Soap stars warm up for Bupa 30th Great North Run for Leukaemia &Lymphoma Research

Coronation Street stars Craig Gazey (Graeme Proctor), Graeme Hawley (John Stape) and Vicky Binns (Molly Dobbs) have taken time out from a busy filming schedule to train for the Bupa 30th Great North Run which takes place on Sunday 19 September.

The “Corrie” stars are all running the world’s biggest half marathon as part of the TV Times “Banana Army” running team in aid of blood cancer charity Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research. The forenamed “Banana Army” nickname comes from the bright yellow t-shirts the team wears when running. This year marks the Bupa 30th Great North Run and the 50th anniversary of Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research. Graeme Hawley aka John Stape from the ITV 1 soap said: “There are quite a few soap stars running as part of the “Banana Army” and we’re determined that “The Street” will come out on top.” Craig Gazey, more commonly know as street joker Graeme Proctor, said: “On behalf of all the Coronation Street runners I’d like to say that we’re delighted to be part of the world’s biggest half marathon and to be helping raise awareness for such a worthy cause.” Actress Vicky Binns, who plays Molly Dobbs in Britain’s longest running soap opera, added: “ Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research is dedicated to beating blood cancers by funding vital research into these disease and I want to help them continue making giant steps towards a cure.” The Bupa 30th Great North Run weekend includes the Bupa Junior and Mini Great North Run taking place on the NewcastleGateshead Quayside Saturday 18 September. Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research is the official charity of the Bupa Junior and Mini Great Run series for 2010. Award winning young Emmerdale actress Eden Taylor-Draper, who has taken part in every Bupa Junior Great Run in 2010 for Leukaemia &Lymphoma Research, will take part in the junior event Eden said: “I’m really looking forward to taking part in the Bupa Junior Great North Run. I have taken part in every Junior Great Run this year but the Bupa Junior Great North Run is the biggest and I can’t wait to get involved.” The mini event - suitable for children aged 3 – 8 years – covers a one mile course and the junior event, for youngsters aged 9 – 16 years, covers a three mile course. Ends Editors Notes 1. 124 people have taken part in every Bupa Great North Run to date. 2. There will be a special network and North East BBC programme celebrating the first 30 years of the Bupa Great North Run. This is in addition to the four hours of live network coverage on BBC ONE from 09:30 – 12:00, 12:00 – 13:40 live on the red button, 13:40 – 14:25 live on BBC ONE with highlights BBC TWO 22:50 – 23:20. 3. BBC radio 5 live will be presenting four days of programmes from the North East as part of the Bupa 30th Great North Run weekend with 35 hours of live programming from the region in what is going to be BBC radio 5 live’s biggest ever domestic outside broadcast. 4. Also featured this year will be the Bupa Junior and Mini Great North Runs on NewcastleGateshead Quayside with 5,000 runners 5. The Bupa Great North CityGames also take place on Saturday 18 September where England take on Australia in the “athletics ashes” bringing events such as the long jump, pole vault, shot putt, 150m track and hurdles to the NewcastleGateshead Quayside. For more information contact: - Lynsey Stephenson 0191 2263249 07595564266 lynsey.stephenson@nova-international.com Editors notes Nova International The Bupa 30th Great North Run is brought to you event organisers Nova International and is sponsored by Bupa. Nova International, headed by Olympic Medallist Brendan Foster is one of the UK’s leading event management and sports marketing agencies. The company’s current brand portfolio also includes some of the biggest running events in the world all based on the Great North Run, the world’s biggest half marathon with over 54,000 entries. Nova International was established in 1988 and has a strong sporting pedigree. Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Nova have established themselves as a market leader in the world of sports marketing and event management. For more information please visit www.greatrun.org. In The Long Run… 30 Years of the Great North Run Celebrating the 30th staging of the Bupa Great North Run, this major new exhibition explores this enormously popular event. In The Long Run… 30 Years of the Great North Run looks at the significant role this event has played in reflecting and shaping the region's cultural identity. As well as the well known stories of elite runners, In The Long Run will also explore the huge organisational effort behind the Bupa Great North Run, documenting the event’s community spirit and creating a powerful piece of social history. Alongside interactive exhibits, memorabilia and star objects, In The Long Run will present artwork from the archives of Bupa Great North Run Culture and new commissions will be presented by Sir Peter Blake and Claire Leona Apps. About Bupa Bupa’s purpose is to help people lead longer, healthier, happier lives. A leading international healthcare group, we offer personal and company health insurance, run care homes for older people and hospitals, and provide workplace health services, health assessments and chronic disease management services, including health coaching, and home healthcare. With no shareholders, we invest our profits to provide more and better healthcare. We are committed to making quality, patient-centred, affordable healthcare more accessible in the areas of wellness, chronic disease management and ageing. Employing over 50,000 people, Bupa has operations around the world, principally in the UK, Australia, Spain, New Zealand and the USA, as well as Hong Kong, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, India, China and across Latin America. For more information, visit www.bupa.com. About Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research 1. Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research is the only UK charity solely dedicated to research into blood cancers, including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma. These cancers are diagnosed in around 28,500 children, teenagers and adults in the UK every year. Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research was previously known as Leukaemia Research and has changed its name to raise awareness of its longstanding commitment to research into all the blood cancers - not just leukaemia. 2. We celebrate our 50th anniversary in 2010 and our expertise and focus enables us to invest in only the best UK research into better diagnosis, treatments and cures. As we receive no government funding and rely entirely on voluntary support, we need to raise £120 million in the next five years to continue this life-saving research. Further information, including patient information booklets, is available from www.beatbloodcancers.org, or on 020 7405 0101.

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