Celebrity Runners in the 2015

Virgin Money London

Marathon as at 30.3.15

NAME PICTURE BIO CHARITY

Aikman, Laura

Laura is best known for her role in The Mysti Show as Mysti. In

2009, she appeared in the BBC Three series Personal Affairs playing

Lucy. She was in 35 episodes of Casualty as May Phelps and she is

currently the Deputy Head in the 10th and final series of Waterloo

Road. Laura has recently finished filming the BBC Comedy Blue

Stone 42 and also got engaged to actor Matt Kennard. This will be

Laura's first Marathon.

Laura is the daughter of internationally acclaimed award-winning

action movie director and stunt coordinator Stuart St. Paul.

Audenshaw, Tony

Antony Audenshaw is an English actor, best known for his role as

Bob Hope on the popular ITV1 soap Emmerdale. His made his

debut in 2000 and has been a cast member ever since. In December

2006 he appeared as himself alongside other members of the

Emmerdale cast on a celebrity version of the TV show Family

Fortunes. In 2009 he won an episode of Celebrity Mastermind. His

specialist subject was British Birds. In 1989 he appeared in Inspector

Morse as a fast bowler for the Clarets cricket team in the episode

Deceived by Flight.

Bailey, Jonathan

Jonathan Bailey is an English actor, best known for the ITV drama

Broadchurch, the BBC's Leonardo as a young Leonardo da Vinci and

the Channel 4 comedy Campus.

Jonathan was nominated for the award for Outstanding Newcomer

at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2012 for his performance

in David Hare's South Downs.

Jonathan can now be seen in the most recently released British

drama film 'Testament of Youth' based on the First World War with

actors Colin Morgan and Alicia Vikander.

Bean, Marcus

Marcus is a regular chef on ITV ‘This Morning’ (doing recipes with

Holly Willoughby & Phillip Schofield) and Channel 4’s ‘What’s

Cooking’. His TV career started when he won Channel 4’s show ‘Iron

Chef UK’ and since then he has appeared on numerous food shows

across BBC, Channel 4 and the Food Network. His live appearances

include the BBC Good Food Show, the Ideal Home Show and the

Food Network Christmas Special. Together with his wife Jenny he

runs a pub in Shropshire, as well as the Brompton Cookery School

and a farmhouse B&B.

Bede, Jenny

Jenny Bede is an actor, writer & comedian who has recently been

named as The Guardian's Rising Star in Comedy for 2015. She made

her name on YouTube with the success of her popular, topical music

videos which parodied the likes of Cheryl Close, Pippa Middleton,

Tulisa and Jessie J. After this she won Best Newcomer at the

Musical Comedy Awards, followed by a commission from BBC to

make her own pilot, 'Jenny Bede: AAA' - a musical sketch show

about the pop industry. Other acting credits include roles in

Episodes, Broadchurch, Misfits, Watson & Oliver and Crackanory &

Josh.

Bolt, Josh

Josh Bolt is an English actor from Liverpool. He played the lead role

of Henry in ITV1's Just Henry and then joined John Bishop, Robert

Sheehan and Sheridan Smith in the second series of the award

winning Accused. In 2012 Josh began work on the BBC series Last

Tango in Halifax, playing the grandson of Derek Jacobi. At the 2013

BAFTA TV Awards, Last Tango in Halifax won best drama, and Josh

began filming the second series which is now on air.

Breeze, Michaela

Michaela Breeze started Olympic weightlifting aged 13 and has

competed at the highest level for 22 years. She has represented

Great Britain at two Olympic Games (Athens and Beijing) and won

six medals for Wales over four Commonwealth Games. Michaela

holds British records in three weight categories and Commonwealth

record in tw categories.

Michaela has now established Breeze's Gym in Aberdare and

Reebok CrossFit 364 in Neath, Wales where she hopes to inspire the

next generation of weightlifters.

Brown, Phil

As a professional football player, Phil Brown played at Hartlepool,

Halifax, Bolton and Blackpool during an 18 year career. Phil then

moved onto roles as Coach, Assistant Manager and Manager at

Bolton, Derby, Hull City, Preston North End and now at Southend

United. His greatest achievement in football to date would be

gaining Hull City promotion to the Premier League.

Bushell, Mike

Mike Bushell presents the sport on BBC Breakfast on Fridays, at the

weekends and on BBC Radio 2. Mike has now spent 9 years filming,

profiling and trying 450 minority and unusual sports for BBC

Breakfast, all with the aim of inspiring people to be more active.

