‘The Cruise’ singer talks to Simone O’Kane about her return to touring after leaving daytime TV programme

TAKE away the glitz and glamour of showbiz and you’ll find that Jane McDonald is an ordinary lass who, like many of us, just wants a decent brew after a busy day at work.

Speaking in her broad Yorkshire accent, projecting the familiar voice that has made her fortune, the singer who became a celebrity after appearing on BBC fly-on-the-wall show The Cruise, admits she is currently in a happy place.

Because, after a decade as a panellist on ITVs popular show Loose Women, Jane can now concentrate on what she loves by being on tour and spending time with mum Jean and fiance Eddie Rothe.

Tomorrow night the 50-year-old is in Blackburn on The Singer of Your Song tour which is also the name of her new album.

“This is what I have been known for all of my life, I have got a great fan base who like what I do and I am ready to show them what I can do,” says Jane.

“People have a misconception and just think – cruise singer. But here you get a lively and wild performance with therapy thrown in. You can come and have a really good cry or have a really good dance to a disco medley, either way I will get to you even if you don’t want to feel the emotion is there.”

Delivering the cover-version classics such as We've Got Tonight and Betcha By Golly Wow, Jane says she plans to wow her fans with the track which shares the same title as the tour was written and dedicated to her fans.

“I have never had a reaction from a song so that’s why I decided to write something for them. I asked myself why did they come back and what do they feel...it’s a powerful thing is music. Songs take you right back to where you were when you first heard it, whether you were happy, sad, a lot of people cry when I do my show even if it’s a little tear. The tears you weep and the secrets you keep,” says Jane.

“The show is a huge stage production, there’s an element of camp, I love the glitz and glamour and I have never had such an exquisite show and to be quite honest it’s what I am good at. I am not a great singer but I am a great entertainer and I absolutely love it.”

In January Jane left the daytime chat show Loose Women along with her co-hosts Denise Welch and Carol McGiffin.

The presenters have been replaced with younger women including presenter Myleene Klass, Saturdays star Rochelle Humes, actress Angela Griffin, R&B star Jamelia and Denise Van Outen.

And although Jane’s place on the show has been ‘left open’ she has hit back at critics who recently said that the reshuffle was to bring in a younger, more appealing bunch of Loose Women.

Asked wether she thinks agesim is dominating television and its presenters, she disagrees.

“I have never found that ageism is an issue personally. My job on the telly was left open to me which is absolutely fantastic. I had been on there for ten years and I think everything needs a change or a shake up and Loose Women will always carry on and it’s good to embrace change. I was shaky making that decision to leave but I still love it with the new girls. My friends are still on the show sometimes you need a change,” says Jane who is taking her tour as far as Weston-Super-Mare.

“The show will always be something that I miss, but I will always be a loose woman even though it was my time to leave. I was too busy doing everything else. I have been lucky enough to have two careers I always thought that one would fall by the wayside and I was just knackered. When I concentrated on my TV career my fans were distraught and they would write and ask me when I was going back to sing again. Sometimes you have to jump off a cliff to see if you can still fly. I can be at home with my mum and my partner and spend more time with them,” says Jane.

On a therapeutic note Jane, who is impossible not to like, says she offers the audience a chance to have a good cry at her concerts as well as a bit of therapy. A service she is clearly offering during our conversation as she reflects on life.

“When you get older you realise that time is something that can’t be bought. We wish time away so much and it’s up to you to cherish and do something about it. It’s certainly about getting the right work/life balance.”

and it took me a long time to figure that out. We all want to pay off our mortgage but working hard is a strain. I am in my prime now, I can sing as much as a top c and hold it on for eight bars, as mum says ‘if you don’t use it you will lose it’ so I am going to sing for as long and as much as I possibly can.”

When she comes to King George’s Hall tomorrow night, the audience can expect a show with a fantastic atmosphere, a live band and amazing backing singers. Jane will be dressed from head to toe in glamour, just the way she likes it although there’s no diva in this Wakefield-born lass when she’s on tour.

“I am a professional packer and I am very organised. I have a fantastic PA who is also my best friend so there’s no way I can be a diva around her. All I really want it a good cup of tea and it has got to be Yorkshire. As long as I have my tea and a kettle I am happy, oh and I like a Drambue before I go on stage. It’s our first time in Blackburn and we have a lot of new venues to do but I have a lot of fans in Lancashire so I am really looking forward to it. It’s going to be slick, glam, camp and expensive.”