Jane McDonald
Encyclopedia
Jane McDonald is a British
singer
, actress and media personality
and broadcaster
, who first became famous following her appearance on the BBC
docusoap The Cruise. Known for her strong Yorkshire accent, she has since co-presented a number of daytime
shows, including Loose Women
which she presented from 2004–10.
, and her Scottish
father was a miner who did extra work as a chimney sweep. She is a Christian
spiritualist, as she announced on Loose Women
. McDonald spent her early years listening to the radio, her favourite pastime and thus her inspiration. As a little girl her favourite place was sitting in the rainbow coloured spotlight cast through her front door's stained glass window.
Despite reports to the contrary, she is not related to newreader Sir Trevor McDonald, despite the shared surname.
of the BBC, who asked her to be the star of his docusoap, The Cruise. The Cruise was watched regularly by 14 million viewers, and after years of hard work, she became a celebrity overnight. Her wedding to Henrik Brixen in 1998 was televised by the BBC and watched by a large audience, although the couple have since divorced.
After signing a major-label recording contract, McDonald began to carve out a mainstream showbiz
career, first as a guest presenter on BBC
's National Lottery
and subsequently with her debut album Jane McDonald, which spent three weeks at Number 1 in the UK Album Chart.
In 2000, McDonald released her autobiography Follow Your Dreams published by Harper Collins. In 2002, McDonald played the part of the Nurse
in a run of Romeo and Juliet - The Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre
in London
's glittering West End. She has also performed in productions in Kirkby Lonsdale
and Basingstoke
.
In November 2006 she began a UK tour, which featured a number of special guests including the massed voices of Sing Live UK. The tour ended on 2 November 2006. In 2007, McDonald commissioned Yorkshire fashion designer Haute Couture dress maker Kaye Heeley of Angel Couture to help with the Jane McDonald Collection.
McDonald toured in 2008 beginning in Blackpool
on 1 August of that year to showcase new songs from her Number 7 (UK album charts) album, Jane. This album was her first using her own record label.
On 9 May 2010, McDonald embarked on a 'one night only' performance at the world famous London Palladium
, which was to be filmed for DVD. Among the public in the audience were Gavin and Stacey star Joanna Page
, Emmerdale
's James Thornton
, plus Loose Women 's Kate Thornton
, Lynda Bellingham
, Lesley Garrett
and Andrea McLean
. Also there on the night were Bananarama
and three of the Four Poofs and a Piano from Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
. McDonald's family were also there to support her including her mother Jean, and her fiancée Eddie Rothe. Rothe had been a member of the 60s group The Searchers from 1996 -2010, he left to spend time with her. He, also in the 70s, was a member of Liquid Gold.
McDonald released a cover of Liquid Gold
's 1980 #2 hit, "Dance Yourself Dizzy", on iTunes on Sunday 22 August 2010 and became available from other sites such as Yahoo from 5 September 2010.
Her 2011 UK Tour began with a preview night at Potters Lesure Resort in Great Yarmouth on 3 April 2011. Official Opening Night for the 2011 Spring tour took place at the Empire Theatre
in Liverpool and finished in Peterborough on 11 June. McDonald was due to tour Australia and New Zealand in the Summer of 2011, however due to her extensive tour of the UK and an hectic schedule, the Australian tour has been postponed until future notice. The UK tour will then proceed into the Autumn, beginning on 1 September in Milton Keynes
and finished on 30 October at The Mayflower Theatre
in Southampton.
As well as appearing on The Cruise, McDonald presented the television programme, Star for a Night, which helped launch the singer Joss Stone
and also showed us the first glimpse of 2008's X Factor
winner Alexandra Burke
. She has also appeared on the reality shows, Have I Been Here Before and Drop the Celebrity
. McDonald also appeared in the Wicked Women concert and sang "This Is the Moment" from the Broadway musical Jekyll and Hyde. McDonald appeared on one episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks
.
McDonald appeared on a celebrity special of Ready Steady Cook
. She and her fellow chef won over the audience with their dish of 'half baked carp' with a cheese sauce, and claimed the cash prize. She donated all the money to Wakefield Hospice, a local charity of her home town.
From 2004 to 2010 she was a regular presenter on the ITV daytime television program
me Loose Women. It was confirmed on 16 July 2010 that McDonald would depart Loose Women in the summer, taking at least a year's break to concentrate on her music career and to tour Australia and New Zealand. She left at the end of the series on 6 August 2010. She has also been a panelist on The Wright Stuff
in both 2005 and 2006.
