A dozen years after first coming to the nation's attention in the BBC documentary series The Cruise, Jane is as much in demand as ever.

The singer and TV presenter continues to captivate audiences with her West Yorkshire charm, and is playing to capacity crowds on her current UK tour, coming to Tyneside at the weekend.

"They're a great crowd in Newcastle, and they really know how to party," said the 46-year-old.

"It's a massive concert, and it's a big thing for me. I know that the audience is there to hear certain songs.

"They want to have a good time – a good laugh and a good cry. They can do all that in my show.

"It's a party night, with fantastic outfits, a brilliant orchestra and three amazing backing singers."

Since she first found herself in the public eye, Jane has sold hundreds of thousands of albums, earned herself a place in the Guinness Book of Records for being the first artist to top the album charts without a prior release, performed for royalty, and also been named Yorkshire Woman of the Year.

Her showbiz career began at the age of 21, when she started singing in working men's clubs in her native Wakefield.

Over the next 15 years, she established herself as a firm favourite.

"People often knock the clubs, but they are the best grounding you could possibly have for this industry, and I would never trade those years in," she said.

"They were hard work, but it was like an apprenticeship in which to learn your trade.

"There weren't backing tapes when I started, so you had to learn to work with different musicians every night, and you've really got to be able to sing. If you can't, they soon get rid of you.

"If you were having a bad night, you had to learn how to deal with it and carry on."

After moving on to cruise ship work, she landed the job on the Galaxy that was to catapult her to fame in The Cruise.

"I had no idea that it would become such an epic, but that is precisely what it did become, and the experience was quite cathartic," she said.

After that came an offer to be part of ITV1's Loose Women team.

"It's great to be in such a fantastic and popular show," enthused Jane.

"We have a really good laugh, and we are very close, despite the fact there are lots of stories that say we can't stand each other.

"We are so open and honest on the show that it can't be faked. The public would see straight through it. That's why people tune in.

"They know that if we get irate, or if we get into a frank conversation, that we're not going to lie, that we're going to be honest about our personal experiences."

Away from the glitz and glamour of showbiz, Jane still lives in Wakefield with her mum Jean, but, after two failed marriages, she is certain she has now found her Mr Right.

She got engaged to Searchers drummer Eddie Rothe on Christmas Eve, but is in no rush to head down the aisle for a third time.

For now, Jane is focusing her attention on her career.

"I am a hard worker, a grafter, but as long as I'm a working artist then I'm happy," she said.

* Jane is on at Newcastle City Hall on Saturday, May 9, at 7.30pm. Tickets cost from £19.50 to £27.50. To book, call 261 2606.