EastEnders actor Shane Ritchie and comedian Paul Chuckle were among the stars at singer Linda Nolan’s funeral in Blackpool on Saturday.

Nolan died at the age of 65 last month having been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005.

Her pink, sparkly coffin was carried into St Paul’s Church in her home city by her sons and others – while her sisters wore pink breast cancer broaches and earrings – opting for pink handbags to contrast with their black outfits.

Sisters Linda, Coleen, Bernie, Maureen, Anne, and Denise formed The Nolans in the 1970s and had hits including I’m In The Mood For Dancing and Gotta Pull Myself Together.

Linda Nolan also had a career in musical theatre, starring in Blood Brothers, Prisoner Cell Block H, and Pump Boys And Dinettes.

In her later years, she appeared on Celebrity Big Brother and wrote a column for the Daily Mirror newspaper.

A framed photo of her was placed outside the church and There You’ll Be by Faith Hill was played as mourners arrived.

In her eulogy, Denise Nolan-Anderson said: “She really loved going to premieres and opening nights, having her beautiful hair and make-up done, and always was the life and soul of any big occasion. She would have loved all the fuss today.”

She also said Linda showed “courage in the face of adversity”, adding: “It’s time to rest now Linda. The battle is over, you are free.”

Speaking before the service, Paul Elliott, better known as Paul Chuckle of the Chuckle Brothers, said he last saw her in 2024, adding: “She was just a fun, bubbly person. The world’s a darker place without her.”

Shane Richie was previously married to Coleen Nolan. Other stars who paid their respects at the funeral included Charlotte Dawson, singer Lisa Maffia, and comedian Tommy Cannon.

The family statement announcing her death read: “At around 10.20am on Wednesday 15th January, she passed peacefully, with her loving siblings by her bedside, ensuring she was embraced with love and comfort during her final moments, aged 65.”

After her initial diagnosis, Nolan helped to raise £20m for charities Breast Cancer Now and the Irish Cancer Society.

She had a mastectomy and was given the all-clear in 2011 – but was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer that spread to her liver in 2020 and her brain in 2023.

The singer was born in Dublin but made Blackpool her home – marrying her husband of more than two decades, the late Brian Hudson, there.

The family are raising money for Trinity Hospice in her memory – another organisation Nolan supported.

A medical plane carrying a young patient and her mother has crashed in a heavily populated area of Philadelphia – killing all six people on board.

The Jet Rescue Air Ambulance was carrying the girl and her mother from Northeast Philadelphia Airport to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri – on their way home to Tijuana, Mexico, the company said.

It crashed about 30 seconds after taking off, erupting in a fireball and engulfing several homes in flames.

The plane came down near the Roosevelt Mall in the Rhawnhurst area of Pennsylvania at 6.30pm local time on Friday (11.30pm UK time). Four members of crew were also on board, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed.

The aircraft had climbed to 1,600ft (487m) and travelled around three miles (5km) from the airport – before it came down.

Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, which is based in Mexico, said: “At this time we cannot confirm any survivors.”

Shai Gold, who works in corporate strategy for the company, said it was “terribly shocked by this tragic turn of events”.

“This was a very seasoned crew,” she said. “We are a leading air ambulance company, we fly 600 to 700 times a year. We don’t really know what happened.”

Fire engines and other emergency vehicles were sent to the scene, with the blaze appearing to have been put out around two hours after the crash.

There were reports of people injured on the ground – but no details were confirmed.

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A doorbell camera captured the plane falling from the sky in a streak of white and exploding as it hit the ground.

The owner of the camera, Jim Quinn, said: “All we heard was a loud roar and didn’t know where it was coming from. We just turned around and saw the big plume.”

The moment of the crash was also seen on dashcam footage of a car driving nearby.

Michael Schiavone, 37, was at home in a nearby neighbourhood when he heard a loud bang and his house shook. He described it as a “mini earthquake” and when he checked his home security camera, it looked like a missile came down.

Philadelphia Governor Josh Shapiro said: “We want to offer our thoughts and serious prayers for those that are grieving at this moment.”

President Donald Trump wrote on social media that he was “so sad” to see the crash.

“More innocent souls are lost. Our people are totally engaged. First responders are already being given credit for doing a great job.”

The FAA said the National Transportation Safety Board would lead an investigation into the crash. The NTSB said an investigator has arrived at the scene – and more officials would be deployed on Saturday.

Second US plane crash in a week

The crash comes days after a plane collided with a US Army helicopter as it came into land at an airport in Washington DC – killing all 64 people on board the plane – and three on the helicopter.

The aircraft had requested to land on the shorter runway at Reagan Washington National Airport – before it collided with the helicopter, and fell into the Potomac River at around 8.47pm local time (1.47am UK time) on Wednesday.

At a news conference on Friday, authorities said they have recovered 48 bodies so far – of which they have identified 28.

Head of Washington DC’s emergency medical services John Donnelly said he expects all the victims’ bodies to be found – but it would require the plane debris to be removed from the river.

Crews are currently working at the shoreline and more personnel were being deployed late on Friday, he said.