McDonald appeared in a documentary called Return to the Cruise, which celebrated the tenth anniversary of The Cruise finding out how much McDonald enjoyed her fame and success. This was shown over several nights of the week beginning 11 August 2008 on BBC Two
. She was a guest on Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway on 22 March 2008, with Christopher Biggins
in Grab the Ads playing Tarzan and Jane. On 20 July 2008, she featured on The Sunday Night Project
. She also appeared on the celebrity edition of Are You Smarter Than A 10 Year Old?
in September 2008 where she won £50,000 for the Wakefield Hospice.
Since 1 October 2010, McDonald has been a regular contributor to The Alan Titchmarsh Show
.
Commencing on 10 January 2011, McDonald narrated the Channel 4 reality show Celebrity 5 Go to... McDonald returned for the second series, which commenced on the week 23 May 2011 - 27 May 2011.
On 25 February 2011, McDonald made a return to Loose Women as a guest panelist as a one off appearance.
On 14 March 2011, McDonald reviewed the daily newspapers with Kelvin MacKenzie
on ITVs This Morning
.
On 5 July 2011, McDonald appeared as a competitor on ITV's 10 Mile Menu. The show challenges two teams to cook a three-course meal using only local produce from a ten mile radius. Each team is made up of a professional chef and a celebrity guest. McDonald's partner was renowned chef Jun Tanaka (chef)
. McDonald and Tanaka went on to win the programme by outcooking actress Terri Dwyer
and professional chef Aldo Zilli
.
On 9 August 2011, McDonald was a celebrity guest on the brand new ITV 1 show Lets Do Lunch with Gino and Mel A cooking show which involved huge participation from the audience, maybe the opportunity to cook along side Gino and the guest stars as well as sharing their cooking stories and dilemmas.
On 16 October 2011, McDonald telephoned into ITV's The Xtra Factor from a live concert in Bridlington
to stick up for contestant Samantha Brookes after a cruise-ship slur to contestant Samantha Brookes by judge Gary Barlow
On 27 October 2011 an newspaper article evolving around McDonald was the "Subject Of Converstion" on that morning's episode of The Wright Stuff
McDonald phoned in after several members of the public to express her opinion about the article.
for a live “Music Juke Box” as part of 2011's Children In Need
charity event.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, actress and media personality
Infotainment
Infotainment is "information-based media content or programming that also includes entertainment content in an effort to enhance popularity with audiences and consumers." It is a neologistic portmanteau of information and entertainment, referring to a type of media which provides a combination of...
and broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
, who first became famous following her appearance on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
docusoap The Cruise. Known for her strong Yorkshire accent, she has since co-presented a number of daytime
Daytime television
Daytime television is the general term for television shows produced that are intended to air during the daytime hours on weekdays. This article is about American daytime television, for information about international daytime television see Daytime television....
shows, including Loose Women
Loose Women
Loose Women is a British lunchtime television programme, first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip...
which she presented from 2004–10.
Early life
McDonald's parents are Peter and Jean McDonald (nee Ferguson). Her mother and grandmother ran a boarding house on Eastmoor Road in WakefieldWakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
, and her Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
father was a miner who did extra work as a chimney sweep. She is a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
spiritualist, as she announced on Loose Women
Loose Women
Loose Women is a British lunchtime television programme, first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip...
. McDonald spent her early years listening to the radio, her favourite pastime and thus her inspiration. As a little girl her favourite place was sitting in the rainbow coloured spotlight cast through her front door's stained glass window.
Despite reports to the contrary, she is not related to newreader Sir Trevor McDonald, despite the shared surname.
Music
McDonald toured many clubs in the north of England, with her father acting as her roadie. She provided all of her own equipment, which she had to replace after it was destroyed in a large bar-fight. McDonald's first position on a cruise ship was on the Black Prince, and following that, the Horizon. After her father's death, she returned to sea and began working on the Zenith. Later she was to work on the Century, where she met Henrik Brixen who was the Ships Plumber. Her time on the Century was not a happy one, due to pay delays, technical difficulties, and stressful working conditions. After this she took some time off with Henrik, but was eventually tempted back to sea as a headliner on the Century's sister-ship, the Galaxy. Shortly after accepting the position, McDonald was contacted by Chris TerrillChris Terrill
Chris Terrill is an anthropologist, adventurer, author and filmmaker born in Brighton in 1952. He attended Brighton College 1965–1970, and then went to Durham University where he gained a joint-honours degree in Geography and Anthropology...
of the BBC, who asked her to be the star of his docusoap, The Cruise. The Cruise was watched regularly by 14 million viewers, and after years of hard work, she became a celebrity overnight. Her wedding to Henrik Brixen in 1998 was televised by the BBC and watched by a large audience, although the couple have since divorced.
