Do you ever think , why me?’, and she said, ‘No, I think why not me’. It doesn’t pick and choose.

‘You can’t put your name down and say you’re next in line. But we have had a rough time with it.’

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Linda was diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer in 2005, getting an all-clear in 2006

Linda’s death was announced on Wednesday ‘with profound sadness’ by her manager Dermot McNamara, who said she passed away ‘surrounded by her devoted family’.

He said in a statement: ‘Over the weekend, Linda was taken by ambulance to Blackpool Victoria Hospital and admitted with double pneumonia.

‘In the early hours of Tuesday morning, she went into a coma and into end-of-life care, surrounded by her devoted family.

‘At around 10.20am on Wednesday, she passed peacefully, with her loving siblings by her bedside, ensuring she was embraced with love and comfort during her final moments, aged 65.

‘Linda’s legacy extends beyond her incredible achievements in music and entertainment. She was a beacon of hope and resilience, sharing her journey to raise awareness and inspire others.’