Celebrity Runners in the 2015 Virgin Money London

Celebrity Runners in the 2015
Virgin Money London
Marathon as at 30.3.15
NAME
Aikman, Laura
Audenshaw, Tony
PICTURE
BIO
Laura is best known for her role in The Mysti Show as Mysti. In
2009, she appeared in the BBC Three series Personal Affairs
playing Lucy. She was in 35 episodes of Casualty as May Phelps and
she is currently the Deputy Head in the 10th and final series of
Waterloo Road. Laura has recently finished filming the BBC
Comedy Blue Stone 42 and also got engaged to actor Matt
Kennard. This will be Laura's first Marathon.
Laura is the daughter of internationally acclaimed award-winning
action movie director and stunt coordinator Stuart St. Paul.
Antony Audenshaw is an English actor, best known for his role as
Bob Hope on the popular ITV1 soap Emmerdale. His made his
debut in 2000 and has been a cast member ever since. In
December 2006 he appeared as himself alongside other members
of the Emmerdale cast on a celebrity version of the TV show Family
Fortunes. In 2009 he won an episode of Celebrity Mastermind. His
specialist subject was British Birds. In 1989 he appeared in
Inspector Morse as a fast bowler for the Clarets cricket team in the
episode Deceived by Flight.
CHARITY
Bailey, Jonathan
Bean, Marcus
Bede, Jenny
Jonathan Bailey is an English actor, best known for the ITV drama
Broadchurch, the BBC's Leonardo as a young Leonardo da Vinci
and the Channel 4 comedy Campus.
Jonathan was nominated for the award for Outstanding Newcomer
at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2012 for his performance
in David Hare's South Downs.
Jonathan can now be seen in the most recently released British
drama film 'Testament of Youth' based on the First World War
with actors Colin Morgan and Alicia Vikander.
Marcus is a regular chef on ITV ‘This Morning’ (doing recipes with
Holly Willoughby & Phillip Schofield) and Channel 4’s ‘What’s
Cooking’. His TV career started when he won Channel 4’s show
‘Iron Chef UK’ and since then he has appeared on numerous food
shows across BBC, Channel 4 and the Food Network. His live
appearances include the BBC Good Food Show, the Ideal Home
Show and the Food Network Christmas Special. Together with his
wife Jenny he runs a pub in Shropshire, as well as the Brompton
Cookery School and a farmhouse B&B.
Jenny Bede is an actor, writer & comedian who has recently been
named as The Guardian's Rising Star in Comedy for 2015. She
made her name on YouTube with the success of her popular,
topical music videos which parodied the likes of Cheryl Close,
Pippa Middleton, Tulisa and Jessie J. After this she won Best
Newcomer at the Musical Comedy Awards, followed by a
commission from BBC to make her own pilot, 'Jenny Bede: AAA' - a
musical sketch show about the pop industry. Other acting credits
include roles in Episodes, Broadchurch, Misfits, Watson & Oliver
and Crackanory & Josh.
Bolt, Josh
Breeze, Michaela
Brown, Phil
Josh Bolt is an English actor from Liverpool. He played the lead role
of Henry in ITV1's Just Henry and then joined John Bishop, Robert
Sheehan and Sheridan Smith in the second series of the award
winning Accused. In 2012 Josh began work on the BBC series Last
Tango in Halifax, playing the grandson of Derek Jacobi. At the
2013 BAFTA TV Awards, Last Tango in Halifax won best drama, and
Josh began filming the second series which is now on air.
Michaela Breeze started Olympic weightlifting aged 13 and has
competed at the highest level for 22 years. She has represented
Great Britain at two Olympic Games (Athens and Beijing) and won
six medals for Wales over four Commonwealth Games. Michaela
holds British records in three weight categories and
Commonwealth record in tw categories.
Michaela has now established Breeze's Gym in Aberdare and
Reebok CrossFit 364 in Neath, Wales where she hopes to inspire
the next generation of weightlifters.
As a professional football player, Phil Brown played at Hartlepool,
Halifax, Bolton and Blackpool during an 18 year career. Phil then
moved onto roles as Coach, Assistant Manager and Manager at
Bolton, Derby, Hull City, Preston North End and now at Southend
United. His greatest achievement in football to date would be
gaining Hull City promotion to the Premier League.
Bushell, Mike
Button, Jenson
Carruthers, Faye
Mike Bushell presents the sport on BBC Breakfast on Fridays, at
the weekends and on BBC Radio 2. Mike has now spent 9 years
filming, profiling and trying 450 minority and unusual sports for
BBC Breakfast, all with the aim of inspiring people to be more
active. This is believed to be a world record. Mike also holds
world records for crossing a mile of water in a zorb and being the
world's first male 'wife' in a wife-carrying contest (Steph McGovern
carried Mike!).