After signing a major-label recording contract, McDonald began to carve out a mainstream showbiz
Show business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz, is a vernacular term for all aspects of entertainment. The word applies to all aspects of the entertainment industry from the business side to the creative element ....
career, first as a guest presenter on BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's National Lottery
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
and subsequently with her debut album Jane McDonald, which spent three weeks at Number 1 in the UK Album Chart.
In 2000, McDonald released her autobiography Follow Your Dreams published by Harper Collins. In 2002, McDonald played the part of the Nurse
Nurse (Romeo and Juliet)
The Nurse is a major character in William Shakespeare's classic drama Romeo and Juliet. It is revealed later in the play by Lord Capulet that the Nurse's real name might be Angelica . She is the personal servant, guardian of Juliet Capulet, and has been since Juliet was born...
in a run of Romeo and Juliet - The Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre
Piccadilly Theatre
The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, England.-Early years:Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's glittering West End. She has also performed in productions in Kirkby Lonsdale
Kirkby Lonsdale
Kirkby Lonsdale is a small town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, on the River Lune. Historically within Westmorland, it is situated south east of Kendal along the A65. The parish had a population of 1,771 recorded in the 2001 census.Notable buildings include St...
and Basingstoke
Basingstoke
Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...
.
In November 2006 she began a UK tour, which featured a number of special guests including the massed voices of Sing Live UK. The tour ended on 2 November 2006. In 2007, McDonald commissioned Yorkshire fashion designer Haute Couture dress maker Kaye Heeley of Angel Couture to help with the Jane McDonald Collection.
McDonald toured in 2008 beginning in Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
on 1 August of that year to showcase new songs from her Number 7 (UK album charts) album, Jane. This album was her first using her own record label.
On 9 May 2010, McDonald embarked on a 'one night only' performance at the world famous London Palladium
London Palladium
The London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...
, which was to be filmed for DVD. Among the public in the audience were Gavin and Stacey star Joanna Page
Joanna Page
Joanna Louise Page is a Welsh actress, best known for playing Stacey in the television series, Gavin and Stacey.-Early and personal life:...
, Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
's James Thornton
James Thornton (actor)
James Thornton is an English actor and Voice-over artist.-Early life and career:Thornton was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire. He starred in the BBC One police series Holby Blue and currently appears as John Barton in the British soap opera Emmerdale...
, plus Loose Women 's Kate Thornton
Kate Thornton
Kate Thornton is an English journalist and television presenter. Early in her career, she was notable for her articles at the Daily Mirror and for her role as editor of Smash Hits magazine...
, Lynda Bellingham
Lynda Bellingham
Lynda Bellingham is a Canadian-born English actress, broadcaster and author, who is known for her distinctive husky voice.-Early life:...
, Lesley Garrett
Lesley Garrett
Lesley Garrett CBE is an English musician, broadcaster and media personality.- Early life :Garrett was born in the town of Thorne near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, into a musical family. She attended Thorne Grammar School, where she performed in school plays and musicals. As she grew up she...
and Andrea McLean
Andrea McLean
Andrea McLean is a Scottish television presenter who shares the role of anchor on ITV's Loose Women and is a former GMTV weather girl.-Biography:...
. Also there on the night were Bananarama
Bananarama
Bananarama are an English female pop duo who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Rather than relying on a two part harmony, the duo generally sings in unison, as do their background vocalists. Although there have been line-up changes, the group enjoyed their most popular...
and three of the Four Poofs and a Piano from Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross may refer to:* Jonathan Ross , English television and radio personality* Jonathan Ross , United States Senator, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court* Jonathon Ross , former Australian rules footballer...
. McDonald's family were also there to support her including her mother Jean, and her fiancée Eddie Rothe. Rothe had been a member of the 60s group The Searchers from 1996 -2010, he left to spend time with her. He, also in the 70s, was a member of Liquid Gold.
McDonald released a cover of Liquid Gold
Liquid Gold
Liquid Gold was an English disco group, from Brackley in Northamptonshire. Their biggest success came in 1980 with Dance Yourself Dizzy, which peaked at number two on the UK chart.-Career:...
's 1980 #2 hit, "Dance Yourself Dizzy", on iTunes on Sunday 22 August 2010 and became available from other sites such as Yahoo from 5 September 2010.
