Dolly Parton is on course for her first ever UK number one as her hit 1980 song 9 To 5 soars into the charts days after icon died

From pop stars to politicians and Oscar-winners to authors, the world has been mourning the loss of a country music icon.

But a week on from her death at 80, it seems that Dolly Parton could posthumously achieve something that had always eluded her – a UK number one single.

Just days after her death following a battle with cancer, the musician’s hit 1980 track 9 to 5 has surged up the charts and looks set to take the coveted top spot on Friday.

According to the Official Charts Company, it flew into the number 12 position on last Friday’s chart, a 350 per cent week-on-week increase.

Over the weekend it has gained even more momentum and is currently sitting in the top spot, with her 1973 song Jolene currently at number two.

The company predicts, based on preliminary sales and early streaming reports, that such is the current appetite for Ms Parton’s songs that 9 to 5 will remain at the top of the chart until Friday.

In a career that spanned six decades and saw her win 11 Grammy Awards, Ms Parton never topped the charts in the UK.

The song was written and recorded by the singer to accompany the film of the same name, in which she starred alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.

It earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song as well as three Grammy nominations, including Song of the Year.

The comedy film, about three co-workers who get revenge on their sexist boss, was Ms Parton’s film debut and cemented her star status in Hollywood.

Her impact on the music world was clear last week when industry heavyweights paid tribute to her and credited her with inspiring them in their own careers.

Taylor Swift said that ‘a world without Dolly doesn't feel possible, real, or right’ and that she’d had ‘true grace and true grit, all in one dazzling person'.

Beyonce described her as ‘the barometer’ and ‘the north star,’ and said she was: ‘Bold and brilliant. Talented and tenacious.’

Ms Parton’s goddaughter Miley Cyrus said she had been an ‘angel by my side’ and that she would ‘always love her and want to make her proud'.

Katy Perry, Sabrina Carpenter, Sir Mick Jagger, Sir Paul McCartney and Kylie Minogue were some of the other big-name stars to publicly declare the impact that the singer had had on their lives.

Her co-star Ms Fonda said that she was ‘devastated’, while Ms Tomlin said that she had 'no words'.

Ms Parton had been privately battling cancer in the months leading up to her death and was forced to cancel her Las Vegas residency in May.

At the time she said it was due to ongoing digestive and immune system problems, which had left her unable to perform such demanding shows.

She died at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Centre in Nashville, Tennessee, last Tuesday, ‘surrounded by loved ones’, her representative confirmed in a statement.