Loose Women panellist Brenda Edwards is "gutted" after being forced to pull out of performances of Chicago after injuring her leg. The ITV chat show star is currently touring the UK playing the role of Mama Morton but has been forced to miss today’s shows in Blackpool.
She announced the news on Instagram to her 1113,000 followers with an update from the hospital. The singer, who shot to fame on The X Factor in 2005, shared a photograph of her leg in a plaster cast extending from her foot to her knee.
Brenda, 53, says she was injured after slipping on a wet pavement in Blackpool. She had wanted to carry on in a wheelchair but could for 'insurance reasons.'
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She wrote: I’m absolutely gutted that I will not be able to do my two shows today @chicagoonstage @wgbpl after slipping on a dodgy wet pavement here in Blackpool and fracturing my fibula. Trust me when I say I was ready to go on in a wheelchair to do my shows today, as there is nothing wrong with my voice but obviously for insurance reasons I can’t."
She added: "I’m hoping when I get back home later I can get it sorted to rejoin the wonderful talented cast at some point next week in Sheffield. Love you guys."
Brenda was inundated with messages from concerned well-wishers including her Loose Women friends. Ruth Langsford said: "Noooo! Oh Brenda, you poor thing….sending you lots of love darling x x" And Denise Welch wrote: "Omg are you kidding!! So sorry Brenda. Love you xx"
Brenda has been through heartache this year with the death of her son Jamal in February, aged 31. There was an outpouring of grief and shock at the entrepreneur and music pioneer's sudden death.
Jamal was awarded an MBE in 2014 for his services to music and is widely credited for launching the careers of several leading British artists including Ed Sheeran and Dave. Last month heartbroken Brenda confirmed he died from a cardiac arrhythmia caused by taking recreational drugs.
"Since I last spoke, I have sadly learned that the cause of Jamal’s devastating passing was due to cardiac arrhythmia caused by having taken recreational drugs and I wanted to address this myself to everyone who loved, admired and respected my son," she said in a statement posted on social media.
She said since finding out she has been in a 'state of shock' but says it is 'important to her' to address it so "no other mother or loved one should have to go through what Jamal's sister, Tanisha, and I have been through since he passed."
"Jamal had the world at his fingertips – a zest for life and he was unwittingly taken away far too soon," Brenda continued. "Yet we have to come to terms with what happened, and Jamal is proof that this can happen to anyone.
"These types of substances are extremely unpredictable, and we can only hope that this will encourage others to think wisely when faced with similar situations in the future. His passing has shown that any one bad decision on any one occasion can lead to devastating consequences."
Brenda continued: "It's so important that we help drive more conversation about the unpredictability of recreational drugs and the impact they can have. How it takes just one bad decision to destroy lives. I would do anything to have my son back but that is not possible so if I can help save one life, then we will have achieved something.
"Jamal and I had one of the strongest mother/son relationships that you could imagine. We were best friends, and out of his many, many, wonderful qualities the one that made me most proud was his mission to help others - he was the most selfless person I knew."
Towards the end of her message she added: "I'm so incredibly proud of everything he achieved over the course of his 31 years; I'm proud to call him my son.... In Jamal's own words: 'The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will'. My beautiful son, you did that and then some."
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