Ed Sheeran wrote seven tracks in four hours after wife Cherry's cancer diagnosis

Ed Sheeran used music ‘like therapy' after being told his wife Cherry Seaborn had cancer and wrote seven songs in just four hours as he attempted to come to terms with the news.

Doctors told Seaborn that the tumour would need surgery but that it couldn’t go ahead until after she gave birth.

She went on: “I was saying to Eds, I'd never have agreed to do anything like this [a documentary] before - never, ever, ever - but it made me think this whole year, if I died, what's people's perception of me?

“What am I going to leave behind? It genuinely wasn't until this year when I was just like, ‘I might die’.

“We had the diagnosis of the tumour and the next day Eds went down into the basement and wrote seven songs in four hours.

“Some people write a diary and get their emotions out through the pen and, for Eds, if something really intense happens, he'll go and write a song.”

Sheeran added: “Music's always been like therapy to me. It was a way to get my thoughts and feelings down as a kid, and it works. It really works.”

“He's worked every day this year, either writing, performing or doing promo,” she said.

“We've barely had a conversation this year about his mental health. I can see it and there's massive alarm bells for me.”

“He drove over to my house and came and comforted me,” he said. “I don't have a lot of really close industry friends, but he's one of my closest.

“He comes to me for advice, I go to him for advice and he's invaluable in terms of sanity.”

Ed Sheeran: The Sum Of It All airs on Disney+ on 3 May.