Tributes have been pouring in after it was announced yesterday that Sarah Harding had passed away at the age of 39.
The former Girls Aloud singer and actress had been battling breast cancer, having disclosed her diagnosis back in August 2020, and had revealed that the cancer had spread to other parts of her body.
Her family shared the news of her passing in a statement on social media.
On Instagram, her mother Marie wrote: “It’s with deep heartbreak that today I’m sharing the news that my beautiful daughter Sarah has sadly passed away.
“Many of you will know of Sarah’s battle with cancer and that she fought so strongly from her diagnosis until her last day. She slipped away peacefully this morning. I’d like to thank everyone for their kind support over the past year. It meant the world to Sarah and it gave her great strength and comfort to know she was loved.
“I know she won’t want to be remembered for her fight against this terrible disease – she was a bright shining star and I hope that’s how she can be remembered instead.”
Earlier this year, Harding said doctors had told her she would not see another Christmas.
In an extract from her memoir published in The Times, Harding wrote: “In December my doctor told me that the upcoming Christmas would probably be my last.”
She said she didn’t want an exact prognosis, just “comfort” and to be “pain-free”.
Harding also said in her autobiography, Hear Me Out, about how she initially put off getting medical advice when she first found lumps under her arm in December 2019. She eventually saw a doctor who advised her to schedule an MRI scan – but then “coronavirus hit and everything either went into slow motion or stopped altogether”, she wrote.
“I was aware that I needed to get this health issue sorted, but with everything that was going on, it was tough.”
She added: “One day I woke up realising that I’d been in denial about the whole thing. Yes, there was a lockdown, yes, there was a pandemic, but it was almost as if I’d been using that as an excuse not to face up to the fact that something was very wrong.”
Harding said she had decided to go public about her illness to potentially help others who might be worried about seeing a doctor, explaining that: “Maybe if I spoke out, as a public figure, a celebrity, it could help get the message across how important it is to get checked out if you have concerns.”
Social media has been flooded with worthy tributes since the news of Harding’s passing was announced yesterday.
Her Girls Aloud bandmates Nicola Roberts and Nadine Coyle led the tributes on social media.
Roberts, who shared photos of them together, posted: “I can’t accept that this day has come. My heart is aching and all day everything we went through together has raced round my mind… a part of me or us isn’t here anymore and it’s unthinkable and painful and utterly cruel.”
She added: “Electric girl, you made us. You gave it everything and still with a smile.”
Coyle also wrote on Instagram: “I am absolutely devastated. I can’t think of words that could possibly express how I feel about this girl and what she means to me.”
Geri Horner, Calum Best, Davina McCall, Martin Kemp, Fearne Cotton, Katie Price, Louis Walsh, Ian “H” Watkins, and a whole host of other North West stars have publicly expressed their condolences – including Vernon Kay, Kym Marsh, and Keith Duffy.
I’m so very sorry to hear of the passing of Sarah Harding. What a beautiful girl and person she really was. I don’t claim to have known her very well but what I did know was how fun and kind she really was. My thoughts are with her family and friends at this time. Sleep tight x
So so sad to hear about Sarah … a star from the get go , hugely fun and outgoing yet also somehow fragile , … love to her family and friends ❤️ #SarahHarding
Sarah Harding had a successful career – and she also had a special relationship with Greater Manchester.
She may have been born in Ascot, but she was raised in Greater Manchester after her family moved to Stockport when she was 14-years-old.
Before finding fame on talent show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002, the former Hazel Grove High School pupil studied hair and beauty at Stockport College and she worked on the promotions team for two nightclubs in The Grand Central Leisure Park in Stockport, as well as waitressing at Pizza Hut.
She shot to fame when she won a place in Girls Aloud with bandmates Cheryl Tweedy, Kimberley Walsh, Nadine Coyle and Nicola Roberts on the ITV singing contest to create a boy band and a girl group.
The bands then competed against each other for the 2002 Christmas number one and Girls Aloud’s debut Sound Of The Underground won.
Guinness World Records listed Girls Aloud as Most Successful Reality TV Group, Most Consecutive Top Ten Entries in the UK by a female group, and they were also named the UK’s biggest selling girl group of the 21st century – with over 4.3 million singles sales and four million albums sold in the UK alone.
The band split in 2013, following a string of hits including Love Machine, Biology, The Promise and more.
Following the band’s split, Harding ventured into acting and television, with credits including roles in the St Trinian’s films, and BBC drama Freefall opposite Dominic Cooper – but her relationship with Greater Manchester continued as she returned to her roots in 2015 by joining the iconic cobbles of Coronation Street, where she made a guest appearance in four episodes as the wife of Tracy Barlow’s ex husband Robert Preston.
Strutting onto the cobbles, her feisty character Joni Preston announced herself by slapped Tracy in the face for sleeping with her man.
Sarah Harding returned to her Northern roots in 2015 by joining the iconic cobbles of Coronation Street / Credit: ITV
In 2016, she swapped the cobbles for the ski slopes on the winter sports show The Jump, and the following year won the hearts of viewers on the popular reality competition show Celebrity Big Brother, where her highly entertaining antics saw her crowned the winner.