This is believed to be a world record. Mike also holds world records

for crossing a mile of water in a zorb and being the world's first

male 'wife' in a wife-carrying contest (Steph McGovern carried

Mike!).

Mike won Celebrity Mastermind last year with 100% on his

specialist subject of Alan Partridge.

Button, Jenson

Jenson Button is one of Britain's top Formula One drivers who is

currently signed to McLaren Honda.

His F1 career spans 15 years consisting of 15 wins, 50 podiums and

one world championship.

Away from the track Jenson is a keen triathlete, routinely competing

in competitions around the world, including his own Jenson Button

Trust Triathlon.

Carruthers, Faye

Faye Carruthers is a sports presenter on the Christian O’Connell

Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio and a reporter and

commentator for BBC Radio 5 Live, Final Score, BBC London and Live

at Wimbledon Radio. She’s previously worked at talkSPORT, Sky

News and Sky Sports News. A keen netball player, yogi and Luton

Town fan, this is her first marathon. She’s raising money for the

RNIB.

Chrysochou, Aliki

Soprano Aliki Chrysochou was born in Limassol, Cyprus and her

musical talent was clear from an early age. In 2013 Aliki took part in

Britain's Got Talent progressing through to the semi-finals, an

incredible achievement, made even more poignant due to the fact

that she had a few years earlier lost all co-ordination, speech and

movement, through encephalitis. Encephalitis is inflammation of

the brain and affects up to 6,000 people in a year in England alone.

Aliki's inspiring performance won her standing ovations and high

praise from the entire judging panel. Aliki became an Ambassador

for The Encephalitis Society in 2013 as a result of her courageous

performance on Britain's Got Talent.

Collard, Rob

Rob is an International racing car driver winning at British and

European levels and for the last ten years has been a very successful

British Touring Car driver racing for eBay BMW. He is consistently

one of its most successful privateers and is a previous Independent

Touring Car Champion. Rob has previously completed two London

Marathons.

Conroy, John

Conroy has appeared in TV series and theatre productions in

London and around the world. His recent appearances on BBC TV

include Atlantis and Holby City and his extensive theatre work

includes Follies, Batman, Guys and Dolls, Buried Child and Dirty

Dancing.

Cracknell, James

James Cracknell is one of Britain's most successful athletes of all

time with two Olympic gold medals and six World Championship

titles. His epic rowing finals in at the Sydney Games in 2000 and the

Athens Games in 2004 were two of the most watched sporting

contests in history. Since retiring from his 13 year international

career, James has distinguished himself as a very special and

inspiring sportsman, athlete and adventurer. When not crossing

oceans and continents, James is in demand as an entertaining

corporate, motivational and after-dinner speaker. In addition to

training for marathons and many other races in the UK, James is

Vice President of the charity Headway and has been appointed to

lead policy exchange work on obesity and physical activity.

Daniel, Hannah

Hannah Daniel is an actress known for her appearances in Dad

(2005), Beat (2013) and the recent BBC Drama Hinterland as DS

Sian Owens.

De Mooi, CJ

CJ De Mooi is best known for appearing in the long running BBC2

programme Eggheads and his bold spin-off Revenge of the

Egghead. CJ is an accomplished actor and has several West End

credits ranging from Shakespeare to outrageous musicals. CJ also

takes the lead in the feature film The Renata Road which will be

released in 2015.

Deering, Rob

Rob Deering performs stand-up comedy with music, using a guitar, a

loop pedal and his voice to create impressive rock and pop

soundscapes – and do jokes, of course.

Since starting out in comedy in 2000 Rob has toured nationally four

times and performed eight solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. Rob

has appeared on any number of Radio and TV shows since starting

out on 99 Things To Do Before You Die, recent TV work including

Comedy Rocks and Celebrity Total Wipeout, which he lost,

ignominiously.

In 2007, on the other hand, he won a special comedians' edition of

the Weakest Link. He also won Celebrity Mastermind in December

2014. Rob is running the Virgin Money London Marathon for the

third time in April 2015.

Dwyfor, Dyfan

Dyfan Dwyfor is a Welsh speaking actor. His first appearance in film

was in the drama Oed yr Addewid, which won three awards at

BAFTA Cymru and a Golden FIPA. Dyfan won a Richard Burton

award at the National Elsteddfod in 2004 and appeared as Lee in the

film Pride.

Falconer, Jenni

TV presenter, radio DJ, sportswear designer at Debenhams and all-

round fitness and running enthusiast, Jenni is currently on Heart FM

Radio six days a week, regularly on ITV1's This Morning, BBC1's

National Lottery Draws and a Channel 4 presenter for marathon

and triathlon specials.