Mike won Celebrity Mastermind last year with 100% on his
specialist subject of Alan Partridge.
Jenson Button is one of Britain's top Formula One drivers who is
currently signed to McLaren Honda.
His F1 career spans 15 years consisting of 15 wins, 50 podiums and
one world championship.
Away from the track Jenson is a keen triathlete, routinely
competing in competitions around the world, including his own
Jenson Button Trust Triathlon.
Faye Carruthers is a sports presenter on the Christian O’Connell
Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio and a reporter and
commentator for BBC Radio 5 Live, Final Score, BBC London and
Live at Wimbledon Radio. She’s previously worked at talkSPORT,
Sky News and Sky Sports News. A keen netball player, yogi and
Luton Town fan, this is her first marathon. She’s raising money for
the RNIB.
Chrysochou, Aliki
Collard, Rob
Conroy, John
Soprano Aliki Chrysochou was born in Limassol, Cyprus and her
musical talent was clear from an early age. In 2013 Aliki took part
in Britain's Got Talent progressing through to the semi-finals, an
incredible achievement, made even more poignant due to the fact
that she had a few years earlier lost all co-ordination, speech and
movement, through encephalitis. Encephalitis is inflammation of
the brain and affects up to 6,000 people in a year in England alone.
Aliki's inspiring performance won her standing ovations and high
praise from the entire judging panel. Aliki became an Ambassador
for The Encephalitis Society in 2013 as a result of her courageous
performance on Britain's Got Talent.
Rob is an International racing car driver winning at British and
European levels and for the last ten years has been a very
successful British Touring Car driver racing for eBay BMW. He is
consistently one of its most successful privateers and is a previous
Independent Touring Car Champion. Rob has previously completed
two London Marathons.
Conroy has appeared in TV series and theatre productions in
London and around the world. His recent appearances on BBC TV
include Atlantis and Holby City and his extensive theatre work
includes Follies, Batman, Guys and Dolls, Buried Child and Dirty
Dancing.
Cracknell, James
James Cracknell is one of Britain's most successful athletes of all
time with two Olympic gold medals and six World Championship
titles. His epic rowing finals in at the Sydney Games in 2000 and
the Athens Games in 2004 were two of the most watched sporting
contests in history. Since retiring from his 13 year international
career, James has distinguished himself as a very special and
inspiring sportsman, athlete and adventurer. When not crossing
oceans and continents, James is in demand as an entertaining
corporate, motivational and after-dinner speaker. In addition to
training for marathons and many other races in the UK, James is
Vice President of the charity Headway and has been appointed to
lead policy exchange work on obesity and physical activity.
Daniel, Hannah
Hannah Daniel is an actress known for her appearances in Dad
(2005), Beat (2013) and the recent BBC Drama Hinterland as DS
Sian Owens.
De Mooi, CJ
CJ De Mooi is best known for appearing in the long running BBC2
programme Eggheads and his bold spin-off Revenge of the
Egghead. CJ is an accomplished actor and has several West End
credits ranging from Shakespeare to outrageous musicals. CJ also
takes the lead in the feature film The Renata Road which will be
released in 2015.
Deering, Rob
Dwyfor, Dyfan
Falconer, Jenni
Rob Deering performs stand-up comedy with music, using a guitar,
a loop pedal and his voice to create impressive rock and pop
soundscapes – and do jokes, of course.
Since starting out in comedy in 2000 Rob has toured nationally four
times and performed eight solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Rob has appeared on any number of Radio and TV shows since
starting out on 99 Things To Do Before You Die, recent TV work
including Comedy Rocks and Celebrity Total Wipeout, which he
lost, ignominiously.
In 2007, on the other hand, he won a special comedians' edition of
the Weakest Link. He also won Celebrity Mastermind in
December 2014. Rob is running the Virgin Money London
Marathon for the third time in April 2015.
Dyfan Dwyfor is a Welsh speaking actor. His first appearance in
film was in the drama Oed yr Addewid, which won three awards at
BAFTA Cymru and a Golden FIPA. Dyfan won a Richard Burton
award at the National Elsteddfod in 2004 and appeared as Lee in
the film Pride.
TV presenter, radio DJ, sportswear designer at Debenhams and allround fitness and running enthusiast, Jenni is currently on Heart
FM Radio six days a week, regularly on ITV1's This Morning, BBC1's
National Lottery Draws and a Channel 4 presenter for marathon
and triathlon specials.