Her 2011 UK Tour began with a preview night at Potters Lesure Resort in Great Yarmouth on 3 April 2011. Official Opening Night for the 2011 Spring tour took place at the Empire Theatre
Empire Theatre
Empire Theatre or Empire Theater may refer to:In the United Kingdom:*Empire Theatre of Varieties, now the Empire, Leicester Square, City of Westminster, London*Glasgow Empire Theatre, Glasgow*Hackney Empire, in Hackney...
in Liverpool and finished in Peterborough on 11 June. McDonald was due to tour Australia and New Zealand in the Summer of 2011, however due to her extensive tour of the UK and an hectic schedule, the Australian tour has been postponed until future notice. The UK tour will then proceed into the Autumn, beginning on 1 September in Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
and finished on 30 October at The Mayflower Theatre
Mayflower Theatre
The Mayflower is a Grade II listed theatre, in the city centre of Southampton, United Kingdom, with a capacity of 2,300. It features West End theatre shows when they tour the UK. The theatre opened on the 22 December 1928, as The Empire Theatre, part of the Moss Empire theatre group...
in Southampton.
As well as appearing on The Cruise, McDonald presented the television programme, Star for a Night, which helped launch the singer Joss Stone
Joss Stone
Jocelyn Eve Stoker , better known by her stage name Joss Stone, is an English soul singer-songwriter and actress. Stone rose to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist...
and also showed us the first glimpse of 2008's X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
winner Alexandra Burke
Alexandra Burke
Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke is a British R&B and pop recording artist who rose to fame after winning the fifth series of British television series The X Factor in 2008...
. She has also appeared on the reality shows, Have I Been Here Before and Drop the Celebrity
Drop the Celebrity
Drop the Celebrity is a British television game show broadcast in 2003, in which a group of British celebrities in an airplane wait for the audience on the ground to vote on who should be dropped from it by parachute...
. McDonald also appeared in the Wicked Women concert and sang "This Is the Moment" from the Broadway musical Jekyll and Hyde. McDonald appeared on one episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game television show with a pop music theme, currently without a permanent presenter. It stars Phill Jupitus and Noel Fielding as team captains. The show is produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC, and is usually aired on BBC Two...
.
McDonald appeared on a celebrity special of Ready Steady Cook
Ready Steady Cook
Ready Steady Cook was a BBC daytime TV cooking programme it first debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last edition was broadcast on the 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott became the new host...
. She and her fellow chef won over the audience with their dish of 'half baked carp' with a cheese sauce, and claimed the cash prize. She donated all the money to Wakefield Hospice, a local charity of her home town.
From 2004 to 2010 she was a regular presenter on the ITV daytime television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
me Loose Women. It was confirmed on 16 July 2010 that McDonald would depart Loose Women in the summer, taking at least a year's break to concentrate on her music career and to tour Australia and New Zealand. She left at the end of the series on 6 August 2010. She has also been a panelist on The Wright Stuff
The Wright Stuff
The Wright Stuff is a British television chat show, hosted by Matthew Wright, and currently airing on Channel 5 each weekday morning from 9:15 to 11:10am....
in both 2005 and 2006.
McDonald appeared in a documentary called Return to the Cruise, which celebrated the tenth anniversary of The Cruise finding out how much McDonald enjoyed her fame and success. This was shown over several nights of the week beginning 11 August 2008 on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
. She was a guest on Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway on 22 March 2008, with Christopher Biggins
Christopher Biggins
Christopher Kenneth Biggins is an English actor and media personality.-Career:Biggins was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England and brought up in Salisbury, Wiltshire, where he took elocution lessons and participated in local drama groups...
in Grab the Ads playing Tarzan and Jane. On 20 July 2008, she featured on The Sunday Night Project
The Sunday Night Project
The Sunday Night Project was a British comedy-variety show by Princess Productions that first aired on Channel 4 in February 2005 under the title The Friday Night Project...
. She also appeared on the celebrity edition of Are You Smarter Than A 10 Year Old?
Are You Smarter Than A 10 Year Old? (UK)
Are You Smarter Than a/Your 10 Year Old? was a British quiz show which aired on Sky1. There were two editions, one broadcast weekly in primetime, hosted by Noel Edmonds and a daily version, originally hosted by Dick and Dom, but later hosted by Damian Williams...
in September 2008 where she won £50,000 for the Wakefield Hospice.
Since 1 October 2010, McDonald has been a regular contributor to The Alan Titchmarsh Show
The Alan Titchmarsh Show
The Alan Titchmarsh Show is a British daytime TV chat show broadcast between 3 and 4pm weekdays on the ITV Network.-Format:The programme made its debut on ITV in 2007. It focused on the theme of "The Best of British" focusing on food, entertainment and celebrities in a mid-afternoon slot...