Firth, Richie

PT

Richie Firth is co-presenter of the Christian O'Connell Breakfast

Show on Absolute Radio and has known and worked with Christian

O'Connell since 1998. Richie has also won a lot of Radio Academy

and Arqiva Awards and nearly broke the record for visiting every

London Underground Station in one day! Richie is a fanatical

Arsenal fan and sports nut.

Fletcher, Sean

Sean Fletcher is a presenter on Good Morning Britain, ITV's

breakfast show. It's a role that has taken him around the world - he

broadcast from the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Commonwealth Games

in Gasgow and has also reported from Florida and Australia. Prior to

his time at Good Morning Britain he was a presenter at Sky, and the

BBC where he fronted the sport on BBC One's Weekend 10 O'Clock

News and BBC Breakfast. During almost two decades of

broadcasting he has reported from the London Marathon on

numerous occasions, commentating on it as well as interviewing

elite and celebrity runners on the finish line. Now the tables are

turned and a week after his 41st birthday he'll be put through his

paces in his first ever marathon.

Fuller, Russell

Russell became the BBC's tennis correspondent in August 2013 and

covers the Grand Slams and the other major stories in the sport for

BBC Radio, TV and online.

Russell has presented many programmes in his near-20 year career

in broadcasting, most recently for 5 Live and the World Service.

Russell's only previous experience of the London Marathon came in

2001. He ran all the way but his time was exceptionally modest.

After being diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1999 Russell is keen

to do as much as he can to raise awareness and support CRUK.

Garbett, Toby

Olympian, world champion rower and currently a triathlete, Toby

discovered sport as an outlet where he could focus and excel,

despite suffering severe dyslexia. Toby suffered illness and injury

but returned to the British team in time for the Sydney Olympic

Games and then won World Championship gold in 2000 and 2002,

and silver medals for the next two years. Toby went on to represent

Great Britain at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens before retiring

from rowing in 2008.

Missing competition, Toby returned to the international stage in

triathlon and in 2013 took part in the European and World

Championships and became national champion in his age group. In

2014 Toby has participated in Ironman competitions in Europe.

George, Helen

Helen George plays the fun loving, party-going character of Trixie

Franklin in the phenomenally successful BBC series Call the

Midwife, BBC 1's most successful new drama series for 11 years

when it premiered in 2012.

No stranger to big productions, outside acting Helen has been a

backing singer on tour with Elton John at prestigious venues such as

the Royal Albert Hall and Wembley Arena but she also felt, when

younger, that her career could have bee in sport as a long jumper or

Aston Villa's first female manager!

Gibson, Ruth

Ruth Gibson is an award winning actress working in theatre, film,

television and voiceovers. Ruth's TV and film credits include Judge

John Deed and Doctors for BBC, Babylon for Channel 4, a short film

The Fridge for BFI and the feature film Good Girl, Bad Girl.

Ruth is currently in rehearsals for The Story Project at the Arcola

Theatre.

Glyn, Gruffudd

Gruffudd Glyn is an actor known for his part in Thor: The Dark

World (2013), as Rees in The Theory of Everything, starring

alongside Eddie Redmayne who played Stephen Hawking.

Gruffudd is now working on The Martian.

Goldstein, Andy Andy Goldstein presents his own weeknight show on talkSPORT

from 10pm. He also presents the snooker and pool for Sky Sports.

Griffiths, Abi

Abi is a Television Presenter most often found right at the heart of

the action.

She has fronted major sporting championships particularly across

motorsport, rugby and boxing, and is currently the host of BT

Sport’s MotoGP coverage.

Passionate about sport, particularly running, this will be Abi’s fourth

Virgin Money London marathon. She is running for the children’s

mental health charity Place2Be.

Hall, Stuart

Stuart is a 2013 World Champion for Aston Martin Racing and came

fourth in the Le Mans 24 Hour Race at his first attempt in 2007. He

has also competed in the British Formula Three and the British GT

championships, the American Le Mans Series and the Blancapin

Endurance Series. He continues this year in the World Endurance

Championship with Aston Martin Racing. He will be raising money

for Cancer Research UK.

Harrington, Richard

Richard Harrington has recently appeared in the TV Series

Hinterland as the central character DCI Mathias, Larkrise to

Candleford, Silent Witness, Spooks, Casualty, Holby Blue and

Dalziel and Pascoe.

