Linda Nolan’s nephew Jake Roche fought back tears Friday night as he took the stage just two days after her death following a 20-year battle with breast cancer.
The former Rixton frontman and son of Free Ladies’ Coleen Nolan and Eastenders’ Shane Richie, opened up to the intimate audience during his one-man comedy show, Nepporhids.
“I didn’t know if I was going to do the show,” Jake confessed, visibly emotional after the death of his beloved aunt.
‘This week I got the news that my Aunt Linda passed away. But she would have killed me if I had canceled,” he revealed, his voice breaking as he spoke.
The teary-eyed comedian reflected on Linda’s impact, saying, “To a lot of people, she was an entertainer and a singer and all that.” But for me she was an aunt that I will miss very much.”
“And my mother came and surprised me too, which is pushing me over the edge,” he revealed.
Sitting in the ‘present box’ of the intimate venue was Coleen, 59, who bravely attended the £15 performance despite the pain of losing her sister just two days earlier.
A source who attended the show at The Pleasance Theater in north London said Coleen “showed incredible strength” as she laughed throughout the hour-long performance.
Linda Nolan’s nephew Jake Roche opened up to the intimate audience during his one-man comedy show, Nepporhoides.
Linda Nolan (seen in 2023), who died on Wednesday after a 20-year battle with cancer, previously revealed that her biggest regret in her life was not being a mother.
The singer’s death was revealed in a statement issued by her agent, who revealed that she had been diagnosed with double pneumonia (Linda pictured in 1984).
The source revealed that the former Nolan Sisters singer became hysterical when Jake pulled down his pants to reveal his boxers emblazoned with Ellen DeGeneres’s face.
The moment was part of his discussion about a hemorrhoid problem he and his dad Shane, who plays Alfie Moon in EastEnders, reportedly share.
Jake went on to joke that they both suffer from “the biggest hemorrhoids the doctor has ever seen,” a claim he later confirmed to be true.
However, as the tribute to Linda concluded with The Nolans’ iconic hit ‘I am within the Temper for Dancing’, Coleen was seen breaking down in tears and being comforted by her daughter Ciara Fensome, 24, who was sitting at his side.
The source said: “Coleen clearly held her ground for most of the night, but when the tribute to Linda came around, it was too much.” “It was a deeply sad moment.”
At the start of the show, the Rixton chart-topper called Coleen a “wonderful, loving, caring mother” and blew her a kiss before saying: “I love you.”
But because the performance was filled with admiration for Coleen, it also included a series of jabs aimed at her father.
Shane, 60, who seemed to find the performance a little less fun, sat on the opposite side of the room.
‘This week I got the news that my Aunt Linda passed away. But she would have killed me if I had canceled,” he revealed, his voice breaking as he spoke.
A source who attended the show at The Pleasance Theater in north London said Coleen “showed incredible strength” as she laughed throughout the hour-long set.
Linda rose to fame in the 1970s alongside her sisters Maureen, Coleen and Bernie as a member of the all-female band The Nolan Sisters.
Linda was born the sixth of eight children to Tommy and Maureen Nolan on February 23, 1959 in Dublin.
The source said Shane did not participate in the interactive elements of the show and was seen sitting with his head resting on his hands for most of it.
“Shane didn’t smile throughout the entire process, but it’s not surprising given what his son was revealing,” they said.
On multiple occasions, the comedian referred to the EastEnders star as a ‘narcissist’ and almost immediately made reference to the affair he had while married to Coleen.
The Free Ladies panelist was married to Shane for seven years before discovering he was cheating on her.
According to the source, the couple was not reported to have shared a single look on Friday night.
“They couldn’t have been sitting further apart, and while she was sitting sobbing, he was laughing really hard with his group of friends,” they added.
Jake also recreated the moment he found out about the abuse Shane suffered at the hands of his own father, revealing how Shane had to “hide” every time his father “came home from the pub” as he was physically violent towards him when I was a child.
After the show, a source heard Coleen ask Shane’s son Mackenzie Blue Roche, 18, who he shares with Christie Goddard: “How are you feeling? Is this your father?”
Linda’s sister Coleen wrote on Instagram: “His memory will live on in the many lives he touched.”
The teen responded, “I can feel it and I understand it.”
Another person who probably won’t be impressed by the show’s revelations is Jesy Nelson, his ex-fiancée and former Little Combine star, who announced last week that she and her on-again, off-again boyfriend Zion are expecting twins.
Rixton chart-topper Jake, who was engaged to Jesy, 33, until they split in 2016, has opened up about how he broke up with his ‘famous pop star’ girlfriend.
Jesy’s role was played by a microphone stand wearing pink sunglasses in the one-woman show and, in one bizarre moment, Jake lay on the floor pushing and writhing with the prop as he recreated intimate scenes between the pair.
The former leader then delved into the story of their breakup, recounting a key moment when he “just knew” it was over.
“We pull up in front of a house we bought together, in her name and with her money, and she starts crying, and you know it when you know it,” Jake shared.
“And she walks into the house and I realize it at that moment, and I never see her again,” he continued.
However, he later added: “I’m actually sorry; “Two weeks later, at the BRIT Awards, she was singing a song dedicated to her ex and addressed it directly to me at home.”
Rixton chart-topper Jake, who was engaged to Jesy, 33, until they split in 2016, has opened up about how he broke up with his ‘famous pop star’ girlfriend.
Jesy Nelson, his ex-fiancee and former Little Combine star, announced last week that she and her on-again, off-again boyfriend Zion are expecting twins.
“I was curled up on the couch while my mother watched me, eating delicious stale tea biscuits.”
It comes just as Jake spoke out last year about his public fall from grace, which saw him go from scoring a number one hit and touring with megastar Ed Sheeran, to “losing everything” and having to move into his garage. mother.
Speaking to The Instances, she revealed how she landed a record deal as the face of pop-rock band Rixton, partied with Justin Bieber and got engaged to the Little Combine star before her whole world was blown apart.
The once-famous singer was then forced to apply for benefits and return to his childhood home and admitted he felt like a failure.
Jake explained: ‘It’s the classic story of a teenage pop star who achieves everything and loses everything… (I had) an existential crisis in my late twenties…’
He continued: ‘I had never experienced failure in my entire life. Every audition I went to I got it. It blew me to pieces…’
This week, the Nolan family faced their greatest heartbreak when Linda passed away in hospital at age 65 with her famous sisters by her side following double pneumonia amid a 20-year battle with breast cancer.
Coleen shared a statement about writing: “I am completely devastated by the passing of my sister Linda.
‘Linda was a beacon of love, kindness and strength. His wit, humor and laughter were contagious, his presence could light up any room.
‘Linda had a heart full of compassion and always knew how to bring comfort and joy to those around her.
‘Her memory will live on in the many lives she touched, and although we miss her more than words can express, we are comforted by the love and warmth she shared with us all. Rest in peace Linda.
‘You will forever be in our hearts. I love you, Coleen xxx (Colette)’.