Firth, Richie
PT
Fletcher, Sean
Fuller, Russell
Richie Firth is co-presenter of the Christian O'Connell Breakfast
Show on Absolute Radio and has known and worked with Christian
O'Connell since 1998. Richie has also won a lot of Radio Academy
and Arqiva Awards and nearly broke the record for visiting every
London Underground Station in one day! Richie is a fanatical
Arsenal fan and sports nut.
Sean Fletcher is a presenter on Good Morning Britain, ITV's
breakfast show. It's a role that has taken him around the world he broadcast from the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Commonwealth
Games in Gasgow and has also reported from Florida and
Australia. Prior to his time at Good Morning Britain he was a
presenter at Sky, and the BBC where he fronted the sport on BBC
One's Weekend 10 O'Clock News and BBC Breakfast. During
almost two decades of broadcasting he has reported from the
London Marathon on numerous occasions, commentating on it as
well as interviewing elite and celebrity runners on the finish line.
Now the tables are turned and a week after his 41st birthday he'll
be put through his paces in his first ever marathon.
Russell became the BBC's tennis correspondent in August 2013 and
covers the Grand Slams and the other major stories in the sport for
BBC Radio, TV and online.
Russell has presented many programmes in his near-20 year career
in broadcasting, most recently for 5 Live and the World Service.
Russell's only previous experience of the London Marathon came
in 2001. He ran all the way but his time was exceptionally modest.
After being diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1999 Russell is keen
to do as much as he can to raise awareness and support CRUK.
Garbett, Toby
George, Helen
Olympian, world champion rower and currently a triathlete, Toby
discovered sport as an outlet where he could focus and excel,
despite suffering severe dyslexia. Toby suffered illness and injury
but returned to the British team in time for the Sydney Olympic
Games and then won World Championship gold in 2000 and 2002,
and silver medals for the next two years. Toby went on to
represent Great Britain at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens
before retiring from rowing in 2008.
Missing competition, Toby returned to the international stage in
triathlon and in 2013 took part in the European and World
Championships and became national champion in his age group. In
2014 Toby has participated in Ironman competitions in Europe.
Helen George plays the fun loving, party-going character of Trixie
Franklin in the phenomenally successful BBC series Call the
Midwife, BBC 1's most successful new drama series for 11 years
when it premiered in 2012.
No stranger to big productions, outside acting Helen has been a
backing singer on tour with Elton John at prestigious venues such
as the Royal Albert Hall and Wembley Arena but she also felt,
when younger, that her career could have bee in sport as a long
jumper or Aston Villa's first female manager!
Gibson, Ruth
Glyn, Gruffudd
Goldstein, Andy
Ruth Gibson is an award winning actress working in theatre, film,
television and voiceovers. Ruth's TV and film credits include Judge
John Deed and Doctors for BBC, Babylon for Channel 4, a short
film The Fridge for BFI and the feature film Good Girl, Bad Girl.
Ruth is currently in rehearsals for The Story Project at the Arcola
Theatre.
Gruffudd Glyn is an actor known for his part in Thor: The Dark
World (2013), as Rees in The Theory of Everything, starring
alongside Eddie Redmayne who played Stephen Hawking.
Gruffudd is now working on The Martian.
Andy Goldstein presents his own weeknight show on talkSPORT
from 10pm. He also presents the snooker and pool for Sky Sports.
Griffiths, Abi
Hall, Stuart
Harrington, Richard
Abi is a Television Presenter most often found right at the heart of
the action.
She has fronted major sporting championships particularly across
motorsport, rugby and boxing, and is currently the host of BT
Sport’s MotoGP coverage.
Passionate about sport, particularly running, this will be Abi’s
fourth Virgin Money London marathon. She is running for the
children’s mental health charity Place2Be.
Stuart is a 2013 World Champion for Aston Martin Racing and
came fourth in the Le Mans 24 Hour Race at his first attempt in
2007. He has also competed in the British Formula Three and the
British GT championships, the American Le Mans Series and the
Blancapin Endurance Series. He continues this year in the World
Endurance Championship with Aston Martin Racing. He will be
raising money for Cancer Research UK.
Richard Harrington has recently appeared in the TV Series
Hinterland as the central character DCI Mathias, Larkrise to
Candleford, Silent Witness, Spooks, Casualty, Holby Blue and
Dalziel and Pascoe.
Heeley, Dave
Hemery, David
Hemery, Peter
Dave Heeley (aka Blind Dave) was the first and only blind runner to
complete an epic challenge of running seven marathons in seven
days over seven continents in 2008. This challenge launched Dave
into a new career as a motivational speaker and he and his running
guide were acknowledged at the BBC Midlands Sports Awards as
the winners of the Outstanding Sporting Achievement of 2008.
