Actress Vicky McClure launches Nottingham fundraising gig as named first Teenage Cancer Trust Icon
This is England and Line of Duty star Vicky McClure has announced This is Nottingham - a fundraising gig featuring up-and-coming local talent - to mark being named the first ever Teenage Cancer Trust Icon.
The newly-launched Icon status is for high-profile entertainers who dedicate a year of their time to raise funds for the Trust and to raise awareness of the huge challenges faced by young people with cancer. And Vicky has started as she means to go on - launching the Trust's first major Nottingham gig.
This is Nottingham will be headlined by city-based drum and bass artist Bru-C, fresh from his Australian and New Zealand tour.
Entry to the gig will be by ticket only – and people have to enter a £10 raffle to secure a pair of tickets.
“Nottingham is a hotbed of talent, from Oscar nominees to Olympic champions to chart-toppers,” said Vicky. “So it feels right that a place with two Teenage Cancer Trust units should be hosting this incredible event.
“I’m so proud to call this city my home. Teenage Cancer Trust was founded on the understanding that young people are special which is why it is so important for this to be a celebration of young people and rising talent.”
The Trust has held an annual series of gigs at The Royal Albert Hall for 30 years, but this is its first big music event in Nottingham.
Bru-C said: “I am so proud to be working with Vicky on a homecoming gig for such an incredible cause.
“Nottingham is built on young people, and music is at the heart of what Teenage Cancer Trust is about, so it’s an honour to bring their Royal Albert Hall gig spirit out of London.”
Vicky’s opened The Hogarth Teenage Cancer Trust hospital unit at City Hospital 10 years ago, and quickly became an ambassador.
The Hogarth unit, one of 28 run and funded by the charity across the UK, supports 19-24-year-olds and is designed to feel more like home than a hospital ward, with private bedrooms, cosy soft furnishings, TV and gaming facilities, and free Wifi and laptops. A second unit – for 13 to 18-year-olds – is based at Queen’s Medical Centre.
The Trust’s ethos is that a cancer diagnosis shouldn’t define a young person. As well as funding units, specialist nurses and youth support teams within the NHS to help them through their ordeal, the charity does everything it can to make sure cancer doesn’t stop young people living their lives, during treatment and beyond.
Kerry Worton, 24, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in May, said: “Vicky was great. She was so easy to talk to and clearly cares a huge amount about the work that Teenage Cancer Trust does. It was so nice of her to sit down with everyone, take the time to listen to each young person, and hear what we’re going through.
“The unit doesn’t feel like a cancer ward at all.”
Logan Evans, 20, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in December 2020.
“It was great when Vicky came,” he said. “The nurses were all so excited, and it was really fun to be part of it. Vicky listened really well to all our stories and seemed genuinely interested. She clearly wanted to help in any way she could.”
“The best part of being on the unit was the freedom to be as sociable as I wanted,” he said. “There was always the option to socialise but our individual rooms were big enough to sit in and relax if I didn’t feel like being around other people.”
Claire Boon is a Teenage Cancer Trust Clinical Nurse Specialist at The Hogarth unit. She said: “I’ve met Vicky a couple of times on the unit; she is always delightful, kind and funny. She has a real way with the young people; she puts them at ease immediately with her warmth and relaxed approach. She also deals with the nurses who are fans with humility and self-effacement!
“We’re so grateful that Vicky is taking this opportunity to increase awareness of the Trust whilst raising much-needed funds. It is imperative that as a charity we continue to provide age-appropriate specialist care and units, it is also vital that we continue to fight for the voices of young people with cancer to be heard and understood.”
Kate Collins, Chief Executive, Teenage Cancer Trust, said: “We’re delighted to announce Vicky as our first Icon.
“In these increasingly hard times it’s getting tougher and tougher to raise the funds needed to keep vital services for young people with cancer going, so Vicky’s commitment to Teenage Cancer Trust and young people with cancer is phenomenally important.”
Craig Chettle, MBE Chief Executive of Confetti Media Group, who are donating the Metronome for the gig, said: “I’m thrilled that Metronome is able to host an event that celebrates young and rising talent but also people being supported by Teenage Cancer Trust, who are stars in their own way.”
Headliner Bru-C said: “It’s going to be a celebration of this great city and everyone in it - don’t miss it.”
This Is Nottingham takes place at the Metronome on Saturday 3 December. To buy a £10 raffle ticket for a chance to win two tickets, visit shop.teenagecancertrust.org/tickets. Or you can donate to Vicky’s appeal at www.teenagecancertrust.org/Vicky-McClure
Watch a video of Vicky meeting Kerry, Logan and staff here.