ITV Emmerdale pays tribute as TikTok nan Norma dies aged 91
Jess and Norma are a popular grandmother and granddaughter duo who have gained more than two million followers.
Following Norma's death, tributes have come flooding in, including from ITV soap Emmerdale, of which she was a huge fan.
Family's tribute as TikTok star Norma from Norma and Jess dies
A post from the Jess and Norma account reads: "05/06/2025 the day our family lost our rock, our everything, our beautiful, precious, perfect lady.
"We are all truly devastated and our lives will never be the same. We want you all to know that Nan fell to sleep peacefully, surrounded by all her family, she was full of love and had the most beautiful care.
"If anyone deserves a place in heaven, it's you Nanny Norma. Social media and our community online made Nan's last years so incredibly special, her cup was full and in her own words she 'lived such a wonderful life'.
"91 years was never going to be enough and she has left the biggest hole in all of our hearts. Reunited with her husband and family, until we meet again, our queen."
ITV Emmerdale pays tribute as TikTok nan Norma dies aged 91
Many tributes from fans of the account have been pouring in since the announcement.
ITV soap Emmerdale, in which Norma was a big fan, said: "We are so so sorry to read this.
"Norma was such a shining star who brought so much joy and happiness to so many people. Sending love to all of the family."
Norma had previously been invited to an Emmerdale experience to celebrate 10,000 episodes of the show.
Social media stars, TV personalities and actors have also sent their love.
Coronation Street star Lucy Fallon (Bethany Platt) said: "Oh Jess, I am absolutely heartbroken for you all. She was a gorgeous lady and it was a privilege to meet you both. Sending you lots of love."
Recommended reading:
Singer Jade Thirlwall said: "Sending you and your family so much love.
"Norma brought so much joy to so many, she reminded me of my own Nanna (I would sometimes watch your videos with tears of joy) and helped me heal, as I'm sure is the case for so many people on here.
"What a special lady and family you are."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
'I wanted to spend less time on my smartphone so I ditched it for this classic device'
A woman on TikTok has invented a landline phone that connects to her smartphone and landline via Bluetooth in her attempt to minimise her screen time once and for all We all know Gen Z are unnaturally attached to their smartphones, with doom scrolling and brain rot on the rise, it comes as no surprise that social media has taken over their attention spans. But it seems that a fair few are keen to reverse their phone obsession and decrease their screen time by turning to an old classic. One TikTok user, @CatGPT went to the extent of making a retro rotary landline phone which connected to her smartphone via Bluetooth. As shown in the video, if someone was to call her, the landline phone "actually starts ringing and you can pick it up." The user mentioned in her previous video that she wanted to spend "less time on [her] phone and [have] no phone mornings" and "people went crazy over it" which is why she "decided to make a few [landline phones]". It comes after the now infamous Ibiza Final Boss Jack Kay's girlfriend speaks out after his incredible haircut goes viral. She also revealed that if you pressed star on the phone, it would activate Siri, so you don't need to rely on memorising anyone's number. The creator disappointed viewers as by adding that she doesn't "know how long she would be selling them for" because she felt that it was "more like a fun side project than anything else," but urged viewers to "check it out for a limited time" using the link in her bio. In her caption, she confirmed that the retro phone answers FaceTime Audio and WhatsApp calls and, just "like the olden days", you won't know who's calling you. The video received over four million views and over 450,000 likes as well as many comments on how great the invention was. One commented: "Younger generations are fascinated with a simpler time." Another said: "Ship worldwide I BEG YOU." This is not the only example of Gen Z being heavily interested in the nostalgia. The Blackberry phone has seen its own resurgence on TikTok. Its hashtag has 136K posts with creators calling for its return, talking about their memories of their past BlackBerry phones and even finding and rebooting their own old phones. The BlackBerry was released in 1999 and resembled a school calculator, but due to the popularity of smartphones, BlackBerry was discontinued in 2022. Help us improve our content by completing the survey below. We'd love to hear from you!
