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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Rachel Pugh & Jessica Gibb

Jason Manford hit with family heartbreak as he shares emotional video with fans

Comedian Jason Manford has been hit with heartbreak just months before his Nan's milestone birthday. The comedian shared a poignant video as he updated fans.

The 41-year-old announced the sad passing of his 99-year-old Nan after a battle with dementia. Sharing the emotional video of himself singing Nat King Cole with his beloved grandma, Jason wrote: "Goodnight Nana Manford, we were so lucky to have you in our lives for so long. 99 years of wonderful moments & incredible memories."

"Even when dementia took hold, she loved music. Whether making cardigans for kids or bullets for Lancaster bombers, she was an inspirational woman."

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Friends and fans rushed to send their well wishes. "Aww mate. That’s a beautiful tribute," fellow comedian Ed Byrne wrote.

"Sorry for your loss Jason," a fan added. Another fan posted: "Oh god, this is so lovely Jason. Just a gorgeous thing. I am so very sorry for your loss, but what a wonderful thing you had together for so long!"

Jason often shares details of his family life with fans and last month he revealed his daughter's phone was "taken over" by a stranger. The comedian, 41, described his scary ordeal as "odd" after receiving a furious phone call from a man based in India, using his daughter's number.

He explained to his fans how he was sent "loads of texts" from his daughter while she was sitting beside him, not on her phone. Jason says the messages asked him to use a password to 'unlock' the phone.

The dad of six said: "I thought someone had hacked my daughter’s phone somehow and was texting them back trying to work out what the hell was happening. I didn’t believe it was real and then they sent me actual photos of her and her friends off her iCloud! As well as screenshots of her Snapchat chats with her friends!"

The man told Jason he had bought the phone from a 'dodgy' shop and couldn't reset it without the old password, which the comedian refused to give. Jason added: "I told him I was calling the police and he deleted everything he sent and blocked me!"

Eventually Jason figured out what had happened and how the phone had come to be sold in a shop abroad. He said: "I worked out that my dad took (and lost!) my daughter’s old iPhone 6 to Australia LAST February & it must’ve found it’s way into a phone shop in Dubai or somewhere and this Indian fella must’ve got it.

"Anyway it came back online today cos my daughter noticed pictures that were not her appearing on her photos! I’ve now managed to log in, find it (somewhere near New Delhi!) and erase and Remove it from her iCloud etc!"

The comedian married his first wife Catherine in October 2007 but later parted ways in 2013. In a candid interview with the Mirror in 2021, Jason admitted he didn't put enough "care and time" into his first marriage.

In December 2017, Jason married his second wife Lucy Dyke. The comedian is a father to a total of six children; four from his first marriage and two from his second. Jason keeps his children out of the spotlight and rarely shares photos of his brood on social media.

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