She has survived heartbreak, death threats and nauseating sexism. In her Mayfair club, the Yorkshire star talks about superfans, viral hits, running away to sea \u2013 and her bid to become a Nashville icon<\/p>\n
Whatever else has changed for Jane McDonald, between the working mens\u2019 clubs the cruise ships and the arenas she is increasingly packing out, one thing has remained. It\u2019s there on TV, where she remains the only Bafta-winning broadcaster liable to go full Cilla and break into song: she plays to the women. \u201cNever acknowledge the men,\u201d she advises cheerfully. There are a lot of husbands. \u201cAnd they\u2019re like, \u2018Oh God \u2026\u2019\u201d She pulls a face. \u201c\u2018Jane McDonald.\u2019\u201d Increasingly, however, her audiences may not contain many straight men: her social media-led renaissance as an icon of northern high camp means she will perform at London queer festival Mighty Hoopla this summer.<\/p>\n
I meet McDonald at her members\u2019 club in Mayfair on the morning she releases her 12th album, Living the Dream. At the age of 62, she\u2019s gone country. Recorded at the elite Blackbird Studios in Nashville \u2013 Coldplay and Taylor Swift have recorded there \u2013 she is dealing in unabashedly big country flavours. Less Cilla, more Shania.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/c49aaa35b3a89365bb62d32af0c4349d6d4cff28\/0_2284_8566_6853\/master\/8566.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=285e6a4809a47054d482ab8b2f48884f\" "\\"\u2018I")
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