Jane McDonald selling beloved Yorkshire home she shared with Eddie Rothe for six-figure sum
Television presenter and singer Jane McDonald has put her £1million Wakefield bungalow up for sale after living there for 18 years.
The 62-year-old Yorkshire native is looking for a change four years after the death of her partner Eddie Rothe, former drummer of The Searchers who died of lung cancer in 2021.
Since 2022, McDonald has been sharing the five-bedroom property with her best friend Sue Ravey.
The house had undergone significant renovations in recent years, transforming it from a bungalow into a spacious family home.
The property, which was sold for £485,000 in 2007 and £205,000 in 1998, is now on the market for £1million.
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“Now it’s far too big. All I do is clean. I’ll probably downsize,” she told The Times last year.
The extensive renovation project, undertaken during lockdown, has resulted in an open plan kitchen that offers panoramic views of the garden.
With four bathrooms, a conservatory and a gym, the house has been transformed into a modern living space. The property now also boasts walk-in wardrobes among its luxury features.
“I converted the bungalow into a house during lockdown,” McDonald continued to The Times.
Highlighting the extensive work undertaken on the property, she added: “I had everything done and it’s gorgeous.”
While she remains happy, the property no longer fits her needs – leading back to her comments about downsizing.
The 62-year-old even also suggested a potential move away from her beloved Yorkshire.
“The sea is calling,” McDonald mused.
Despite her potential move, McDonald has always maintained strong ties to her Yorkshire roots.
In 2022, she presented a series called “My Love Letter to Yorkshire” where she expressed her deep connection to the area.
“It’s where I’m from. I love it, I miss it when I’m not there and I’m fiercely proud of it,” she said during the programme.
McDonald remains active in her local community, having opened a new £6million MRI suite at Wakefield’s Pinderfields Hospital earlier this week.
“As a proud Wakefield lass, I’m deeply passionate about supporting our local hospital trust,” she stated at the event.
“No matter where I was, I always tried to get in a mention of Wakefield – or Wakey as I call it,” she once said.
The singer, who began her career performing in local pubs, has previously resisted moving away before.
When her ex-husband Henrik Brixen once tried to persuade her to move to London, she refused, preferring to stay in Yorkshire.
McDonald had known Eddie Rothe since they were teenagers, but they reconnected in the early 2000s.
The couple became engaged in 2008 after rekindling their romance.
Following his death in 2021, McDonald spoke openly about her grief.
“You have to find your way of dealing with it, it’s not easy. It never leaves you either,” she shared.
“I have to make a decision every morning about what my day is going to be like, because you can go that way, or you can go that way.”
She described Rothe as “one of the most incredible humans” she had ever met.