Daily Mirror
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Abandoned UK zoo left eerily quiet with horrifying animal corpses left behind
An explorer who documents his discoveries online has revealed the moment he stepped inside an abandoned UK zoo that has been closed since 2022 - with some surprising discoveries along the way An urban explorer has shared footage of his eerie venture into an abandoned zoo where he found snake skins, animal moults and breeding tanks left behind. Daniel Sims, who goes by the name Bearded Reality online, visited the former Rutland Sanctuary Zoo in Oakham, East Midlands, earlier this month. The zoo has been closed since late 2022 due to rising costs, but Daniel found the site left in "amazing condition". The 36-year-old, from Huddersfield, found the zoo looking practically ready to re-open and host more animals, despite not being open for three years. "The whole site has everything left behind - apart from the animals, of course," Daniel, who shared the footage on TikTok and YouTube, said. "It is still in amazing condition, so it's surprising it just sat left and wasted. The site itself in areas looks a little run-down but has suffered very little damage, so it could easily re-open as another mini zoo or attraction with very little effort. "You can tell the previous owners put a lot of their heart and soul into this project, so it's a shame to see it like this. The rooms in the back were very interesting with all the incubators and breeding tanks left untouched from when the place closed, as well as notes of what animals were held here. "I was super surprised and pleased that all the tanks remained intact and not smashed, as I have been to similar places and seen this and reckon this is because of the place's location and the fact the area has a groundskeeper, which is good.' Inside, Daniel made discoveries including a long snakeskin, which he even touched in the YouTube video, as well as various moults from other animals. Also on the site were various cages and tanks left behind from the previous wildlife occupants. The closure of the zoo was announced on social media back in October 2022 by owners, Joanna and Jeremy. The post reads: "We are heartbroken to announce that we are having to close our doors at this time due to the energy increase crisis that has affected us in such a detrimental way. "We are forever grateful for all the support and love from all our friends, family and visitors towards each of ourselves and our charges. "Most importantly, to reassure everyone, all our animals are safe and still our highest priority to ensure they have a secure and safe full life ahead of them." While some areas of the abandoned site appeared a little worse for wear, with debris littering the ground, the explorer was stunned to find the zoo in good shape. Daniel added: "I was pleased to explore this place and get some photos before inevitably nature takes its course and the place starts to decay fully."
Daily Mirror
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Billie Shepherd 'hysterical' with pain over mystery disease as husband Greg steps in
Former TOWIE star Billie Shepherd lifts the lid on Sister Act, her new reality show with sister Sam, their tight bond and the secret health battle that left her bed bound With three beautiful children, a happy marriage and an exceptionally close bond with her sister, Billie Shepherd appears to live a charmed life. But behind the smiles, the former TOWIE star has been dealing with a diagnosis that has left her bedbound, which she describes as 'horrendous'. As Billie and her younger sister Samantha Faiers make their long-awaited return to our screens in their new ITV reality show, Sam And Billie: Sister Act, Billie sits down for an exclusive interview with the Mirror to reveal how she is slowly emerging from a battle with Lyme disease, a bacterial infection usually caused by the bite of an infected tick. Symptoms include extreme fatigue and joint pain which can last years. 'It's been a really, really tough time,' Billie admits. 'I've been lucky in that I've never been challenged with health issues, I've never had to face that. And people are dealing with things 10 times worse, but it has been awful.' Billie, 35, says she first started noticing symptoms in January. It comes after Mark Wright shares big 'disappointment' after holiday with baby Palma and Michelle Keegan. 'One day I was fine, the next I woke up with really bad pains in my elbows and my arms,' she explains. 'I thought I must have slept funny. I tried to ignore it but as the days went on, the pain went all over my body to the point where I couldn't even get out of bed. It was horrendous.' Billie says she went 'back and forth to the doctors' and yet no one could work out what was wrong with her. But the symptoms only got worse. 'I had hard, red lumps all over my legs, which were so painful, a horrible rash on my back and extreme fatigue,' she recalls. 'But worst was the reactive arthritis — the most intense, awful pain in my joints. It was agony. My immune system was attacking the healthy tissue in my joints. I had so many blood tests but no one could figure it out. One doctor said she'd never seen anything like it. It was frustrating. This went on for about two months before we learnt it was Lyme's.' Doctors believe Billie was bitten by an infected tick, possibly as long as three years ago. But the infection lay dormant until her immune system weakened, likely as a result of bouts of tonsillitis last year. As Billie's discomfort increased, so did the prescriptions. Courses of antibiotics and steroids were offered in a bid to control her pain and reduce the inflammation. 'My body wasn't responding to antibiotics any more,' Billie says. 'After the last course, I actually got worse. I was so unwell. It was only after Sam introduced me to a holistic doctor and I started taking natural medicines that I started to notice a difference and things slowly began to turn around.' Billie had to rely on her husband Greg, Sam and their mum, Suzanne Wells, for daily help. 