Heeley, Dave

Dave Heeley (aka Blind Dave) was the first and only blind runner to

complete an epic challenge of running seven marathons in seven

days over seven continents in 2008. This challenge launched Dave

into a new career as a motivational speaker and he and his running

guide were acknowledged at the BBC Midlands Sports Awards as the

winners of the Outstanding Sporting Achievement of 2008.

Dave has achieved many more challenges since 2008 and has

another planned for 2015: Blind Dave vs The Sahara in the

Marathon des Sables followed by the Virgin Money London

Marathon on 26 April.

Hemery, David

David Hemery CBE is best known for his Olympic 400m hurdles gold

medal in the Mexico Game in 1968 and Superstars. He has spent his

life in education, teaching in schools and universities, and the

development of business managers and leaders. In 2008, Hemery

founded the charity 21st Century Legacy and co-authored the Be

the Best you can Be! programme aiming at bringing coaching into

education. David has coached from grass-roots to Olympic

medalistsin various sports. His latest book is for parents, coaches

and teachers How to Help Your Child Find the Champion within

Themselves.

Hemery, Peter

Peter is the son of David Hemery, looking to help out the 21st

Century Legacy charity. Inspired by David's pledge to run the Virgin

Money London Marathon, he took the chance to improve himself

by joining his father. A software engineer by trade, he is looking

forward to getting out and about on the streets of London!

Hendrie, Lee

Lee Hendrie, aged 37, is a former Aston Villa and England footballer

who will run for Cure Leukaemia in both his and the charity's first

ever Virgin Money London Marathon. Following his retirement from

professional football, Lee has recently put his efforts into finding

new, up and coming talents as he founded the Lee Hendrie

Academy. Lee's connection to Cure Leukaemia comes from his

former Aston Villa team-mate and friend Stiliyan Petrov who was

diagnosed with leukaemia in March 2012. Following his support at

major events, Lee recently became an ambassador for the charity

and has been inspired by others at Cure Leukaemia - deciding that

he now wants to give something back.

Holland, Henry

Henry Holland was catapulted into the limelight in 2006 with his

irreverent Fashion Groupies slogan tees. In February 2008, after

two seasons with Fashion East, House of Holland had its first solo

show at London Fashion Week. Now in its 14th season, HOH is

firmly established in the fashion arena. HOH boasts an impressive

roster of stockists including Browns Focus, Harvey Nichols, Matches

and net-a-porter.com.

Henry will be running with his cousins Olivia Johnson and Sally

Worthington (sisters). Olivia suffered from breast cancer and is

Henry's inspiration for running.

Hordley, Jeff

Jeff Hordley is an English actor most notable for playing bad boy

Cain Dingle in ITV's long running soap Emmerdale. Jeff married his

college sweetheart Zoe Henry who co-stars alongside him in

Emmerdale as vetinary surgeon Rhona Goskirk.

In 1996 Jeff was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and is currently in

remission. He has not let it affect his life and continues to run

marathons.

Howell, Gareth

Gareth Howell is a British racing driver and a multiple British

Touring Car championship race winner from 2000 to 2008. Gareth

is a current Test Driver for McLaren Automotive and McLaren GT.

This will be Gareth's 5th London Marathon and he is still chasing the

family record, and trying to beat his father's personal best from

1982 of 3:42. Gareth's PB is 3:47, so hopefully 2015 is his year!

Hughes, Aneirin

Hughes began his acting career in the 1980's in a BBC Wales soap

opera and went on to appear in Casualty, Family Affairs, Spooks,

Take Me with Robson Green and EastEnders.

Hughes won a Best Actor BAFTA Wales for his appearance in

Cameleon (1997) and has appeared regularly in Judge John Deed as

Neil Haughton. He has now returned to the BBC to appear in the

bilingually-filmed detective series Hinterland. He has run several

marathons and also is the founding member of the Monmouth Male

Voice Choir. In May 2014 Aneirin appeared with Tom Jones and

Katharine Jenkins in a BBC centenary production of Under Milk

Wood by Dylan Thomas.

LLR

Hynes, Marc

Marc Hynes is a British racing driver currently competing in

the British Touring Car championship. Marc is running in his

3rd London Marathon on the BRDC Team who are raising

money for CRUK.

James, Greg

Greg James is an English TV and radio presenter, best known for his

roles on BBC Radio 1. James currently hosts the Drive Time Show (4-

7pm) weekdays. James also co-hosts Not Just Cricket on 5 Live with

England cricketers Graeme Swann and Jimmy Anderson. On TV,

Greg hosted the closing ceremony for the Invictus Games with Clare

Balding live on BBC2 and has covered many of the music festivals

including Glastonbury, T in the Park, Reading and Leeds Festivals.

