Hampton Court Palace is one of the iconic venues hosting fundraising walks for a breast cancer charity.
The 10-mile event on Saturday 18 April is one of the Pink Ribbon Walks run by Breast Cancer Now and since they began in 2005, over 50,000 have participated and more than £15.5million has been raised.
Emmerdale star Lisa Riley is taking on an even longer challenge at Chatsworth House, walking 20-miles as part of her ambassadorship for the charity, which she proudly supports after her mother’s diagnosis and death from the disease.
“I’m keeping mum’s legacy alive,” she said.
“I’ve always been the flagship girl for wearing pink, literally we were in the Emmerdale makeup room and all the makeup girls, the wig girls all dressed in pink, so this year I wanted to be involved in the walk.”
She is an advocate for self-checking, getting regular mammograms and raising both money and awareness for breast cancer, a condition 55,000 women and 400 men are diagnosed with in the UK each year.
Riley spoke about her mother’s journey in a podcast with the charity, and also featured in a storyline on Emmerdale which explored the genetic factors for some cancers, and the impact of the disease on sufferers and their loved ones.
“We do these so well in soaps because we are in people’s houses for half an hour, five days a week and they hear it,” she said.
“The more they listen to it, they realise it’s not just looking for a lump, or waiting for a phone call – it’s looking at yourself in the mirror and going is there anything different? Is there anything I should be aware of?”
The fundraising from the sponsored walks and other events throughout the year will support Breast Cancer Now’s mission, which is centred on science, support and change.
Claire Pulford, who is the charity’s associate director of relationship fundraising and events and lives in Twickenham, said: “Every penny raised through every step people take goes towards that.”
Money raised goes towards research to help find a cure for cancer and treatments to help people live longer, as well as a free phone helpline, forums and both face-to-face and virtual services.
Registration is open for the walks, either as an individual or as a group of friends, family or colleagues.
Pulford said: “If you sign up by yourself I can guarantee you will not even start that walk by yourself.
“Within the first five minutes you will have made some new friends, so you don’t have to worry.”
Riley, who is walking with her nephews, said: “It’s super important to be part of this wonderful sisterhood together and the fact that we share our experiences, but we don’t forget the men at all because we know the stats for men are getting higher and higher.”
She enjoys walking with her partner Al in the Yorkshire hills and added: “When I’m really busy in a storyline and when my head’s so full of dialogue, there’s nothing better than putting our trainers on and going for a really long four-hour walk.”
Breast Cancer Now hope its events will boost the physical and mental wellbeing of participants whilst supporting a cause that touches so many lives.
To sign up for the Pink Ribbon Walk on Saturday 18 April at Hampton Court Palace, click here.
Photos provided by Breast Cancer Now
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