Dave has achieved many more challenges since 2008 and has
another planned for 2015: Blind Dave vs The Sahara in the
Marathon des Sables followed by the Virgin Money London
Marathon on 26 April.
David Hemery CBE is best known for his Olympic 400m hurdles
gold medal in the Mexico Game in 1968 and Superstars. He has
spent his life in education, teaching in schools and universities, and
the development of business managers and leaders. In 2008,
Hemery founded the charity 21st Century Legacy and co-authored
the Be the Best you can Be! programme aiming at bringing
coaching into education. David has coached from grass-roots to
Olympic medalistsin various sports. His latest book is for parents,
coaches and teachers How to Help Your Child Find the Champion
within Themselves.
Peter is the son of David Hemery, looking to help out the 21st
Century Legacy charity. Inspired by David's pledge to run the Virgin
Money London Marathon, he took the chance to improve himself
by joining his father. A software engineer by trade, he is looking
forward to getting out and about on the streets of London!
Hendrie, Lee
Holland, Henry
Hordley, Jeff
Lee Hendrie, aged 37, is a former Aston Villa and England
footballer who will run for Cure Leukaemia in both his and the
charity's first ever Virgin Money London Marathon. Following his
retirement from professional football, Lee has recently put his
efforts into finding new, up and coming talents as he founded the
Lee Hendrie Academy. Lee's connection to Cure Leukaemia comes
from his former Aston Villa team-mate and friend Stiliyan Petrov
who was diagnosed with leukaemia in March 2012. Following his
support at major events, Lee recently became an ambassador for
the charity and has been inspired by others at Cure Leukaemia deciding that he now wants to give something back.
Henry Holland was catapulted into the limelight in 2006 with his
irreverent Fashion Groupies slogan tees. In February 2008, after
two seasons with Fashion East, House of Holland had its first solo
show at London Fashion Week. Now in its 14th season, HOH is
firmly established in the fashion arena. HOH boasts an impressive
roster of stockists including Browns Focus, Harvey Nichols,
Matches and net-a-porter.com.
Henry will be running with his cousins Olivia Johnson and Sally
Worthington (sisters). Olivia suffered from breast cancer and is
Henry's inspiration for running.
Jeff Hordley is an English actor most notable for playing bad boy
Cain Dingle in ITV's long running soap Emmerdale. Jeff married his
college sweetheart Zoe Henry who co-stars alongside him in
Emmerdale as vetinary surgeon Rhona Goskirk.
In 1996 Jeff was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and is currently in
remission. He has not let it affect his life and continues to run
marathons.
Howell, Gareth
Hughes, Aneirin
Hynes, Marc
Gareth Howell is a British racing driver and a multiple British
Touring Car championship race winner from 2000 to 2008. Gareth
is a current Test Driver for McLaren Automotive and McLaren GT.
This will be Gareth's 5th London Marathon and he is still chasing
the family record, and trying to beat his father's personal best from
1982 of 3:42. Gareth's PB is 3:47, so hopefully 2015 is his year!
Hughes began his acting career in the 1980's in a BBC Wales soap
opera and went on to appear in Casualty, Family Affairs, Spooks,
Take Me with Robson Green and EastEnders.
Hughes won a Best Actor BAFTA Wales for his appearance in
Cameleon (1997) and has appeared regularly in Judge John Deed
as Neil Haughton. He has now returned to the BBC to appear in the
bilingually-filmed detective series Hinterland. He has run several
marathons and also is the founding member of the Monmouth
Male Voice Choir. In May 2014 Aneirin appeared with Tom Jones
and Katharine Jenkins in a BBC centenary production of Under
Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas.
Marc Hynes is a British racing driver currently competing in
the British Touring Car championship. Marc is running in his
3rd London Marathon on the BRDC Team who are raising
money for CRUK.
LLR
James, Greg
Jelley, Stephen
Jenkins, Bethan
Greg James is an English TV and radio presenter, best known for his
roles on BBC Radio 1. James currently hosts the Drive Time Show
(4-7pm) weekdays. James also co-hosts Not Just Cricket on 5 Live
with England cricketers Graeme Swann and Jimmy Anderson. On
TV, Greg hosted the closing ceremony for the Invictus Games with
Clare Balding live on BBC2 and has covered many of the music
festivals including Glastonbury, T in the Park, Reading and Leeds
Festivals.
Greg is well known for dressing-up as a woman and doing
ridiculous versions of pop videos.
In April 2014, Greg won a Gold Radio Academy Award for Best
Entertainment Show.
