I’ve been a supporter of Prevent Breast Cancer for over 12 years now. It’s the only UK charity dedicated to the prediction and prevention of breast cancer and they do some incredible work, which is helping to save lives and working towards a future where 1 in 9 who get diagnosed with the disease become none.

When I first came onboard with the charity offering them my services and support in any way I could, I was lucky to say I had not been touched by cancer. In the past 5 years though it has dominated my life, seeing both close relatives and friends diagnosed with breast cancer and beating it but then being devastated when cancer took the lives of those I loved dearly, including my father in law Roy and sister in law Gayna.

Now, supporting this charity has taken on a more significant meaning and I am honored to be able to help them raise money with their exciting new project Sunday Night In with Prevent, a two hour entertainment show streamed live to people’s homes on August 23rd.

So, last week, after having a full 18 weeks of wearing very little make up and glam clothes due to lockdown, I put on some slap and one of my favourite frocks and turned up to Sterling Events Studios for what was a fun-filled day of filming.

My TV ‘husband’ for the show was non other than Scott Wright, you might remember him as being the rather dishy Sam from Coronation Street (he worked in Kev’s garage and was also a stripper!) Now I’ve known Scott for over 20 years…(yes really…we were clearly 10 at the time) it was fab to have him by my side and I knew we’d have some great banter, which we did!

Along with Scott we also had some other Coronation Street cast members and friends of the charity come say hello. The gorgeous Kym Marsh, currently presenting on the BBC and about to film a new drama series, treated us to a song. I won’t spoil the surprise for anyone watching but she wowed us with her voice and I couldn’t believe she said it had been 18 months since she had sung to an audience. It would be great to see her perform more in the future.

I also had the great pleasure of interviewing Sally Dynevor, Corrie’s Sally Metcalfe, who has been a long standing patron of Prevent Breast Cancer. Sally is an incredible woman who 10 years ago found herself dealing with a diagnosis of breast cancer both for her soap character and in her real life. A decade on and she is thankfully fighting fit and has raised not only thousands for the charity but some much needed awareness. We chatted about some of her charity challenges and she also gave us some Corrie gossip you don’t want to miss!

To pick one highlight of the day just wouldn’t be possible as we crammed in so much entertainment, from singing, to an art challenge, dance workout and even had our own in house band courtesy of the uber talented singer Paul Pashley who gave us an exclusive of his latest track.

I must admit whilst it was a fun day it was a long one, and when everyone was saying to me at the end of the filming, ‘I can’t believe you are still smiling – where do you get your energy from?’ Well, that’s an easy answer for me, I buzz in that environment, chatting to people on screen, finding out about them for the viewer, witnessing their talents. It’s the time I come alive. I feel very blessed and lucky to be able to do a job I love .

For me though with this shoot it was much more than that, it was about filming with a team of people who have so much warmth and dedication to the charity. Executive Director of Prevent Nikki Barraclough, Phoebe Vickers from the Fundraising Team, TV production queen Linda Kelly and the wonderfully professional Saving Grace Events Director Rebecca Hartley, were all a joy to work with. I can honestly say if you watch it on Sunday 23rd August all that collective passion shines through – plus it’s a damn good night of entertainment!!!!

I know times are hard right now and we are still in a state of uncertainty with the pandemic but more than ever charities need our support right now in any way we can give it. They have been dealt a big blow over the past few months with fundraising events that they rely on being cancelled.

If you do want to support Prevent Breast Cancer and have a fun #SundayNightIn then tickets for the online event cost £20 per household and are available by clicking the link below.

Sunday Night In with Prevent Breast Cancer