Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding dies, aged 39
The singer had been living with breast cancer.
Sarah Harding, best known for her work with pop group Girls Aloud, has died, aged 39.
In August 2020, Harding disclosed on social media that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
In a post on Instagram, her mother Marie confirmed that Sarah had passed, away writing: "It's with deep heartbreak that today I'm sharing the news that my beautiful daughter Sarah has sadly passed away.
"Many of you will know of Sarah’s battle with cancer and that she fought so strongly from her diagnosis until her last day. She slipped away peacefully this morning. I’d like to thank everyone for their kind support over the past year. It meant the world to Sarah and it gave her great strength and comfort to know she was loved. I know she won’t want to be remembered for her fight against this terrible disease – she was a bright shining star and I hope that’s how she can be remembered instead."
Born Sarah Nicole Hardman on 17th November 1981, Harding first came to public attention as a contestant on ITV talent show Popstars: The Rivals. Through the series, she won a place as a member of pop group Girls Aloud, going on to achieve 20 consecutive top 10 singles (including four number ones) in the UK, as well as two number one albums. She also released a solo EP, Threads, in 2015.
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Harding appeared on a number of reality TV shows including docu-series Girls Aloud: Home Truths and Girls Aloud: Off the Record in 2005 and 2006 respectively, as well as the 10th series of Celebrity Masterchef in 2015 and the third series of Channel 4's The Jump in 2016.
In 2017, she took part in Celebrity Big Brother 20, aired on Channel 5, and was crowned winner of the series on 25th August that year, having received over 35 per cent of the final viewer vote.
Harding was also a model and actor, appearing in the 2007 film St Trinian's and its 2009 sequel, the 2012 film Run for Your Wife and five episodes of Coronation Street in 2015, playing Joni Preston – wife of Robert Preston (Tristan Gemmill) – on the ITV soap.
Her memoir Hear Me Out, in which she confirmed that her cancer was terminal, was published in March 2021.
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Morgan Jeffery is the Digital Editor for Radio Times, overseeing all editorial output across the brand's digital platforms. He was previously TV Editor at Digital Spy and has featured as a TV expert on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Atlantic.
