IN LOVING MEMORY - ‘SHE WAS A BRIGHT SHINING STAR'

FRIENDS AND FAMILY PAY TRIBUTE TO GIRLS ALOUD’S SARAH HARDING, WHO PASSED AWAY AGED 39, FOLLOWING HER BATTLE WITH CANCER

- ELLIE KIRWIN-JONES

Sarah Harding sadly lost her fight with breast cancer last week. The singer was surrounded by loved ones in her final moments, including her mum Marie Hardman and her beloved dogs Claude and Corker.

Marie announced the news on Sarah’s Instagram page on Sunday 5 September, saying, “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. Marie x.”

Sarah died just 13 months after she revealed her terminal cancer diagnosis. The news shocked the showbiz world, with many celebrities sharing their grief and memories of Sarah on Instagram in the following days, including her close friends and Girls Aloud bandmates.

Nadine Coyle, 36, posted, “I am absolutely devastated!! I can’t think of words that could possibly express how I feel about this girl & what she means to me!! I know so many of you will be feeling this way. For now, I’m sending so much love to you!!!”

Cheryl, 38, said she was in “disbelief” over her friend’s death. She wrote, “Although we knew this day would arrive I am somehow still feeling at a loss for words that our stunning, unique, crazy, quirky, kind and soft hearted girl has departed.