Linda Nolan’s stepson Lloyd Hudson has died following his battle with throat cancer, just months after the singer’s own death. He died on Tuesday, May 6, just under four months after Linda died in January 2025.
The pair had been fighting cancer “side by side” during their final months together.
A close family friend told The Sun: “They were fighting side by side, Linda would finish her treatment and text him to check in. They joked about their meds, shared their side effects, cried together too. Linda really thought he’d outlive her. She needed that belief.”
Lloyd was the son of Linda’s late husband Brian Hudson and was diagnosed with throat cancer in September 2023.
The tumour was so large and dangerously close to his vocal cords that surgery was ruled out.
Lloyd began a gruelling course of radiotherapy while Linda was undergoing immunotherapy for secondary breast cancer that had spread to her brain.
Just weeks into his treatment, Lloyd was rushed to A&E after suffering a bleed. Ulcers had formed around the tumour, complicating his recovery.
“He was her light. She could handle her own diagnosis, but watching him go through it too, it was like history repeating itself with Brian. She was devastated,” a close friend explained.
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By April 2024, there was reason to believe things were turning around as scans showed the throat cancer had cleared.
“Linda was absolutely over the moon,” said a friend. “She kept saying, ‘I’ll be the one to go, but he’s going to be fine.’ She clung to that.”
But the family’s hope was short-lived. Just as Linda received devastating news that her brain tumours had started growing again, Lloyd was told his cancer had spread to his lungs and was now incurable.
“I sobbed when my consultant told me,” Linda said at the time. “My heart sank.”
She had started a new course of chemotherapy, including a cutting-edge drug called Enhertu.
Lloyd’s health deteriorated over the summer. In August 2024, he was told the cancer had spread to his brain, mouth and liver.
Despite the grim outlook, friends say he rarely complained and wanted to stay strong for those around him.
“He was brave, selfless and dignified,” one said. “He never wanted pity, he just wanted to beat it. But this disease is cruel.”
Speaking on Good Morning Britain last August, Linda told Kate Garraway and Richard Madeley: “We have had a rough time with it and my stepson Lloyd has just been diagnosed and it’s like ‘go away! Leave us alone.'”
Lloyd’s father, Brian Hudson, died of cancer in 2007.
“They had a special relationship,” said a friend. “Lloyd wasn’t just Brian’s son, he became Linda’s too. She loved him with all her heart.”
Linda died in January 2025 from double pneumonia, after living with secondary breast cancer since 2017.
Her cancer had spread to her hip, liver and finally her brain.
Linda’s funeral in February was attended by family, fans and friends from the entertainment industry, including comedians Tommy Cannon and Paul Chuckle.
The Nolan family has been devastated by cancer over the years. Bernie Nolan died with breast cancer in 2013 aged 52. Linda’s sister Anne was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time in 2020 and is now cancer-free.
Loose Women star Coleen Nolan revealed she was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2023, using a chemotherapy cream for treatment.
Just weeks after Linda’s funeral, her brother Brian Nolan revealed he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Brian, 69, told The Mirror: “I just want cancer to leave us alone.”
He is the fifth Nolan sibling to face the disease.
“It’s like wave after wave,” said a friend. “The Nolans have been through so much and now this.”
Another loved one added: “Linda always said cancer had taken enough from her family. Now it’s taken even more. She would be heartbroken.”