Stars out to score charity success

The annual Peterborough vs Cancer match has attracted stars from sport, reality TV and comedy.

Some of the big hitters already signed up include former world boxing champion Ricky Hatton, comedian Omid Djalili and ex-footballer Georgi Kinkladze.

They will play against a squad of Peterborough residents, who won the chance to take part in a silent auction.

Organisers are hoping to raise £10,000 for cancer charity CLIC Sargent. The football match will be followed by a gala dinner.

The importance of the fundraising will be brought home to everyone, as the mascots will be brothers Lucas and Ethan Devaney. Lucas (5) was diagnosed with leukaemia aged three, and is still receiving treatment.

The event has been running since 2015, and Raphael Frascogna, chairman of the event, said: “The first year it was incredibly hard to get the event off the ground as we were a bit of an unknown quantity. We contacted a lot of the celebrities through social media and networking and when you talk about young children suffering through this horrible illness, it catches the empathy and support of most people.

“The number of celebrity supporters has grown each year and we always have a local mascot that is supported by CLIC Sargent. This year was have brothers Lucas and Ethan. Their story is a compelling one and it adds a real sense of reality to why we are trying to raise as much money as possible. All the celebrities donate their time for free and in return we hope to see a great number of locals coming to cheer them on.”

A squad of 18 members of the public have won the opportunity to play against a squad of celebrity players including boxing greats Ricky Hatton & Anthony Crolla, ex-footballers like Marcus Gayle, Georgi Kinkladze & Razor Ruddock, Hollywood stars Omid Djalili & Tamer Hassan, plus TV celebrities like George Gilbey (Celebrity Big Brother), Thomas Turgoose (This is England), Joe-Warren Plant (Emmerdale )and Rupert Graves (Sherlock). There will also be celebrities that aren’t playing but are assisting with fundraising at the ground such as Chantelle Connelly (Geordie Shore) and Evie Woerdenweber (Gogglebox).

In the evening there is a gala dinner at The Holiday Inn, hosted by former Hollyoaks star Paul Danan. The evening will feature a three- course meal with our celebrities, live performances and a cherished item auction.

The match will take place on Saturday, July 1 at Yaxley Football Club, with a 1pm kickoff. Tickets cost £5 but under 16s and over 65s can enter for free. For details about the dinner visit http://pbovscancer.co.uk/the-evening-event/