Laura Nuttall dies aged 23 from brain cancer
Laura Nuttall - the woman with terminal cancer who made headlines when Peter Kay took her out for lunch - has sadly passed away at the age of 23.
Nuttall, from of Barrowford, Lancashire, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer back in 2018, having been given a prognosis of just 12 months.
Over the past few years, she became well known for completing a 'bucket list' of goals.
Her mother confirmed that Nuttall had died in a statement on Twitter, saying the family were 'devastated' to lose their 'beautiful Laura'.
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The statement said: "I'm heartbroken to share the news that we lost our beautiful Laura in the early hours of this morning.
"She was fierce and tenacious to the end and it was truly the honour of my life to be her mum.
"We are devastated at the thought of life without our girl, she was a force of nature."
Nuttall had glioblastoma multiforme - an aggressive form of brain cancer - which was spotted after she went for a routine eye test at just 18.
In November last year, Peter Kay took Nuttall and her family out for a meal at The White Swan in Lancashire.
Posting on Twitter mum Nicola wrote: “Today’s joy has been a very special treat, the most wonderful lunch at @whiteswan_fence with #PeterKay for company.
"Laughter won’t cure #Glioblastoma but it’s definitely a blimmin’ good distraction for a couple of hours.”
She described Kay as ‘the nicest, most thoughtful and naturally hilarious person’ and said: "We're lucky to have him as a friend."
The year before, Kay also played his first gig in four years to help raise money for Nuttall's treatment, performing two sell-out gigs at Manchester’s O2 Apollo.
Speaking ITV News at the time, Nuttall said: "I mean Peter was hilarious, as Peter is, and the amount of people that turned up there who were waiting in the queues in the rain, waiting to get in. It was just amazing."
Nicola also said she was overwhelmed by his support, adding: "It means the world to me because we were lying in bed at night thinking, 'How on earth are we going to be able to do this again?' because the tumour came back in March, which then puts you really back at square one.
"I was just thinking, 'Well, we're going to have to move, we're going to have to just try and work out how we are going to work it out, how we're going to afford it, and this just takes the pressure off so much'.
"We can not worry about that, we can just worry about the treatment that's going to best help Laura.
"We're so grateful to Peter."
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week
Jess Hardiman