Determination and a fighting spirit have taken Russell Watson from working as a bolt-cutter on a Salford factory floor to becoming one of the world’s best- loved classical singers.
The 56-year-old star, who appeared on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2020, has performed for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican, and for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace. He is also an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust, which was set up by King Charles in 1976.
But at the height of his success in 2006, Russell – who has been married to his second wife, Louise, since 2015 – was diagnosed with a brain tumour and had to undergo emergency surgery.
