John Bishop witnesses ‘healing effect’ of music as he spends evening with Line of Duty Star Vicky McClure’s choir

John Bishop enjoyed a singalong with a charity choir over the weekend and claimed he had "witnessed the healing effect of music" following the death of his mother. The award-winning comedian, 56, from Liverpool, took a trip to the Southwell Minster for an emotional and fulfilling evening with Line of Duty star Vicky McClure’s Our Dementia Choir.

John took to his Instagram page to share a video of himself singing along to I’m a Believer by The Monkees with the choir. The 56-year-old was joined by actress Angela Lonsdale, who is an ambassador for the dementia charity. He captioned the post: “With the @our_dementia_choir in Southwell Minster for an emotional and fulfilling evening. Wonderful talent with support from local children and local choirs. What a wonderful event.”

Our Dementia Choir began as part of a documentary created for BBC1 in 2018 and was formed by Vicky McClure. The two-part series saw Vicky take viewers on a deeply personal journey where she set out to discover the true extent of music’s power in combating dementia. John said he initially discovered the choir after watching the documentary, which he says moved him following his mum’s dementia diagnosis.

He shared: “I reached out to Vicky and told her how much the documentary had meant to my brother, sisters and my dad because it gave us some hope. Right to the end of her life, music remained a constant source of comfort and joy to my mum. So to be able to share that love of music with other people facing the same challenges has been incredibly cathartic.

“I was with @realangelalonsdale, and neither of us had any idea what to expect of this evening, but we both left feeling closer to our mothers and knowing that we had witnessed the healing effect of music. Thank you to everyone involved.”

Vicky commented on John’s post and said: “Absolutely magical! Thank you so so much, John!!! Welcome to the choir family!!” She added: “Music is medicine, community & communication is everything. Thank you for helping spread such a powerful message.”

John confirmed that his mother had passed away in a touching tribute shared on social media in April. He revealed that she had watched and sang along to his Mother Goose performance in Liverpool before her death.