Stephen is one of the most versatile racing drivers in the UK
today having competed for four seasons in Formula Three
and also in the Grand Prix supporting GP2 Series, as well as
the British Touring Car Championship, the British GT
Championship and the Porsche Carrera Cup.
This will be Stephen's 4th Marathon and he is hoping to
smash the 3 hour mark!
At 25 years of age, Bethan Jenkins was elected in 2007 to the
National Assembly for Wales. She sits on the education committee
and the petitions committee. She is her party spokesperson on
Sport, Culture and Broadcasting and chairs cross-party groups on
eating disorders, muscular dystrophy, ASW workers and human
rights. Bethan is also taking a private members Bill through on
financial education and inclusion. She enjoys running, swimming
and Nordic crime TV/novels.
Joseph, Jeremy
Kennard, Matt
Lang, Isobel
This is Jeremy Joseph’s sixth London Marathon and his target is to
raise £1 million for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and to cross the
finish line in under 4 hours. Joseph is the owner of G-A-Y and his
policy is to use clubbing to educate and raise money. G-A-Y has
hosted some of the biggest stars in the world including Madonna,
Kyle, Lady GaGa, Adele & Mariah Carey. G-A-Y shares the Elton
John AIDS Foundation’s vision of creating an AIDS-free future.
Matt Kennard is an English television actor, best known for starring
in UK daytime drama Doctors as nurse Archie Hallam. He has had
several other notable roles in British drama series including
Coronation Street, Hollyoaks and The Bill. He also starred as
Manchester United footballer Duncan Edwards in a BBC
dramatization of the 1958 Munich air disaster. Kennard starred in
the seventh series of Waterloo Road as Craig O' Leary. Also in
2013, he had a short stint in Emmerdale as shady businessman Kirk
Stoker.
Matt recently got engaged to actress Laura Aikman who will be
running her 1st Marathon with him.
Isobel Lang joined Sky News after 12 years at the BBC Weather
Centre where she broadcast on the 1, 6 and 10 o'clock news as well
as Radio 2 and 4. She graduated with a degree in maths from
Exeter University before joining the Met Office in 1991 where her
duties including preparing forecasts for the press and presenting
on local radio.
Born in Lincolnshire, Isobel grew up in Hertfordshire and now lives
in London with her husband and two children. Her hobbies include
yoga and running. She ran her first London Marathon for Cancer
Research UK in 2009.
Lee, Gwilym
Lewis Jones, Mark
Lowdon, Graeme
Gwilym Lee is currently appearing in his 2nd series of Midsomer
Murders. He began this role in Christmas 2013 as DCI Barnaby's
new Sergeant, DS Charlie Nelson in the 16th series of Midsomer
Murders. His past credits include The Tourist alongside Johnny
Depp and Angelina Jolie, Channel 4’s Fresh Meat, and a very
successful run playing Edgar in King Lear at the Donmar
Warehouse for which he won the Ian Charleston award in 2011.
Mark Lewis Jones is a Welsh actor whose film roles have included
Master and Commander, Robin Hood, The Other Boleyn Girl and
Child 44. Mark's television work has included that of a Police
Inspector in BBC drama's series 55 Degrees North, Stella, Game of
Thrones, Titanic and Talking to the Dead.
Graeme Lowdon has had a 20 year career in Motorsport, beginning
as a part time mechanic and going on to occupy decision making
roles at the highest level within the sport. Along the way Graeme
has owned and managed racing teams and played a key role in
taking the Manor team into the FIA Formula 1 World
Championship in 2009. Graeme has worked in Formula 1 ever
since. Graeme is a member of the Formula 1 Commission, the
highest body for the resolution of matters concerning the FIA
Formula 1 World Championship. Married with two children,
Graeme’s 50th birthday is three days before the Virgin Money
London Marathon.
Radio presenter, DJ and N.I. personality, Sonya was a selfconfessed couch potato until 2010 when she started to run
marathons. Her biggest year yet was 2014 when she did the
Macathon - six marathons in six weeks in the six counties of
Northern Ireland - in memory of her dad Jim, whom she lost in
June. She is now looking forward to running in the Virgin Money
London Marathon again in 2015.
Mac, Sonya
MacAllan, Ray
Marsh, Samantha
Mee, Sarah-Jane
?
Ray MacAllan has had many television appearances, including roles
in The Bill, Coronation Street, EastEnders, Holby City, Dream
Team, Above Suspicion, Land Girls and recently New Tricks.
Samantha Marsh is perhaps best-known for her work as a model
and walk-on girl for the Professional Darts Corporation's televised
tournaments on Sky Sports. Samantha has modelled for prestigious
companies such as Freya, Speedo and Bravissimo.