Greg is well known for dressing-up as a woman and doing ridiculous

versions of pop videos.

In April 2014, Greg won a Gold Radio Academy Award for Best

Entertainment Show.

Jelley, Stephen

Stephen is one of the most versatile racing drivers in the UK

today having competed for four seasons in Formula Three and

also in the Grand Prix supporting GP2 Series, as well as the

British Touring Car Championship, the British GT

Championship and the Porsche Carrera Cup.

This will be Stephen's 4th Marathon and he is hoping to smash

the 3 hour mark!

Jenkins, Bethan

At 25 years of age, Bethan Jenkins was elected in 2007 to the

National Assembly for Wales. She sits on the education committee

and the petitions committee. She is her party spokesperson on

Sport, Culture and Broadcasting and chairs cross-party groups on

eating disorders, muscular dystrophy, ASW workers and human

rights. Bethan is also taking a private members Bill through on

financial education and inclusion. She enjoys running, swimming

and Nordic crime TV/novels.

Joseph, Jeremy

This is Jeremy Joseph’s sixth London Marathon and his target is to

raise £1 million for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and to cross the

finish line in under 4 hours. Joseph is the owner of G-A-Y and his

policy is to use clubbing to educate and raise money. G-A-Y has

hosted some of the biggest stars in the world including Madonna,

Kyle, Lady GaGa, Adele & Mariah Carey. G-A-Y shares the Elton John

AIDS Foundation’s vision of creating an AIDS-free future.

Kennard, Matt

Matt Kennard is an English television actor, best known for starring

in UK daytime drama Doctors as nurse Archie Hallam. He has had

several other notable roles in British drama series including

Coronation Street, Hollyoaks and The Bill. He also starred as

Manchester United footballer Duncan Edwards in a BBC

dramatization of the 1958 Munich air disaster. Kennard starred in

the seventh series of Waterloo Road as Craig O' Leary. Also in 2013,

he had a short stint in Emmerdale as shady businessman Kirk

Stoker.

Matt recently got engaged to actress Laura Aikman who will be

running her 1st Marathon with him.

Lang, Isobel

Isobel Lang joined Sky News after 12 years at the BBC Weather

Centre where she broadcast on the 1, 6 and 10 o'clock news as well

as Radio 2 and 4. She graduated with a degree in maths from Exeter

University before joining the Met Office in 1991 where her duties

including preparing forecasts for the press and presenting on local

radio.

Born in Lincolnshire, Isobel grew up in Hertfordshire and now lives

in London with her husband and two children. Her hobbies include

yoga and running. She ran her first London Marathon for Cancer

Research UK in 2009.

Lee, Gwilym

Gwilym Lee is currently appearing in his 2nd series of Midsomer

Murders. He began this role in Christmas 2013 as DCI Barnaby's

new Sergeant, DS Charlie Nelson in the 16th series of Midsomer

Murders. His past credits include The Tourist alongside Johnny Depp

and Angelina Jolie, Channel 4’s Fresh Meat, and a very successful

run playing Edgar in King Lear at the Donmar Warehouse for which

he won the Ian Charleston award in 2011.

Lewis Jones, Mark

Mark Lewis Jones is a Welsh actor whose film roles have included

Master and Commander, Robin Hood, The Other Boleyn Girl and

Child 44. Mark's television work has included that of a Police

Inspector in BBC drama's series 55 Degrees North, Stella, Game of

Thrones, Titanic and Talking to the Dead.

Lowdon, Graeme

Graeme Lowdon has had a 20 year career in Motorsport, beginning

as a part time mechanic and going on to occupy decision making

roles at the highest level within the sport. Along the way Graeme

has owned and managed racing teams and played a key role in

taking the Manor team into the FIA Formula 1 World Championship

in 2009. Graeme has worked in Formula 1 ever since. Graeme is a

member of the Formula 1 Commission, the highest body for the

resolution of matters concerning the FIA Formula 1 World

Championship. Married with two children, Graeme’s 50th birthday

is three days before the Virgin Money London Marathon.

Mac, Sonya

Radio presenter, DJ and N.I. personality, Sonya was a self-confessed

couch potato until 2010 when she started to run marathons. Her

biggest year yet was 2014 when she did the Macathon - six

marathons in six weeks in the six counties of Northern Ireland - in

memory of her dad Jim, whom she lost in June. She is now looking

forward to running in the Virgin Money London Marathon again in

2015.

MacAllan, Ray ?

