Wigan actor Kathryn Drysdale backs Stand Up To Cancer campaign after best friend's diagnosis

Familiar faces from TV, radio and comedy are sharing their personal cancer experiences to launch Stand Up To Cancer, the joint fund-raising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4.

They include Wigan actor Kathryn Drysdale, who is best known for her roles in the BBC’s Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps and Netflix period drama Bridgerton.

Kathryn, a former Orrell St Peter’s pupil, said: “Cancer has had a great impact on my life. I’ve seen first-hand the suffering that people close to me have had to endure, in particular one of my best friends who was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer when she was 36. She had a year to live, but thanks to medical treatments she’s here four years on, and cancer free.

"And so I think it’s really, really important that we donate as much as we can to cancer research because it can save lives.”

She is joined in the campaign by radio DJ Jordan North, new Great British Bake Off host Alison Hammond, actor Kadiff Kirwan, Ted Lasso star Ellie Taylor, and radio and television presenter Yinka Bokinni and her brother, actor Kola Bokinni.

They all have close friends or loved ones who have been affected by cancer, so they are urging people to raise money for the next research breakthrough.

Gym bunnies and sofa surfers alike are being asked to get sponsored to do 100 squats every day in November.

Alternatively, less energetic folk can choose to donate, raise money in their own way or select from a host of ideas with a free fund-raising pack available online.

In the North West around 41,900 people are diagnosed with cancer every year.

Stand Up To Cancer helps to take breakthroughs from the lab and accelerate them into new treatments that could make a real difference to people with the disease.

Since its launch in 2012, the campaign has raised more than £93m, funding 64 clinical trials and research projects involving more than 13,000 cancer patients.

This includes a trial for immunotherapy drug nivolumab, which is now used in the NHS to treat mesothelioma.

Jemma Humphreys, Cancer Research UK spokesperson in the North West, said: “All of the celebrities involved in the campaign have seen the devastating impact that cancer can have on loved ones. We’re grateful to them for sharing their personal experiences to help inspire more support, so our researchers can keep making new discoveries.

“One in two of us will get cancer in our lifetime, but all of us can help beat it. That’s why we’re asking everyone to Stand Up To Cancer this autumn. Whether it’s choosing to donate, fund-raise or tackle the highs and lows of our squats challenge, if thousands of us take a stand we’ll speed up the progress of vital research – meaning more people live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.”

The Stand Up To Cancer campaign will continue throughout October, with a collection of special programmes airing on Channel 4 later in the month, culminating in a night of live television on Friday, November 3.

Get involved at su2c.org.uk