Coleen Nolan made a very special TV appearance last night, stripping off for The Real Full Monty: Ladies Night.
The Loose Women star, 53, was part of a group of female celebrities who removed their clothes in front of a live audience to raise awareness of breast cancer symptoms.
And among the TV viewers who took to social media to comment on Coleen’s performance was none other than her estranged husband, Ray Fensome.
Coleen announced last month that she was divorcing Ray, a guitarist for the likes of Rick Astley and Kylie Minogue.
The couple have been married for ten years, and have a 16-year-old daughter, Ciara.
But, proving there’s no hard feelings about the split, Ray was one of the first to pay tribute to the TV presenter after she stripped off with Sally Dexter, Megan McKenna, Victoria Derbyshire, Michelle Heaton, Helen Lederer, Ruth Madoc and Sarah-Jane Crawford.
Well that was emotional! Well done Col. Proud of ya!#TheRealFullMontyLadiesNight
— Ray Fensome (@Rayguitarman) March 29, 2018
He tweeted: “Well, that was emotional! Well done Col. Proud of ya! #TheRealFullMontyLadiesNight.”
It was a poignant and important evening for Coleen, who lost sister Bernie to breast cancer. Another sister, Linda, has been diagnosed with incurable secondary breast cancer.
Read more: Coleen Nolan reveals truth behind decision to divorce husband Ray Fensome
“Cancer has really affected me and my sisters,” she said during the programme. “For me, the importance is getting that message out there.”
She admitted feeling nervous about taking her clothes off in public, but wanted to do what she could for the cause.
“I won’t even wear a bikini on the beach let alone get my kit off in front of 2500 people and millions at home, but getting women to talk about breast cancer checks is way more important than any body hang-ups or nerves I’ve got,” she said.
“I was initially asked to present it, so I agreed. And it was only on the first day of filming that I realised, ‘Oh you are presenting it but you’re also part of it and you’re getting your baps out at the end’. And it was too late to back out!
“They (production) kept saying to me, ‘We want to make sure you’re comfortable’, and I kept saying, ‘Why wouldn’t I be comfortable?’ Then I realised it was a massive miscommunication on both sides!
“When I spoke to Ashley (Banjo, the choreographer) before all this, I said, ‘There should be a girls’ version’, so it started coming about from that as well. I have to say though, I’m absolutely loving it.”
Coleen confirmed her divorce on Loose Women earlier this month, saying: “We’ve really tried. We were never going to just say: ‘We’re having problems, let’s call it a day.’ We both tried.
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“But it gets to a point where you think: ‘We’ve tried, it’s not working. Life has done that and we can’t get it back together. And for the sake of both of our future happiness, and of our kids – especially our daughter Ciara – it just gets to a point…”
So bloody proud of my mum and the rest of the ladies tonight on #TheRealFullMontyLadiesNight l
Honestly Mum u are a legend. ❤️❤️@NolanColeen
— Shane Nolan (@iamshanenolan) March 29, 2018
Ray wasn’t the only family member who sent their congratulations to the former pop star – she also received a tweet from her 29-year-old son Shane, one of two boys she had with former husband Shane Richie.
He gushed: “So bloody proud of my mum and the rest of the ladies tonight on #TheRealFullMontyLadiesNight. Honestly, Mum, you are a legend.”
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