University of Greater Manchester
Deane Road, Bolton, BL3 5AB.
Back to menu
Back to menu
Study with an Off-Campus Partner
Back to menu
18/07/2025
World-renowned tenor Russell Watson sung to the next generation of healthcare professionals as he was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Greater Manchester.
Russell, who has overcome two life-threatening brain tumours, was conferred the title of Doctor of Arts (Hon DArts) during a graduation ceremony for students from the School of Health, Science & Society – Clinical & Biomedical Sciences.
He then sang an extract of ‘O sole mio’, which received a rapturous reception in the Albert Hall in Bolton Town Hall.
Commending the dedication and resilience of the graduating class, he said earlier: “It’s such a great honour to be here today. I’ve sung in stadia and theatres and arenas across the world and never felt any sense of trepidation or nerves but I feel that today and that’s because of the significance of it to me personally. I feel really quite emotional.”
He added: “Most of you are medical students and I have had my experiences with ill-health over the years. I wanted to give you a bit of insight into how it’s going to affect the lives of your patients.
“The profound effect that medicine and the healthcare system has on people like me and other human beings is immense. It doesn’t matter when or where I have met my surgeons over the years – whenever I meet them I always get this sense of ‘wow, you’re the person who saved my life.”
“It is such a powerful emotion to know that some such as yourselves has studied to save human life and I salute you for that.”
The classical crossover star was first diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2006 after experiencing blurred peripheral vision. The tumour was successfully removed during emergency surgery at St George’s Hospital in Tooting following a trip to Los Angeles. A year later, a recurrence on his pituitary gland required a second emergency operation at the Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle.
Watson underwent intensive rehabilitation, hormone replacement therapy and struggled with mental health challenges during his recovery. At one point, doctors feared he would never sing again.
Despite the odds, he returned to the stage and rebuilt his career.
The University of Greater Manchester, ranked first in the country for improving students’ social mobility, also resonates with Watson’s personal journey. Born into a working-class family in Salford in the late 1960s, he said: “I haven’t been honoured like this before in my life and I have been doing this for 35 years.”
He added: “I just want to say congratulations to you all, thank you for this wonderful award.
“I’ll take great delight from it in so many different ways but I really do think that Dr Watson has a splendid ring to it and the lady that works as our housekeeper also happens to be called Mrs Hudson, so we are going to have lots of fun with that. All we need now is a Sherlock Holmes!”
Download the app for your smartphone from:
