Former Holby City regular Jules Knight to release special single

Blake vocalist and actor dedicates Mother’s Day song to his mum following tragic rare cancer loss…

Jules Knight, the actor and singer known for his role as Dr Harry Tressler in the medical drama Holby City and as a founding member of the award-winning vocal group Blake, is set to release a heartfelt single dedicated to his late mother, on March 24th, just ahead of Mother’s Day.

Jules, who has performed for the Royal Family, including the late Queen and counts the Prince and Princess of Wales among his university peers, lost his mother, Jane Kaye, to a rare form of cancer called sarcoma in July 2023, aged 76 years. The single is a poignant and loving tribute to her memory.

“She was a very good person,” Jules said of his mother. “She was so kind and generous, always giving to charity and was a very active member of her village community. Up until January 2023 she had been in remarkably good health. We miss her every day, of course, but especially on Mother’s Day, and this song is a tribute to her.” Jane leaves behind her four children and four grandchildren.

The family’s ordeal began in January 2023 when Jane messaged in the family What’sApp group that she wasn’t feeling very well and had back pain. Jane then visited her GP several times and had a number of blood tests.

Jules Knight, family snaps with Jane

“When blood tests came back as ‘normal’, we were understandably relieved,” Jules explained. Following an X-ray the back pain was attributed to age and potential osteoporosis. A bout of COVID-19 further complicated matters, as doctors assumed her continued fatigue was the after-effect of the virus, but her symptoms continued to get worse.

It wasn’t until mid-February that the family noticed drastic weight loss and abdominal swelling, which occurred almost overnight, and her partner observed that she was sleeping excessively during the day, with persistent back pain and digestive issues. It was then that alarm bells rang, and the family insisted on further investigation. The excellent 2-week NHS pathway was actioned, and an appointment with a gastroenterologist was put in place. This resulted in the discovery of ‘a mass’ in her abdomen. A CT scan confirmed a large tumour on her kidney, enveloping the kidney itself and with dangerously high levels of calcium in her blood. Jane was admitted to the hospital.

“Please just get this thing out of me,” Jules remembers his mother pleading as they awaited surgical intervention. After a series of frustrations within the system, painfully slow biopsy results, a number of junior doctors’ strikes and being passed from department to department, a referral to the QE in Birmingham to the specialist sarcoma unit was arranged.

Finally, a date for surgery was made for 16th May, 5 months after Jane had complained of feeling unwell. It was then the size of a watermelon. Doctors assured the family that with its removal, Jane would have a high chance of survival and a continued 10-15 years of ‘normal’ life. The biopsy confirmed she had sarcoma, a rare cancer accounting for just 1% of all cancer diagnoses.

The operation lasted over 8 hours. Initially, surgeons informed the family that Jane was in the recovery room but then came the devastating news. “The surgeon led us into a room where he told us that the tumour was much too big to be removed and that he was unable to remove any of it. It had fused to every organ and blood vessel within her abdomen, dangerously close to her arteries. It was a death sentence and a huge shock as the doctors were all so confident before the operation.”

The family faced the heartbreaking task of informing Jane that the operation had been unsuccessful, that there was no treatment available and to take her home for palliative care. She died 10 weeks later on 29th July 2023.

Former Holby City regular Jules Knight to release special single in memory of his mother

Jules expressed frustration with the healthcare system: “When my mum needed the NHS, the system felt completely broken. There were too many errors. There were junior doctors strikes and long waiting lists, and as the months passed by, my mother’s tumour was getting so big it was pressing on her internal organs. She lived in discomfort and pain. We were having to stamp our feet to get an acceptable level of care. The research into these ‘hidden cancers’ is absolutely vital so that they are detected as early as possible – unfortunately, this wasn’t the case for us, and it seemed there was little awareness of this type of cancer.”

Jules, 43, left Blake in 2013 to pursue his acting career, spending two years as Dr. Harry Tressler in Holby City. A multi-talented performer, Jules has maintained a successful career across both music and television. With Blake, he has sold over 1 million records worldwide, earning multiple gold discs in the UK and releasing albums in over 15 countries. The group has received two Brit Award nominations, winning once for Best Classical Album of the Year.

Since leaving Holby City, Jules has appeared in several television and film productions, including starring opposite Elizabeth Hurley in the hit US TV show “The Royals.” During the difficult hospital visits with his mother, Jules experienced a surreal moment when healthcare professionals recognised him from his TV role. “It felt like being on set as Dr. Harry Tressler in Holby City,” he recalled. “Nurses and doctors were coming to me saying, ‘I recognise you, are you a doctor here?!'”

Jules, who has two sisters and a brother, described his mother as a fit and active person before the sarcoma diagnosis. He said she was devoted to her four grandchildren.

The tribute single titled “To Where You Are” will be released on Monday, March 24th, offering fans a deeply personal glimpse into Jules’ relationship with his mother as the nation prepares to celebrate Mother’s Day.

Kerry Reeves-Kneip, Sarcoma UK’s Director of Fundraising and Communications:

“We are deeply saddened about Jules Knight’s loss. Stories like Jane’s highlight why our work is so vital. Sarcoma devastates lives, and that’s why we are investing in research to ensure no one loses their mothers, fathers, children, or loved ones to this rare and often misdiagnosed cancer. Early detection remains crucial, and we continue to raise awareness among both the public and medical professionals.”