A royal send-off

The BBC Proms marked Dolly Parton's death with a full musical tribute at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday night.

To Dolly, With Love

The second half of the Last Night opened with a bespoke arrangement under that title, written for the occasion by English composer Fiona Brice.

Sheridan Smith opens with 9 to 5

Smith kicked off the segment with Parton's working-women's anthem, in a gold-sequinned jumpsuit built to match the Queen of Country.

The wig, the strut

Smith, best known as Ruth in Gavin and Stacey, arrived in a big blonde wig and glitter, strutting through the number with a large dance ensemble behind her.

Jolene, slowed down

Twin sisters Catherine and Lizzy of the Ward Thomas Duo followed with a sombre reading of Jolene, backed by the choir.

Beverley Knight closes it out

The soul singer finished with a dramatic I Will Always Love You, the karaoke standard Parton wrote, and the hall erupted.

Gareth Malone, lost for words

The choir master was still recovering when the Proms co-hosts turned to him after the segment ended.

“Are you expecting me to speak after that?”

What got him was the choir

Malone told hosts Nick Mohammed and Katie Derham the arrangement moved him, singling out the moment the voices rose behind the soloists.

“It was so emotional, it was beautiful, I love Dolly, that was a wonderful rendition.”

A full orchestra behind the hits

The BBC Symphony Orchestra shared the stage for all three renditions, giving country songs a symphonic backing.

Flags and a festive buzz

Conductor Sakari Oramo called the hall stunning and picked out the flags in the crowd, including Finnish ones from his home country.

“There's such a festive buzz. The atmosphere is really tangible and there are all the flags.”

Viewers called it fitting

Fans watching at home praised the segment, settling on the same phrase: a fitting tribute.

She died last month

Parton died at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 80.

Months of health worries

Her death followed a run of cancelled public appearances that had fans openly worried about her wellbeing.

More than 100 million records

Parton's sales put her among the best-selling artists of all time, across a catalogue she largely wrote herself.

Eleven Grammys

The awards came alongside the sales, cementing a career that critics and the industry both backed.

Six decades of it

Her run as the Queen of Country stretched across sixty years, long enough that the Proms audience knew every chorus.

The season's last note

The concert closed BBC Proms 2026 after eight weeks, 86 concerts and 300,000 people through the doors.

Reported by two bylines

Tom Midlane and Jamie Boys filed the piece late on 12 September 2026, updating it as reaction came in.