'Some mornings I couldn't even get out of bed. I would have to crawl,' she recalls. 'Going to the toilet, I was in bits, I was hysterical, crying, because I was in so much pain. It was hard for me to sit on the toilet without Greg helping me. It was so scary. 'How could I have been fine one day and like that the next? Greg was so worried, but he's been really good. And my mum, too. She could see I was in agony. She was round every day. Obviously I confided a lot in Samantha, too.' The big dilemma for Billie was how to explain it to her children, Nelly, 11, Arthur, eight, and Margot, two. 'Kids are adaptable, but I was so poorly there's no way they wouldn't notice,' Billie tells us. 'I explained honestly why I wasn't very well. Nelly understands, she's on the ball and will ask if it's Lyme disease that's making me tired when I'm not feeling good. But equally I don't want them to ever feel worried about me.' Billie now wonders if the disease, which also affects Justin Timberlake, Avril Lavigne and Bella Hadid to name a few, was exacerbated by the fact she was stressed out by her children's separate health issues. In the opening episode of Sister Act, which starts this week, Billie can be seen in tears as she tells Sam, 34, about the terrifying moment Margot was rushed to hospital by ambulance after suffering a seizure. 'That whole situation was really, really scary,' Billie says. 'As a parent, you never think it's going to happen to you — you wouldn't even want to imagine it. And when it does happen you go into fight or flight mode. I was petrified. 'Margot hasn't had a seizure since, and that was back in January. So I'm praying and hoping she's grown out of them. But it was such a worrying time. As any parent who's experienced their child having a febrile seizure will tell you, you're on edge a lot of the time. It's hard to deal with when it happens. It's made me realise how much stress can affect your body.' Billie continues, 'It was a vicious circle. I think I was holding in a lot of worry and anxiety about the kids and not knowing at the time what was wrong with me. I think it all led to a massive immune system crash.' Arthur had health issues, too. Like his mum, he'd had tonsillitis for months and had been due to have them out — but Billie didn't think it was a good idea. 'My gut feeling was that it was all bad timing and Arthur really didn't want to go through that,' she says. 'It's not a nice operation — the aftermath is hard for children. So we spoke to a surgeon who suggested postponing it, especially as I was so ill at the time. 'I eventually got Arthur on natural medicine to try and clear his immune system. He'd had a lot of antibiotics for several bouts of tonsillitis, which isn't ideal — it's not great for your gut health — and the natural medicine really helped. Touch wood, he's not had any problems since.' While Billie says the holistic approach is working for her family, she is keen to stress that she's not preaching or encouraging others to try it. 'When I got ill I felt like my whole life had changed overnight. I worried about how I was going to get through it,' she says. 'Things had been getting worse and worse by the day, but within two weeks of taking the holistic approach I was feeling better. I'm not saying that would be the case for everyone, of course. But it was right for me.' Billie's now feeling a lot better, though she stills suffers from fatigue, brain fog and occasional aches and pains. She's hoping her story will raise awareness as there are an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 new cases of Lyme disease a year in the UK. It plays out in Sister Act, which, although filled with drama, also focuses on plenty of positives, including a cameo from Amanda Holden and, of course, Sam and Billie's unbreakable bond. 'We've absolutely loved filming together again,' Billie gushes. 'It's so easy, so natural. We're so close anyway, so to do this together again has been brilliant. The timing was right for Samantha and I, so as soon as the opportunity came up we thought, 'Why not?'' Billie admits she and Sam had plenty of fights while growing up — 'usually about clothes, or shoes, that kind of stuff' — but now they're best friends. 'We don't argue or bicker at all,' she insists. 'We just get each other. We know what the other one's like. Now, when Sam comes over, we have big sleepovers with all the kids. Greg will make himself scarce and leave us to it. Me, Mum and Samantha have the best time when it's the three of us together. We have other friends and family, but when it's just us, it's the best. We love being in each other's company.' But while Sam and Billie are enjoying a harmonious sibling relationship, the same currently can't be said of Nelly and Arthur. 'Oh my God, they fight a lot,' Billie says, half laughing, half sighing. 'It's actually very stressful in our household. They chase each other around the kitchen as I'm trying to make dinner. Margot just watches and takes it all in. But that said, there will be a day when I miss all the crazy carnage in the house, now they're all getting older.' Nelly starts secondary school next month and Billie has already seen big changes in her eldest. 'I'm getting into the next phase of parenthood,' she says. 'I've noticed Nelly has really grown up in the last six months. We got her a phone for her birthday, her first one, and she walks around the house FaceTiming her little friends. That's all they do. It's hilarious.' Billie lights up when talking about her children. Given what she's been through, it's a wonder she's able to stay smiling, but, as Sister Act will show, she's nothing if not resilient. 'People have it far worse than me,' she says. 'But it's important, being on reality TV, to be honest and real. We all go through things. Being open about what we're going through is the only way to be. 'When you're in the public eye it can be good to share things. It can be a comfort to other people who are going through similar situations. I'd never heard of Lyme disease before I got it. So now, if I can raise awareness and offer others comfort at the same time, I'll be happy.'