Samantha is also engaged to the professional world-class darts
player, James Wade.
Sarah-Jane Mee is a Sky Sports News presenter and is also part of
Sky Sports' UEFA Champions League broadcasting team on
Wednesday evening. She has previously worked for ITV Central
News in the Midlands and Birmingham based radio station 100.7
Heart FM.
Chris, Newton
Nicholls, Mel
Parry, Natalie Ann
Pearce, Jonathan
Chris Newton was one of the United Kingdom's best ever
international riders both on the road and track. The former World
Track Champion in the Points Race and in the Team Pursuit, Chris
was the first ever British and English speaking (first language) rider
to win the points title, a remarkable achievement. Chris Newton is
a 5 x Olympian, 3 x Olympic medallist (Silver in Athen, Bronze in
Sydney and Beijing) and a 2 x world champion. He is currently
Great Britain cycling’s female Olympic endurance coach since
retiring in 2010.
Mel was a competitive sportswoman before suffering three strokes
(the last one in 2008) which left her using a wheelchair. She started
wheelchair racing and fifteen months after her first race, she
represented Great Britain at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
Since then she has broken the 1500m World Record 3 times and in
2014 won European Bronze and Silver medals.
Alongside training for Rio 2016, Mel is also training for the Virgin
Money London Marathon this April. Mel will raise vital funds for
Breast Cancer Care after losing three family members to the
disease.
Natalie Parry is a burlesque dancer and has recently landed a part
in a new TV show Surrey Hills; she has also appeared in YOLO UK.
Jonathan Pearce has been a TV/radio commentator for 34 years
covering seven World Cups and seven European Championships.
He has been at the BBC since 2002.
He is Chairman of the Lily Foundation battling mitochondrial
disease in memory of his niece Lily. This will be his sixth Virgin
Money London Marathon!
Proudlock, Oliver
Purchase, Zac
Rainsford, George
Oliver Proudlock is a cast member in the BAFTA award winning
reality TV series Made in Chelsea. Proudlock is a creator of the
fashion brand Serge DeNimes and an artist and style blogger at
proudlockstyle.com. He is a health and fitness enthusiast and is
looking forward to his first Virgin Money London Marathon.
Zac Purchase was a lightweight rower who won Olympic gold and
silver respectively at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Games. He
has also set world and Olympic records in addition to winning
three World Championship titles.
He is now a personal trainer specialising in performance
improvement, pre/re-hab and nutritional analysis.
After graduating from Manchester University, George joined the
National Youth Theatre and won a Goldman Sachs Scholarship to
the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. On graduation in
2006, his first professional engagement was as D'Artagnan in the
Bristol Old Vic's swash-buckling Christmas entertainment of The
Three Musketeers. He has also appeared with the National
Theatre in Chatroom/Citizenship, and in 2008 appeared to a wider
audience as the disturbed son of policeman Trevor Eve in the
television series Waking the Dead. His most recent project has
been in the highly acclaimed BBC drama Call The Midwife.
George is currently appearing in Casualty after taking 3 episodes
off due to paternity leave at the end of 2014.
Ransom, Jessica
Ridley, Raymond
Riley, George
Jessica Ransom is best known for playing receptionist, Morwenna
in Doc Martin. She also appears in the latest series of Horrible
Histories as well as Our Zoo, The Escape Artist, and The Armstrong
& Miller Show. This is Jessica's third Virgin Money London
Marathon.
Raymond Ridley was fortunate enough to run at Boston University
for David Hemery's team in 1977-1981. Raymond was the New
England champion at 800m and the 4x400m relay. He also ran in
the UK 1980 Olympic trials for 800m.
After suffering a stroke in early 2014, Raymond was recruited again
by David to train with him and to run with his team in the 2015
Virgin Money London Marathon. He decided this was a challenge
not to be missed.
George Riley is a sports presenter and commentator at the BBC,
currently waking up the nation on BBC Radio 5 live's breakfast
show.
As well as this role that has seen George cover World Cups and
Olympic Games, he also commentates across sports including
rugby league, tennis, snooker and darts on TV and Radio.
George is running the VMLM for the second time after his 2014
debut, and as part of a 200-mile challenge this year for the Steve
Prescott Foundation. Steve was a former rugby league player and
close friend who died in 2013. George plans to run 4 marathons in
8 weeks and scale Kilimanjaro in just 5 days in Steve's memory.
Russell, Lindsey
Senior, Keith
24 year old Lindsey Russell presents Blue Peter. She joined the
show in July 2013 after she won Blue Peter - You Decide, a series
that gave CBBC viewers the power to decide who should become
the 36th Blue Peter presenter.