.
Commencing on 10 January 2011, McDonald narrated the Channel 4 reality show Celebrity 5 Go to... McDonald returned for the second series, which commenced on the week 23 May 2011 - 27 May 2011.
On 25 February 2011, McDonald made a return to Loose Women as a guest panelist as a one off appearance.
On 14 March 2011, McDonald reviewed the daily newspapers with Kelvin MacKenzie
Kelvin MacKenzie
Kelvin Calder MacKenzie is an English media executive and former newspaper editor. He is best known for being editor of The Sun newspaper between 1981 and 1994, an era in which the paper was established as Britain's best selling newspaper.- Biography :MacKenzie was educated at Alleyn's School...
on ITVs This Morning
This Morning (TV series)
This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
.
On 5 July 2011, McDonald appeared as a competitor on ITV's 10 Mile Menu. The show challenges two teams to cook a three-course meal using only local produce from a ten mile radius. Each team is made up of a professional chef and a celebrity guest. McDonald's partner was renowned chef Jun Tanaka (chef)
Jun Tanaka (chef)
Jun Tanaka is an American-born British Japanese UK TV chef, best known for presenting Channel 4's Cooking It as well as appearing in Saturday Kitchen on BBC One....
. McDonald and Tanaka went on to win the programme by outcooking actress Terri Dwyer
Terri Dwyer
Teresa "Terri" Dwyer is an English actress. She is best known for her role in the in the British soap opera, Hollyoaks as Ruth Osborne.-Career:...
and professional chef Aldo Zilli
Aldo Zilli
Aldo Zilli is an Italian-born celebrity chef who specialises in Italian cuisine. One of nine children, he was born in the small seaside town of Alba Adriatica in the central Italian region of Abruzzo...
.
On 9 August 2011, McDonald was a celebrity guest on the brand new ITV 1 show Lets Do Lunch with Gino and Mel A cooking show which involved huge participation from the audience, maybe the opportunity to cook along side Gino and the guest stars as well as sharing their cooking stories and dilemmas.
On 16 October 2011, McDonald telephoned into ITV's The Xtra Factor from a live concert in Bridlington
Bridlington
Bridlington is a seaside resort, minor sea fishing port and civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It has a static population of over 33,000, which rises considerably during the tourist season...
to stick up for contestant Samantha Brookes after a cruise-ship slur to contestant Samantha Brookes by judge Gary Barlow
Gary Barlow
Gary Barlow is an English singer-songwriter, pianist and record producer. He is frontman and lead vocalist of pop group Take That and is currently the head judge on the eighth series of The X Factor. Barlow is one of Britain's most successful songwriters...
On 27 October 2011 an newspaper article evolving around McDonald was the "Subject Of Converstion" on that morning's episode of The Wright Stuff
The Wright Stuff
The Wright Stuff is a British television chat show, hosted by Matthew Wright, and currently airing on Channel 5 each weekday morning from 9:15 to 11:10am....
McDonald phoned in after several members of the public to express her opinion about the article.
Radio
On 13 November 2011, McDonald co-hosted the Paul O’Grady Show on BBC Radio 2BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
for a live “Music Juke Box” as part of 2011's Children In Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
charity event.
Albums
- July 1998 - Jane McDonald - Number 1 (UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
) *Double platinum - June 2000 - Inspiration - Number 6 (UK) (Co-produced by Ted Carfrae and Djamel Badaoui, Sony BMG)
- October 2001 - Love at the Movies - Number 24 (UK) (Co-Produced by David Sandcastle, Sony BMG)
- February 2005 - You Belong to Me - Number 21 (UK)
- August 2008 - Jane - Number 7 (UK)
Compilation and special albums
- April 2003 - The Collection
- September 2006 - From Me To You - limited edition four track EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
- August 2007 - Because You Loved Me - compilation albumCompilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
- October 2010 - Live At The London Palladium (Live recording of the DVD) - Number 31 (UK)
- October 2010 - Just For You (four track CD available from concerts)
Singles
- "Cruise Into Christmas Medley" - Number 10 (UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
) December 1998 - "And I Am Telling You (I'm Not Going)" 2003 (UK)
- "Dance Yourself Dizzy" August 2010 (UK)
DVDs
- Jane McDonald in Concert (1999)
- Jane McDonald Live in Las Vegas (2001)
- Being Jane (Special DVD only available at her concerts or via her management team, filmed 2005)
- The Very Best Of Loose Women (2008)
- Jane McDonald - Live At The London Palladium (18 October 2010)