Stand Up To Cancer is back! Celebrities urge the nation to join the rebellion against cancer

Stars of the stage and screen join forces and channel their inner rebel to launch Stand Up To Cancer, a joint fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4.

Launched in the UK in 2012, Stand Up To Cancer raises money to support game-changing cancer research that will save lives here in the UK.

To mark the campaign’s return and encourage the nation to join the rebellion against cancer, Alan Carr, Davina McCall, Kirstie Allsopp, Scarlett Moffatt and a host of other celebrities have raided their dressing up boxes and transformed into their rebel hero.

Other rebels with a cause include, Aisling Bea, Anita Rani, Ann Widdecombe, David Coulthard, James Morrison, Jamie Laing, Kimberly Wyatt, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Laura Whitmore, Steve Jones and Susan Wokoma.

Davina McCall, who lost her sister to the disease, said: “Getting involved in Stand Up To Cancer is a no-brainer when you think that one in two of us is going to get cancer at some point in our lives. But cancer doesn’t have to be the really scary word that it used to be. Thanks to research, there’s real hope and there are great prospects for the future. It’s something that we can absolutely conquer by raising money and supporting Stand Up To Cancer’s scientists.

“I chose Joan of Arc as my rebel hero because she was French, and I’m half French. She’s the ultimate strong woman. She felt that she had a destiny in her life, and even though it was incredibly dangerous and there were no other women doing what she was doing, she went and she fought. I just think she’s a very strong, incredible role model and in some ways reminds me of Stand Up To Cancer – rebelling against this awful disease by taking a different, bolder route.”

Krishnan Guru-Murthy, presenter of Channel 4 news, added: “I had a little trepidation about dressing up as Jimi Hendrix in case I didn’t do him justice. When I told my eleven-year-old what I was doing he looked at me and said, ‘You’re just so embarrassing’. But it’s for a great cause!”

Rachel Carr, head of Stand Up To Cancer, said: “The UK’s spirit and determination to join forces against cancer has never been stronger. Our scientists are carrying out work that will change what it means to get a cancer diagnosis, speeding up the development of kinder, more effective treatments. We’re making huge progress and this is just the start. We hope that people across the UK will be inspired by our brilliant celebrity supporters to get involved, join the rebellion and stop cancer in its tracks.”

The celebrities’ rebel choices include Billy Idol (Jamie Laing), Cyndi Lauper (Laura Whitmore), Florence Nightingale (Ann Widdecombe), Jimi Hendrix (Krishnan Guru-Murthy), Joan of Arc (Davina McCall), Katniss Everdeen (Scarlett Moffatt), Marlon Brando (Alan Carr), M.I.A (Anita Rani), Princess Leia (Aisling Bea), the Queen (Kirstie Allsopp), Steve McQueen (James Morrison), Thelma and Louise (David Coulthard and Steve Jones), Tina Turner (Susan Wokoma) and Vivienne Westwood (Kimberly Wyatt).

The Stand Up To Cancer campaign will continue throughout September and October and there’s lots of ways that people can get involved. From being a ‘hair raiser’ and waxing or shaving body parts to raise cash, dusting off aprons to create and sell ‘ballsy bakes’, or getting sponsored to take part in ‘Game On’, Stand Up To Cancer’s gaming marathon, there’s more than one way to rebel this autumn.

For more information on Stand Up To Cancer, visit Standuptocancer.org.uk.