Pop sensation Jess Glynne has spoken of her heartbreak after experiencing the devastating impact of coronavirus first-hand.
Not only did the singer herself suffer Covid-19 in the first wave, but she has also lost her nan, who caught the virus.
The star, 31, said: “It was pretty horrific. It’s been hard for my family.”
The trauma of losing a loved one means Jess is sticking closely to the Covid rules.
She said: “I’m really cautious in my movements because it is mad serious.
“You see people being irresponsible and you can’t be. The staff who looked after my nan have been incredible. You aren’t allowed to see anyone and she was alone.
“It is just dark, people not getting to say their goodbyes.”
Now Jess is using the video for her first Christmas single – a cover of Donny Hathaway’s This Christmas – to raise money for Jewish Care, the charity that helped care for her grandmother.
She said: “When Nan was at home they looked after her and they have been incredible. They do everything.
“If you were incapable of doing anything they would bathe you, cook for you, or sit and chill with you, if you need a company they are there.
“They are the biggest amazing support that my family and my nan needed.”
Like for many of us, 2020 has been a tough year for Jess and a sharp contrast to 2019 when she supported the Spice Girls on their reunion stadium tour.
The singer, the first UK female solo artist to have seven No1 singles, said: “They were sweet. I got on with them really well. They were kind of motherly. They see what you are going through as an artist.”
North Londoner Jess, who is on The Jonathan Ross Show tomorrow, said making a Christmas single lifted her spirits because the video has tributes to NHS staff.
She said: “I had never pictured myself doing a Christmas song. With the video I felt a bit of escapism was needed, to be a bit light-hearted in the darkness.”
Jess is raffling three scarfs like the one in the video for This Christmas, now available on Amazon Music, in aid of Jewish Care.
She is also working with Amazon to donate an Amazon wish list to the Jewish Care homes.
