Celebrity supporters in 2007

Celebrity support is an important element in helping Cancer Research UK to raise vital funds and awareness for our world-class research work towards beating cancer. Here are some recent highlights from the Celebrity Team:

Stars add sparkle to environmentally-friendly Christmas cards

Popstars Westlife, McFly and Lemar, footballer David James, actress Arabella Weir and presenter Linda Barker have all personally designed unique Christmas cards that will be sold exclusively in Cancer Research UK shops this year.

McFly’s card, drawn by Tom Fletcher, features a rock star snowman, complete with punk hairstyle and a guitar, and Arabella Weir’s card, drawn with her eight-year-old son Archie, depicts a seasonable snowball fight. All profits from the environmentally friendly cards will go towards funding Cancer Research UK's life-saving work and will be sold in 600 Cancer Research UK shops throughout the country. The cards will be sold in packs of 12 and will cost £3.49.

Celebrity clothes raise cash for charity

Ryan Giggs, Big Brother star Ziggy, TV presenter Jeff Brazier and actor Chucky Venice have joined forces to support our Don't Need It? Donate It campaign. Cancer Research UK and men's retailer Burton are encouraging men to donate clothes, CDs, books and homewares to the charity. The campaign aims to generate hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of stock to help fund Cancer Research UK's life-saving work.

Mothers and Daughters committee raises a million for Cancer Research UK

We are thrilled to announce that Mothers & Daughters for Cancer Research UK , a unique fundraising group, recently celebrated making its first £1m for Cancer Research UK at its annual Ladies Luncheon.

Actress Rita Tushingham and her daughter Aisha Bicknell, a cancer survivor, attended the luncheon along with X-Factor favourite Brenda Edward(pictured right), now appearing in the West End show Chicago.

Brenda said: "Cancer Research UK is a charity I love and support and I feel privileged to have been able to participate in this worthwhile cause."

Other celebrity patrons of Mothers & Daughters include Joely Richardson, Kate Winslet, Phyllida Law and daughters Emma and Sophie Thompson, Joanna David and Emilia Fox, Melanie Sykes, Nanette Newman and Emma Forbes.

Celebrity Marathon Runners for CR-UK

We are delighted to announce that actress Kara Tointon will be running her first ever marathon for Cancer Research UK this year. Kara will be joined by our running ambassador Nell McAndrew who returns to the Flora London Marathon 2007 after taking a break from the event to have her first baby.

Nell McAndrew will be running with her mum, Nancy. She said: "As running ambassador for Cancer Research UK I'm able to combine the two things I'm passionate about - running and raising money to beat cancer. Cancer is very close to my heart as my dad was diagnosed with non Hodgkin's lymphoma three years ago. Thankfully he's now in remission and just thinking about him will really help me and my mum get to the finish on the day."

Over 1,500 people will be taking part in the Flora London Marathon 2007 to raise vital funds for Cancer Research UK.

Anyone for Tea

Yummy mummy Kirstie Allsopp kindly launched Cancer Research UK's Britain's Biggest Breakfast 2007 campaign to help encourage healthy eating at breakfast and to raise vital funds for research into cancer.

Each year, the campaign aims to raise awareness of how eating a healthy breakfast, as part of balanced diet including plenty of fruit and vegetables, can help reduce the risk of cancer. The 2007 campaign will encourage mums to show their children the importance of healthy eating from an early age and establish an eating routing that includes a balances, nutritious breakfast.

Kirstie Allsopp said: "As a new mum, it's more important to me than ever that I set a good example of eating healthy food, particularly a balanced, nutritious breakfast.

"Which is why I'm right behind Britain's Biggest Breakfast, a campaign by Cancer Research UK aimed at encouraging people to get together for delicious, healthy breakfasts and to raise vital funds for the charity.

"I've always felt that eating breakfast is a great way of getting children to try new foods and spending time together as a family - this campaign is a great excuse to do just that."

A Night of Music - Sound and Vision 2007

We are proud to announce that this year's Sound and Vision event at Abbey Road Studios, hosted by Mica Paris and DJ Spoony raised over £141 000 for Cancer Research UK.

The event, of which Sir George Martin is Patron, included live performances by All Saints, Mica Paris and Skye (Morcheeba) and was supported by DJs Steve Sutherland (Galaxy FM) and Pete Tong (Radio One) on the night.

The unique music and photography exhibition and action brought together images of some of the biggest names in popular music and photography, including Bob Marley, Pete Doherty and Paul McCartney. Contributers included Terry O’Neil, Penny Smith, Pattie Boyd, Jason Joyce and Gered Mankowitz among others.

Exhibits that went under the hammer included a one-off original silkscreen print of Bob Marley - created for the recent Bob Marley Singles Collection album by Kate Gibb and lyrics to the single 'Yellow' - handwritten by Chris Martin onto a Parachute LP.

Donate for a Difference

We are thankful that The Clothes Show presenters Caryn Franklin, Jeff Banks and Brenda Emmanus teamed up exclusively to support Cancer Research UK's Donate for a Difference campaign.

The campaign aims to encourage people to donate their unwanted clothes, household items, CDs, DVDs, toys and games to one of the charity's 600 shops across the country. Last year, over £66 million of the charity's income came from donations made to its shops, providing vital funds for research into cancer.

Caryn Franklin said: "We all have clothes in our wardrobes that we never wear, for whatever reason - too big, too small or just not right. What's no good for you could be perfect for someone else and at the same time, by donating it to a Cancer Research UK shop, you can help beat cancer. Each bag donated can raise up to £30, which will go towards beating this terrible disease."

Team Celebrity

We are thrilled to announce that Nell McAndrew, Lara Lewington, Pooja Shah, Shaznay Lewis, Nicola Stapleton, Mel Slade, Kellie Shirley and Antonia Okonma are among the many celebrities getting involved in Cancer Research UK's Race for Life 2007 series.

Gloria Hunniford, Patron of Race for Life, says: "Last year we broke two Guinness World Records thanks to the hundreds of thousands of amazing women who took part in Race for Life. This year we want to continue to build on this success and raise even more funds for vital research into cancer.

"The genuine enthusiasm and emotion demonstrated by women across the country creates an atmosphere on race day that is truly inspiring. We know that Race for Life holds a special place in many women's hearts and hope that together we will beat cancer."

Now in its 14th year, Cancer Research UK's Race for Life continues to be the largest women-only fundraising series and in 2007 over 800,000 women are expected to take part at 280 events at venues across the UK.

Atlantic Challenge

Rookie rowers Stu Turnbull and Ed Baylis have completed an amazing test of endurance and raised over £200,000 for Cancer Research UK. They made the 3,000 mile journey across the Atlantic Ocean in 63 days, 12 hours and 46 minutes at sea in a rowing boat.

The pair have attracted fans from all over the world, and have received celebrity support from Tom Mclean, Stephen Merchant, Nancy Lam and photographer David Bailey.

Stu said: "The thing about cancer is that it whips people away before their time. And it isn't just their world that collapses, but everyone around them too. We just wanted to do something towards trying to stop that happening."