Her biggest Blue Peter challenge to date has been completing the
'Patrouilles des Glacier' when she undertook an 18 hour
endurance race in the Swiss Alps, over 110 kilometres. Lindsey's
determination showed the Blue Peter viewers that you can achieve
amazing and unexpected things if you work hard and believe in
yourself.
Lindsey has never attempted to run a marathon before and so
she's excited and scared in equal measure about undertaking the
Virgin Money London Marathon 2015.
Keith Senior is a rugby league legend, recently retired from the
professional game, who most recently played for the Leeds Rhinos
in Super League. Keith has represented both Great Britain &
England at International level on 43 occasions and has been named
in the 'Rugby League World XIII' on three occasions. He has won
every honour in the English domestic game. Keith has made 560
career appearances for Sheffield Eagles, Leeds Rhinos, Yorkshire,
England and Great Britain scoring 248 tries and up until 2012 held
the record for the most Super League tries. Keith released his
biography ‘The Bald Truth’ in 2011. Keith is an ambassador for the
Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust and now works for the Leeds
Rhinos Foundation which is also a charity. Keith will have just
returned from Marathon des Sables with Walking with the
Wounded to run the 2015 Virgin Money London Marathon.
Sondhi, Maya
Stark, Ian
Street, Joe
Maya Sondhi is an actress and writer, who is known for appearing
in Family Affairs (1997), Citizen Khan (2012) and Fedz (2013).
Maya is also featured in AC MC's True Story rap song.
Ian David Stark is a Scottish equestrian who competes in the sport
of eventing. Stark was born in Galashiels in the Borders in 1954 and
began riding horses at the age of 10. Career highlights include four
Olympic silver medals and a World Championships gold medal.
Stark was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in March
2010.
Up-and-coming British actor Joe Street is best recognized for his
appearances in Dead Behind the Eyes, The Gym and Valentine's
Kiss. Whilst his passion lies in acting, he also currently plays
international-level Australian Rules football. He and team-mate
Evan Phillips will be preparing for the Virgin Money London
Marathon by spending two weeks running 200+ miles from
Swansea all the way to the start line in London in order to raise
money for Cardiac Risk in the Young. They have decided to run for
CRY because Joe's former house-mate Tim Butt suffered a nearfatal cardiac arrest at the age of 24 last year.
Tamne, Liam
Liam Tamne has had a fantastic career so far, starring in a number
of big West End productions, including Wicked, Hairspray and also
Les Miserables. He then hit the headlines in 2013 when he
swapped the stage for the TV studio for BBC talent show The Voice
(2013) and reached the quarter finals of the competition on
Will.i.am’s team, although he was the favorite to win. In
September 2014, Liam joined the cast of Phantom of the Opera, to
play the part of Raoul.
Taylor, Ellie
Ellie has been a comedian since 2010. Her TV work includes
hosting the cult hit make-under show BBC3’s 'Snog Marry Avoid?',
being team captain on ITV2’s 'Fake Reaction’, popping up on panel
shows like Channel 4’s '8 out of 10 Cats' as well as acting in BBC
2’s ‘Family Tree’ alongside Chris O’Dowd. This year she is
completing her first UK comedy tour and starring in a new sitcom
for Comedy Central called ‘Brotherhood’. Ellie is running the
London Marathon for Breast Cancer Care. A number of Ellie’s
family members have been affected by the disease, including her
mum, so this coupled with her deep love of boobs in general make
it a pairing Ellie is passionate about.
Taylor, Hugo
Hugo Taylor is best known for starring in BAFTA award winning
reality TV series Made in Chelsea. After leaving the show, he
starred in I'm a Celebrity...Get me Out of Here! which supported
Malaria No More between 2009 and 2013. Taylor is now known for
his interest in fashion and his eyewear brand Taylor Morris.
Thomas, Iwan
Tighe, Charlie
Tordoff, Sam
Iwan Gwyn Thomas MBE was a sprinter and represented Great
Britain at the Olympic Games in the 400m and Wales at the
Commonwealth Games. He is the current UK record holder at
400m with a time of 44.36 seconds and a former European and
Commonwealth Games champion.
Iwan is now an experienced TV presenter with a portfolio that
includes BBC2's The Human Machine and health and fitness for
This Morning. Iwan was a finalist on the hugely popular BBC series
Celebrity Masterchef.
Iwan has also covered the World Indoor Trials highlights show,
commentated at the Aviva Indoor Trials and infield presenting at
the Aviva Indoor Birmingham Grand Prix and other events.
Charlie Tighe is currently performing as Nol, musician and singing
counter-tenor in Shakespeare in Love in London's West End.
