Michael McIntyre's Big Show: LeAnn Rimes in duet with Harrogate mum
- Published
Sarah Collins performed alongside country music singer LeAnn Rimes on Michael McIntyre's Big Show
American pop star LeAnn Rimes surprised a cancer survivor by joining her for a duet on Michael McIntyre's Big Show.
Sarah Collins, from Harrogate in North Yorkshire, was nominated by her husband to star on the BBC TV show after she recovered from a brain tumour.
Music played a vital part in Sarah's recovery after doctors found the "satsuma-sized" growth in 2012.
She gave an emotional performance of "How Do I Live" and "sobbed" when she was joined on stage by the US singer.
Mother-of-two Sarah was told she was going to a country music bar in London, when the wall collapsed as she sat on a rodeo bull to reveal a studio audience of 2,000 people.
She described the experience as a "crazy moment" and said she was "set off even more" when she saw her family in the audience.
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Despite her initial shock, she told herself "don't mess it up and go with it".
"At first, when I was sat on the bull and I heard the voice, I jumped out of my skin a little bit," Sarah told BBC Radio York.
"Then to see the sea of faces all cheering and so delighted to see me, it was a crazy moment.
"The aftermath has been amazing as well. It's been so positive because it united everyone."
Sarah Collins described the experience as a "crazy moment"
The Harrogate singer was first diagnosed with cancer just eight weeks after giving birth to her daughter Lily when her husband Tom Durance returned home to find her collapsed on their daughter's bed.
Doctors in Harrogate found the tumour and referred her to Leeds, where it was quickly scheduled to be removed.
"It was the size of a satsuma so it was pressing on a main artery," Sarah said.
"I was lucky to have survived that, but I just thought 'I want to live, I want to be with my children'.
"I hadn't been married yet so I was like, 'I need to get married'."
Sarah now has a positive outlook on her diagnosis and said the tumour had made her live "very differently".
When her recovery was still uncertain, her parents gifted her a vinyl collection of songs she listened to growing up and she believes music played a big role in helping her get better.
In 2014, Sarah set up a YouTube channel, which has since attracted 45,000 subscribers.
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- Published30 January
- Published30 January
