Russell turns 41 tomorrow - and it's an age he has always dreaded he wasn't going to make.

The Salford tenor, known as "The Voice", has had a lifelong fear that he would not live beyond the age of 40, which made his diagnosis with a second brain tumour last month even more harrowing for the star. But now that Russell is on the long road to recovery after emergency surgery on the tumour, recuperating at his home in Cheshire, he wants to celebrate the milestone age.

Russell's agent Giles Baxendale tells me: "There are a few of us who are expecting to celebrate with Russell on Friday night, purely because of his fear over the years that he wouldn't see out his 40th year. So it will kind of be a celebration of that.

"Once the clock strikes midnight I think it will be one less thing for him to worry about.

"Then on the day of his birthday it will be a case of a quiet celebration with his two daughters."

Russell has been overwhelmed by the support from fans around the globe after he was rushed to hospital last month with a recurrence of a brain tumour originally removed last year.

And fans have been besieging Russell's office with birthday cards and gifts this week - so much so that his management now request that people make a donation to one of Russell's favourite charities rather than send any more gifts.

Swap Shop

Giles said: "Russell's post room is starting to look like Swap Shop from the 1980s! He is so overwhelmed by the love and support, not just from fans, but from ordinary people touched by his experience. But we would now ask that if people would like to send a gift, they make a donation to charity - we will shortly set something up on Russell's website, russell-watson.com, to this effect."

Doctors are said to be pleased with Russell's progress, and a decision will be made in the new year as to whether he will undergo a period of radiotherapy.

Giles says: "Russell is such a strong character that the hardest thing for him now right now is the boredom.

"He hates being incapacitated like this.

"It's going to take time for him to recover, but he's just still so glad to be alive, no matter how bad he feels over the coming weeks."

Despite his ongoing recuperation, Russell has insisted that his new album, Outside In, still be released on Monday so as not to disappoint his fans - even though he is unable to promote it in any way.

Giles said: "He had been advised by both ourselves and his record label to delay the scheduled release of his new record.

"His response was resolute and in his own words 'there is absolutely no way that this record is to be delayed'."

Source: MEN