VINNIE Jones will pay emotional tribute to his late wife Tanya by singing her favourite songs on X Factor: Celebrity.
The 54-year-old star was left devastated back in July when Tanya tragically passed away – just days before he was due to audition for the show.
The actor ended up being given a fast pass to the live shows by judge Simon Cowell, with Vinnie admitting at the time that it’d been Tanya who wanted him to appear on the ITV series in the first place.
And although she is sadly no longer around to watch her husband, Tanya will still play a huge role in Vinnie’s X Factor journey.
He explained: “Theres one song that I like, which I might be singing. Its one that means a lot to us.
“I can see her now looking out the window of the car tapping along to it. There are a lot of songs that mean a lot to us.”
He added to The Mirror: “Im not treating it like a singing competition, Im doing it as a tribute for Tanya.”
Vinnie confessed that there is one song in particular that could see him break down, but he hopes to be able to make his late wife proud by powering through.
The star continued: “The biggest part of doing X Factor was Tanya. She loved the show, she thought it would be brilliant.
“It gave Tanya something to look forward to, to come over to London and get well for.”
Earlier this week, Vinnie told fans that he will be donating any X Factor winnings to the hospitals that treated Tanya.
He tweeted: “I’ve decided any proceeds of a record contract from X-factor will go to Harefield hospital and Cedars Sinai.
“NOW I’m ready to Rock n Roll”.
Tanya tragically lost her six-year cancer battle having previously fought two cervical cancer diagnoses before being told that she has malignant melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer.
Announcing her death, Vinnie’s spokesman told The Sun: “At 8.46am local time in Los Angeles on Saturday July 6, Vinnie Jones wife, Tanya Jones, passed away after a long illness.
Tanya passed peacefully at the Jones family home surrounded by Vinnie, their daughter and other family members.
“Vinnie and the family ask for privacy while they go through an understandable period of mourning during this devastating time.”
A source said her condition had worsened over the last few weeks.
Vinnie and Tanya are mum and dad to 32-year-old daughter Kaley.
