Jane McDonald

One of the U.K.'s first successful reality TV recording artists, cabaret singer Jane McDonald became an overnight sensation after appearing in the BBC docu-soap The Cruise. Born in Wakefield in 1963, McDonald started her singing career performing at various workingmen's clubs across the North of England. In 1998, her self-titled debut album reached number one in the U.K. charts. In 2000, she returned with second album Inspiration and became a TV presenter for the BBC, fronting both The National Lottery and Star for a Night. A year later, her third album, Love at the Movies, reached number 24 and she appeared in the West End production of Romeo and Juliet: The Musical. In 2005, she released her fourth album, You Belong to Me and became a regular panelist on ITV chat show Loose Women. Over the next ten years, McDonald continued releasing albums and making television appearances. After releasing 2021's Let the Light In and 2024's With All My Love, McDonald scored another career win when she was announced as the new host of the British Soap Awards. For her 11th studio album, 2026's Living the Dream, she decamped to Nashville's acclaimed Blackbird Studios, where she recorded covers of her favorite country songs.