Ray MacAllan has had many television appearances, including roles

in The Bill, Coronation Street, EastEnders, Holby City, Dream Team,

Above Suspicion, Land Girls and recently New Tricks.

Marsh, Samantha

Samantha Marsh is perhaps best-known for her work as a model

and walk-on girl for the Professional Darts Corporation's televised

tournaments on Sky Sports. Samantha has modelled for prestigious

companies such as Freya, Speedo and Bravissimo.

Samantha is also engaged to the professional world-class darts

player, James Wade.

Mee, Sarah-Jane

Sarah-Jane Mee is a Sky Sports News presenter and is also part of

Sky Sports' UEFA Champions League broadcasting team on

Wednesday evening. She has previously worked for ITV Central

News in the Midlands and Birmingham based radio station 100.7

Heart FM.

Chris, Newton

Chris Newton was one of the United Kingdom's best ever

international riders both on the road and track. The former World

Track Champion in the Points Race and in the Team Pursuit, Chris

was the first ever British and English speaking (first language) rider

to win the points title, a remarkable achievement. Chris Newton is a

5 x Olympian, 3 x Olympic medallist (Silver in Athen, Bronze in

Sydney and Beijing) and a 2 x world champion. He is currently Great

Britain cycling’s female Olympic endurance coach since retiring in

2010.

Nicholls, Mel

Mel was a competitive sportswoman before suffering three strokes

(the last one in 2008) which left her using a wheelchair. She started

wheelchair racing and fifteen months after her first race, she

represented Great Britain at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Since then she has broken the 1500m World Record 3 times and in

2014 won European Bronze and Silver medals.

Alongside training for Rio 2016, Mel is also training for the Virgin

Money London Marathon this April. Mel will raise vital funds for

Breast Cancer Care after losing three family members to the

disease.

Parry, Natalie AnnNatalie Parry is a burlesque dancer and has recently landed a part in

a new TV show Surrey Hills; she has also appeared in YOLO UK.

Pearce, Jonathan

Jonathan Pearce has been a TV/radio commentator for 34 years

covering seven World Cups and seven European Championships. He

has been at the BBC since 2002.

He is Chairman of the Lily Foundation battling mitochondrial disease

in memory of his niece Lily. This will be his sixth Virgin Money

London Marathon!

Proudlock, Oliver

Oliver Proudlock is a cast member in the BAFTA award winning

reality TV series Made in Chelsea. Proudlock is a creator of the

fashion brand Serge DeNimes and an artist and style blogger at

proudlockstyle.com. He is a health and fitness enthusiast and is

looking forward to his first Virgin Money London Marathon.

Purchase, Zac

Zac Purchase was a lightweight rower who won Olympic gold and

silver respectively at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Games. He

has also set world and Olympic records in addition to winning three

World Championship titles.

He is now a personal trainer specialising in performance

improvement, pre/re-hab and nutritional analysis.

Rainsford, George

After graduating from Manchester University, George joined the

National Youth Theatre and won a Goldman Sachs Scholarship to

the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. On graduation in

2006, his first professional engagement was as D'Artagnan in the

Bristol Old Vic's swash-buckling Christmas entertainment of The

Three Musketeers. He has also appeared with the National Theatre

in Chatroom/Citizenship, and in 2008 appeared to a wider audience

as the disturbed son of policeman Trevor Eve in the television series

Waking the Dead. His most recent project has been in the highly

acclaimed BBC drama Call The Midwife.

George is currently appearing in Casualty after taking 3 episodes off

due to paternity leave at the end of 2014.

Ransom, Jessica

Jessica Ransom is best known for playing receptionist, Morwenna in

Doc Martin. She also appears in the latest series of Horrible

Histories as well as Our Zoo, The Escape Artist, and The Armstrong

& Miller Show. This is Jessica's third Virgin Money London

Marathon.

Ridley, Raymond

Raymond Ridley was fortunate enough to run at Boston University

for David Hemery's team in 1977-1981. Raymond was the New

England champion at 800m and the 4x400m relay. He also ran in the

UK 1980 Olympic trials for 800m.

After suffering a stroke in early 2014, Raymond was recruited again

by David to train with him and to run with his team in the 2015

Virgin Money London Marathon. He decided this was a challenge

not to be missed.

Riley, George

George Riley is a sports presenter and commentator at the BBC,

currently waking up the nation on BBC Radio 5 live's breakfast

show.

As well as this role that has seen George cover World Cups and

Olympic Games, he also commentates across sports including rugby

league, tennis, snooker and darts on TV and Radio.

