The popular opera tenor Russell Watson is critically ill after undergoing emergency surgery to remove a brain tumour for the second time in two years.

The singer, known as The Voice, had been working in his recording studio on Wednesday when he complained of headaches and blurred vision.

An investigation by doctors at the private Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle found a tumour was bleeding into the brain.

The MRI scan showed the original tumour from last year had regrown and required immediate surgery – however the 40-year-old delayed the operation to spend a moment with his two daughters Rebecca, 12, and Hannah, 6.

His agent Giles Baxendale said: ‘It’s been a tough day. He looks pretty grim. He’s alive, that’s the main thing.

‘He’s in and out of intensive care. He’s in a critical condition still and going to stay in intensive care for at least 24 to 48 hours.

‘He’s in and out of consciousness. He’s spoken. He was having waves of consciousness.’

Baxendale thanked the singer’s fans for their support and good wishes.

Watson came to prominence in 1999 when he sang Nessun Dorma before Manchester United’s last Premier League match of the season at Old Trafford.

He has since sold more than four million albums worldwide, and had been preparing to release his new album Outside In on November 26.