Coleen Nolan opens up on family tragedy that inspired her to go on a solo tour: 'I had to do it now!'

Coleen Nolan decided to go on her first solo tour because of her sister’s cancer battle.

The 58-year-old star was part of 1980s pop group The Nolans alongside her older sisters Linda, Maureen, and Bernie – who died in 2013 at the age of 52 following a battle with breast cancer – but has never performed on her own before and didn’t want to “regret” not doing so later in life, especially after her sister Linda discovered that her cancer had spread to her brain.

She exclusively told BANG Showbiz: “When my sister Linda got re-diagnosed with cancer, the cancer had gone to her brain – and we’ve already lost Bernie – I thought that the chances of us singing together again now were very slim and when I get really old when I can’t actually do anything, I think my regret would be that I never got to sing again.

“I thought ‘Do it now!’ because I don’t know.

“At first, I thought I would like to do it at some point. And then Linda got re-diagnosed and then I thought I might not have ‘at some point’, so just do it. ”

The ‘Loose Women’ panellist – who has Shane, 35, and Jake, 31, with first husband Shane Richie as well as 23-year-old Ciara with second husband Ray Fensome – will be touring venues across the UK throughout February and March and admitted that she is “terrified” to be performing on her own but is determined to “give it a go” and has found comfort in the fact that her eldest is serving as her support act.

She said: “And they say to women of my age that you’re not too old to try anything. I’m so terrified but the only thing I keep saying to myself is even if I’m crap, even if people hate it, no one is going to die.

“I’m just gonna say ‘Well, I did it, and I gave it a go and I loved it.’”

“And also I’m kind of at a point now where people if people are telling me I can’t or I shouldn’t, I’m going ‘Well I am…’

“My security blanket is my son Shane. He’s my support act and he’s going to begin a bit in my part with me as well. And me and him just bounce off each other so I’ve definitely got someone on my side!”

Coleen’s ‘Naked’ tour runs at various venues across the UK throughout February and March.

For tickets and more information, go to coleentour.com.