George is running the VMLM for the second time after his 2014

debut, and as part of a 200-mile challenge this year for the Steve

Prescott Foundation. Steve was a former rugby league player and

close friend who died in 2013. George plans to run 4 marathons in 8

weeks and scale Kilimanjaro in just 5 days in Steve's memory.

Russell, Lindsey

24 year old Lindsey Russell presents Blue Peter. She joined the show

in July 2013 after she won Blue Peter - You Decide, a series that

gave CBBC viewers the power to decide who should become the

36th Blue Peter presenter.

Her biggest Blue Peter challenge to date has been completing the

'Patrouilles des Glacier' when she undertook an 18 hour endurance

race in the Swiss Alps, over 110 kilometres. Lindsey's determination

showed the Blue Peter viewers that you can achieve amazing and

unexpected things if you work hard and believe in yourself.

Lindsey has never attempted to run a marathon before and so she's

excited and scared in equal measure about undertaking the Virgin

Money London Marathon 2015.

Senior, Keith

Keith Senior is a rugby league legend, recently retired from the

professional game, who most recently played for the Leeds Rhinos

in Super League. Keith has represented both Great Britain & England

at International level on 43 occasions and has been named in the

'Rugby League World XIII' on three occasions. He has won every

honour in the English domestic game. Keith has made 560 career

appearances for Sheffield Eagles, Leeds Rhinos, Yorkshire, England

and Great Britain scoring 248 tries and up until 2012 held the record

for the most Super League tries. Keith released his biography ‘The

Bald Truth’ in 2011. Keith is an ambassador for the Laura Crane

Youth Cancer Trust and now works for the Leeds Rhinos Foundation

which is also a charity. Keith will have just returned from Marathon

des Sables with Walking with the Wounded to run the 2015 Virgin

Money London Marathon.

Sondhi, Maya

Maya Sondhi is an actress and writer, who is known for appearing in

Family Affairs (1997), Citizen Khan (2012) and Fedz (2013).

Maya is also featured in AC MC's True Story rap song.

Stark, Ian

Ian David Stark is a Scottish equestrian who competes in the sport

of eventing. Stark was born in Galashiels in the Borders in 1954 and

began riding horses at the age of 10. Career highlights include four

Olympic silver medals and a World Championships gold medal. Stark

was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in March 2010.

Street, Joe

Up-and-coming British actor Joe Street is best recognized for his

appearances in Dead Behind the Eyes, The Gym and Valentine's

Kiss. Whilst his passion lies in acting, he also currently plays

international-level Australian Rules football. He and team-mate

Evan Phillips will be preparing for the Virgin Money London

Marathon by spending two weeks running 200+ miles from Swansea

all the way to the start line in London in order to raise money for

Cardiac Risk in the Young. They have decided to run for CRY because

Joe's former house-mate Tim Butt suffered a near-fatal cardiac

arrest at the age of 24 last year.

Tamne, Liam

Liam Tamne has had a fantastic career so far, starring in a number

of big West End productions, including Wicked, Hairspray and also

Les Miserables. He then hit the headlines in 2013 when he swapped

the stage for the TV studio for BBC talent show The Voice (2013)

and reached the quarter finals of the competition on Will.i.am’s

team, although he was the favorite to win. In September 2014,

Liam joined the cast of Phantom of the Opera, to play the part of

Raoul.

Taylor, Ellie

Ellie has been a comedian since 2010. Her TV work includes hosting

the cult hit make-under show BBC3’s 'Snog Marry Avoid?', being

team captain on ITV2’s 'Fake Reaction’, popping up on panel shows

like Channel 4’s '8 out of 10 Cats' as well as acting in BBC 2’s

‘Family Tree’ alongside Chris O’Dowd. This year she is completing

her first UK comedy tour and starring in a new sitcom for Comedy

Central called ‘Brotherhood’. Ellie is running the London Marathon

for Breast Cancer Care. A number of Ellie’s family members have

been affected by the disease, including her mum, so this coupled

with her deep love of boobs in general make it a pairing Ellie is

passionate about.

Taylor, Hugo

Hugo Taylor is best known for starring in BAFTA award winning

reality TV series Made in Chelsea. After leaving the show, he starred

in I'm a Celebrity...Get me Out of Here! which supported Malaria

No More between 2009 and 2013. Taylor is now known for his

interest in fashion and his eyewear brand Taylor Morris.

Thomas, Iwan

Iwan Gwyn Thomas MBE was a sprinter and represented Great

Britain at the Olympic Games in the 400m and Wales at the

Commonwealth Games. He is the current UK record holder at 400m

with a time of 44.36 seconds and a former European and

Commonwealth Games champion.

