Jane McDonald signs up for Celebrity Gogglebox alongside her close pal

She will be joined on the sofa by her best friend of 30 years, Sue Ravey, who has supported her following the death of her longtime partner, Eddie Rothe to lung cancer in 2021.

She moved into Jane’s home following Eddie's death, and the pair will appear in the new series of Celebrity Gogglebox, which begins on June 16.

Backing singer Sue previously appeared alongside Jane, 60, in Channel 5 series My Yorkshire.

Posting the news on Twitter, Jane wrote: “I’m going to be appearing on Celebrity Googlebox with my best friend Sue – it’s going to be an absolute blast!

"We've shared some unforgettable moments over the years but I am really looking forward to spending time together on this wonderful show.”

Her followers flocked to the comments to share their excitement.

One said: "This is brilliant news Jane, you and Sue are the perfect pair to be on Gogglebox! Really looking forward to this!"

Another added: "Can't wait to see you there. You did a fantastic job on the soap awards."

Jane and Eddie were together for 13 years and she discussed his death on Kate Adams' How To Be 60 podcast.

She said: “So when he died, he took our future. So I think that is, I've got to have a different life now, and that's taken a bit of adjusting to, but I'll get there. Because that's what we do, we get there.”

Jane also said she found comfort in having Sue into her home in Wakefield.

She said: “When you're on your own there's always that the wee small hours in the morning where everything seems a lot worse than it actually is.

'If I wake up and I'm in a bad way, I know that Sue's just down the hall a bit.”

Other stars appearing in fifth series of Celebrity Gogglebox include Davina McCall, with boyfriend Michael Douglas, Chris Packham and step-daughter Megan and Comedian Katherine Ryan and husband Bobby.

Familiar celebrity faces returning include Rylan Clark, Denise Van Outen, Zoe Ball, Mo Gilligan, Nick Grimshaw and Shaun Ryder.