Sarah Harding’s glittering career ensures she will be remembered as “a bright shining star.”
Featured Image – ITV
News
There’s a World Gravy Wrestling Championship near Greater Manchester
Thomas Melia
Just on the outskirts of Greater Manchester, there’s a country pub set in a rural village that hosts a world gravy wrestling championship.
Leave it to us northerners to organise a world gravy wrestling championship because let’s face it, there’s nothing more northern than plummeting yourself into bucket loads of gravy.
At The Rose ‘N’ Bowl in the village of Stacksteads, it’s not just their meals they’re drenching in the brown nectar; they drench any willing guest in this beige saucy goodness too as part of the World Gravy Wrestling Championships.
Here’s a little taster from nearly a decade ago.
Participants are expected to wrestle in the gravy for two minutes, with the winner being judged not only on their play-fighting skills but also on their choice of fancy dress, comedy effect and entertainment.
Past wrestlers have rocked up as zebras, racehorse jockeys and famous TV characters like Ali G and Mickey Mouse.
Each wrestler is encouraged to raise money on behalf of a charity of their choice, but if you don’t have one, donations will be sent to East Lancashire Hospice, which has helped people countywide suffering from life-limiting illness for the past 30 years.
The World Gravy Wrestling Championships have been held outside this very pub for over a decade, with the first ever event taking place at a car park in Wigan before it found a permanent home outside The Rose ‘N’ Bowl.
And if swimming in a pool of gravy isn’t for you, don’t fret because there’s a handful of sauce-free activities you can get involved with spread throughout the pub’s car park.
Fret not, past events have included bouncy castles, cheerleading performances, craft beer stalls, cake and tombola stands and even a BB gun shooting range that are all completely gravy-free.
There will even be help from a local fire brigade who will be on hand to wash down wrestlers in between their gravy-filled tournament, so they can wander round all the stalls too.
The 2025 World Gravy Wrestling Championships are coming to The Rose ‘N’ Bowl in Stacksteads on 25 August, with tickets available in person only, but plenty of information about the event HERE.
If you’re after signing up to be one of the wrestlers at this event, applications are still open and you can get stuck in with all the details you need HERE.
And if that wasn’t enough Northern food competitive action, we’ll catch you at the World Black Pudding Hurling Championships, innabit.
Inside this Victorian mansion with 10 bedrooms, a swimming pool and more near Greater Manchester
Thomas Melia
There’s a million-pound Victorian-style mansion that has 10 bedrooms and its own personal swimming pool just outside of Greater Manchester.
Just like the childhood nursery rhyme, “There were three in the bed and the little one said… there’s another seven beds, roll over!” or at least that’s how they remember it in this character property.
Located in Warrington, less than an hour away from Manchester city centre, this property is a semi-detached Victorian property built in 1860, with 10 bedrooms and its own private swimming pool, all spread across four floors.
As soon as you enter the foyer, your eyes are drawn to the sleek silver chandelier before you notice the grand staircase, which feels like a piece of living history.
Inside this Victorian mansion with 10 bedrooms and a swimming pool near Greater Manchester / Credit: On The Market)
The ground floor hosts two of a whopping 10 bedrooms alongside a teal-toned farmhouse-style kitchen and that extremely impressive swimming pool with its own built-in projector.
In the kitchen, the focal point is the large wrap-around kitchen unit, which is accompanied by a variety of hanging lights and a big central island.
On the way to the swimming pool, there are a handful of lockers identical to those found in a leisure and as you enter the room, your eyes are drawn to the island-inspired feature wall.
Venture upstairs to the first floor and you’re greeted by five spacious bedrooms with one having its own en-suite while the rest share a main bathroom.
Each of these bedrooms follows a completely different design style, with the largest following a muted grey palette with pops of yellow thanks to the artwork and bed accessories.
The grand staircase and one of ten bedrooms inside this Victorian mansion near Greater Manchester / Credit: On The Market
As you go upstairs again, you’ll find (you guessed it) even more bedrooms, three to be exact, with the standout
The stand-out of this second floor is the navy-walled bedroom with a vintage vanity unit, patterned floor-to-ceiling curtains and a similarly dark-blue rug to match its four walls.
Another flight of stairs and you’ve finally reached the top of this property, and there’s an LED-lined ceiling and a neutral bedroom colour scheme of greys, whites and everything in between.
There are various amenities nearby, including three schools and three train stations… for if you get fed up of strolling around your four-floored ten-bed, swimming pool-owning mansion.
Two contrasting bedrooms found within this Victorian mansion near Greater Manchester / Credit: On The Market
We know this property may not be in the price range and might not be affordable for a lot of readers, ourselves included, but we can dream, right?
You can check out this Victorian mansion and flick through even more pictures of this property – Snooping never hurt anybody? Official site HERE.
As always, make sure to check out The Manc‘s property page to check all the other stunning structures currently on sale/in progress across Greater Manchester and in the nearby North West.
Emily Sergeant -
6th September 2021 