Iwan is now an experienced TV presenter with a portfolio that

includes BBC2's The Human Machine and health and fitness for This

Morning. Iwan was a finalist on the hugely popular BBC series

Celebrity Masterchef.

Iwan has also covered the World Indoor Trials highlights show,

commentated at the Aviva Indoor Trials and infield presenting at the

Aviva Indoor Birmingham Grand Prix and other events.

Tighe, Charlie

Charlie Tighe is currently performing as Nol, musician and singing

counter-tenor in Shakespeare in Love in London's West End.

Previous credits include Guys and Dolls (UK Tour), Pygmalion

(international tour), singing at the Royal Opera House, Royal Albert

Hall and recording with Virgin EMI.

Tordoff, Sam

Sam is a 25 year old Racing Driver from Leeds who has competed in

the British Touring Car Championship for the last two years. A

former British Karting Champion, Sam is also a qualified Chartered

Management Accountant. This will be Sam's first Marathon.

Toseland, James

James Toseland is frontman for rock band Toseland and ex-double

world superbike champion. Toseland's debut album Renegade was

released in 2014 and has received outstanding reviews and he is

currently writing Album No.2. He will be touring in the UK in April

2015. James has a huge passion for running and exercise and ran

the Virgin Money London Marathon in 2012 and 2013 for CLIC

Sargent. He is very much looking forward to his third London

Marathon in 2015!

James will be attempting to break the land speed world record in

September 2015.

Turlington Burns, Christy

Christy Turlington Burns is a mother, social entrepreneur, model,

and founder of Every Mother Counts, a non-profit dedicated to

making preganancy and childbirth safe for every mother. Having

endured a childbirth complication herself, Christy was compelled to

direct and produce the documentary 'No Woman, No Cry'.

Christy enjoyed a successful career as a model while continuing her

education and pursuing other interests. Christy is also the author of

Living Yoga: Creating A Life Pracitce (Hyperion 2002) and has

written countless articles for magazines and newspapers on the

subjects of wellness, maternal health, feminism, poverty eradication

and human rights.

Watson, Honor

Honor studied a degree in violin performance at Trinity College of

Music and went on to enjoy a very busy career as a violinst

travelling to six continents to perform, and appearing on TV shows

such as the X Factor and Popstar to Opera Star. In 2012 she joined

electronic string quartet Escala, who reached the final of ITV's

Britain's Got Talent in 2008. Since then the group have performed

internationally and recently recorded a new album, set for release

in February 2015. Honor has also recently featured on Sam Smith's

album In the Lonely Hour and on Pink Floyd's most recent album

The Endless River, both of which reached No. 1 in the album charts.

Williams, Shane

Shane Williams is a Welsh rugby union player, most famous for his

long and successful tenure as a wing for the Ospreys and the Wales

national team. He won 88 caps for Wales and four caps for the

British and Irish Lions. Shane was selected at the IRB Player of the

Year in 2008.

Since his retirement, he has worked as a presenter on S4C's Six

Nations Rugby programme and as a pundit on BBC broadcasts. He is

currently still playing in Japan and will end his playing season there

in 2014-2015 as a player-coach.

Wokoma, Susan

Susan is an established RADA trained theatre actress as well as

notching up several roles in tv and film, landing her first in the

BAFTA winning TV movie 'That Summer Day' produced by the BBC

and Hat Trick.

Susan then starred in the hit CBBC series 'Hotel Trubble' and has

recently appeared in Series 3 of the hugely successful comedy

'Bluestone 42' as ballsy new medic 'Jasmine' and in the comedy

series 'Uncle' - both for BBC Three.

Other TV credits include Misfits, Holby City and Doctors.

Susan's feature film credits include the film adaptation of

Chimamanda Adichie's hit novel 'Half of a Yellow Sun' alongside

Chiwetel Ejiofor and Thandie Newton, 'Inbetweeners 2' and the

upcoming British independent film 'Burn Burn Burn' starring

Downton's Laura Carmichael, Joe Dempsie Julian Rhind-Tutt and

Alison Steadman.

Woodward Gentle, Sally

Sally Woodward Gentle is the BAFTA award winning executive

producer of British television dramas such as Any Human Heart,

Enid with Helena Bonham-Carter, and Whitechapel.

She formed Sid Gentle Films Ltd in September 2013 to produce

original and innovative television drama and feature films. 2015 will

see the production of Len Deighton's SS-GB for the BBC, written by

the Bond film writers Purvis and Wade.