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Gail Porter with her friends Sarah Micheal, Kandise Abiola and Muriel Doolan |
Stars shine at charity auction to raise cash for Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital
TV presenter Gail Porter walked away with stuntman Eddie Kid’s leathers after an auction held at the North Star pub in aid of Great Ormond Street children’s hospital.
GMTV’s Kate Garraway, her Strictly Come Dancing partner Anton Du Beke Kelly, soap stars Brooke Kinsella and Martin Hancock, and Wurzel, the former guitarist of heavy metal band Motorhead, flocked to the New North Road pub to enjoy a barbeque and a burlesque performance, courtesy of Chrys Columbine.
The auction, which was conducted by Ms Garraway and Mr Du Beke, raised £5,000 overall. Pub landlord Mark Loughborough, who is trekking across the Sahara to raise money for the hospital, came up with the idea for the event while speaking to regulars radio presenter Chris Hawkins and GMTV weather presenter Clare Nasir.
He said: “It escalated from an idea to auction a couple of bottles of wine to what happened on the night – a bit bigger than we anticipated.” He added: “It’s a real media area. The more I speak to our regulars the more I realise how many influential and useful people we have on our doorstep.”
A long-time supporter of Great Ormond Street, Islington resident Anton Du Beke said he is inspired by the stoic nature of children at the hospital. He said: “I’m always blown away by the kids because they’re so wonderful and so brave. They make me feel pathetic really.”
Gail Porter from Belsize Park, arrived with three friends and her boyfriend James Lloyd. She said: “I have worked at Great Ormond Street for years, hanging out with the kids and helping out where I can. Nine times out of ten you can’t get a babysitter but I did tonight, so I came.”
Mr Kidd, who was Pierce Brosnan’s stunt double in James Bond film Golden Eye has been confined to a wheelchair since a motorbike accident in 1996. TV actor Martin Hancock, 33, who also lives in Islington and is best-known for his role as Spider in Coronation Street, said: “It was lovely to see Eddie. He looked to be on good form. His gift was very generous.”
Mr Hancock is currently filming The Last Van Helsing for ITV in a car park off City Road in Islington.
He said of the event: “It was still going on after 1am when I left – a right ol’ knees up.”
Although Christian Slater was not able to attend, the Armani suit he wore in West End play Swimming With Sharks made an appearance, only to be spirited away for £800 by a documentary maker, who preferred not to be named.
Two punters battled it out for the opportunity to watch the RAF Falcons parachute out of the C130 Hercules aircraft from 30,000 feet in the air. Bidding started at £100 and ended at £600.
Brothers, James and Matthew Varity, who used to live in flats above the pub and now live in Victoria Park, won the top raffle prize – VIP tickets to see the BBC1 show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and a backstage pass to greet the man himself. |
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