Previous credits include Guys and Dolls (UK Tour), Pygmalion
(international tour), singing at the Royal Opera House, Royal Albert
Hall and recording with Virgin EMI.
Sam is a 25 year old Racing Driver from Leeds who has competed in
the British Touring Car Championship for the last two years. A
former British Karting Champion, Sam is also a qualified Chartered
Management Accountant. This will be Sam's first Marathon.
Toseland, James
Turlington Burns, Christy
James Toseland is frontman for rock band Toseland and ex-double
world superbike champion. Toseland's debut album Renegade was
released in 2014 and has received outstanding reviews and he is
currently writing Album No.2. He will be touring in the UK in April
2015. James has a huge passion for running and exercise and ran
the Virgin Money London Marathon in 2012 and 2013 for CLIC
Sargent. He is very much looking forward to his third London
Marathon in 2015!
James will be attempting to break the land speed world record in
September 2015.
Christy Turlington Burns is a mother, social entrepreneur, model,
and founder of Every Mother Counts, a non-profit dedicated to
making preganancy and childbirth safe for every mother. Having
endured a childbirth complication herself, Christy was compelled
to direct and produce the documentary 'No Woman, No Cry'.
Christy enjoyed a successful career as a model while continuing
her education and pursuing other interests. Christy is also the
author of Living Yoga: Creating A Life Pracitce (Hyperion 2002) and
has written countless articles for magazines and newspapers on
the subjects of wellness, maternal health, feminism, poverty
eradication and human rights.
Watson, Honor
Webster, Charlie
Honor studied a degree in violin performance at Trinity College of
Music and went on to enjoy a very busy career as a violinst
travelling to six continents to perform, and appearing on TV shows
such as the X Factor and Popstar to Opera Star. In 2012 she joined
electronic string quartet Escala, who reached the final of ITV's
Britain's Got Talent in 2008. Since then the group have performed
internationally and recently recorded a new album, set for release
in February 2015. Honor has also recently featured on Sam Smith's
album In the Lonely Hour and on Pink Floyd's most recent album
The Endless River, both of which reached No. 1 in the album
charts.
An athlete during her youth, Charlie started a career in television first with MTV before her sporting background led her to Spain as a
presenter for Real Madrid International Television. After a year in
Madrid, Charlie joined ESPN Asia presenting their coverage of the
English Premier League to an audience of 300 million. She returned
to the UK in 2007 and has since worked for Sky Sports, ITV and the
BBC. Charlie thrives in a live environment and currently presents
on Sky Sports News as well as featuring on BBC1’s Football Focus.
For the past two motor sport seasons, she has presented live
speedway on Sky Sports every week. In 2014, Charlie presented
the Goodwood Festival of Speed which went live for the first time
and the coverage of the UK School Games on Channel 4.
Williams, Shane
Wokoma, Susan
Shane Williams is a Welsh rugby union player, most famous for his
long and successful tenure as a wing for the Ospreys and the Wales
national team. He won 88 caps for Wales and four caps for the
British and Irish Lions. Shane was selected at the IRB Player of the
Year in 2008.
Since his retirement, he has worked as a presenter on S4C's Six
Nations Rugby programme and as a pundit on BBC broadcasts. He
is currently still playing in Japan and will end his playing season
there in 2014-2015 as a player-coach.
Susan is an established RADA trained theatre actress as well as
notching up several roles in tv and film, landing her first in the
BAFTA winning TV movie 'That Summer Day' produced by the BBC
and Hat Trick.
Susan then starred in the hit CBBC series 'Hotel Trubble' and has
recently appeared in Series 3 of the hugely successful comedy
'Bluestone 42' as ballsy new medic 'Jasmine' and in the comedy
series 'Uncle' - both for BBC Three.
Other TV credits include Misfits, Holby City and Doctors.
Susan's feature film credits include the film adaptation of
Chimamanda Adichie's hit novel 'Half of a Yellow Sun' alongside
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Thandie Newton, 'Inbetweeners 2' and the
upcoming British independent film 'Burn Burn Burn' starring
Downton's Laura Carmichael, Joe Dempsie Julian Rhind-Tutt and
Alison Steadman.
Woodward Gentle, Sally
Sally Woodward Gentle is the BAFTA award winning executive
producer of British television dramas such as Any Human Heart,
Enid with Helena Bonham-Carter, and Whitechapel.
She formed Sid Gentle Films Ltd in September 2013 to produce
original and innovative television drama and feature films. 2015
will see the production of Len Deighton's SS-GB for the BBC,
written by the Bond film writers Purvis and Wade.