Stand Up To Cancer is back this autumn and it’s bigger and better than ever before. As part of the campaign, Channel 4 will unleash a line-up of celebrity packed programming as stars from the worlds of entertainment, sport and music send themselves up, doing their bit in the fight against cancer.

With Davina McCall, Alan Carr and Adam Hills at the helm of the live extravaganza on Friday 21st October, it’ll be heaving at the seams with flocks of famous faces, celebrity packed sketches and tear-jerking moments, all banging that Stand Up To Cancer drum.

Launched in the UK in 2012, the joint national fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4 raises funds for translational research, accelerating new cancer treatments and tests to UK patients to save more lives, more quickly. More than £25million has been raised in the UK to date and 30 trials and projects have been funded, with around 9,000 cancer patients either participating, or due to participate.

From mid-September onwards key Channel 4 shows will get a Stand Up To Cancer makeover from The Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls and Celebrity Child Genius to E4’s Tattoo Fixers and the return of the cult adventure gameshow The Crystal Maze. Since January, Hollyoaks has also been driving awareness with a storyline following the love-story of Jade and Alfie - two teenagers both diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma.

How to get involved

You can donate at channel4.com/su2c (opens in a new window) or sign up to fundraise at standuptocancer.org.uk

100% of your donation goes to Cancer Research UK in support of the Stand Up To Cancer campaign

The Night of TV

On October 21st on Channel 4, Stand Up To Cancer, sponsored by BT, will be live for an unforgettable night of entertainment and fundraising. Davina McCall, Alan Carr and Adam Hills will be joined by a flock of famous faces to make you laugh, cry and raise enormous amounts of money.

Also confirmed to join the presenting team on the night are Steve Coogan and The Last Leg team and the world’s sexiest doctor, Dr Mike.

With very special sketches from the cast of Humans, Britney Spears, Michael Bublé and many more, this is set to be one unmissable night of TV.

1 in 2

1 in 2 people born in the UK after 1960 will develop cancer and more than 1 in 4 deaths are caused by it. Worldwide, cancer kills more than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Cancer is a complex disease – there are more than 200 types and thousands of subtypes. It is the world’s biggest killer.

Today, one in two of us will develop cancer at some point in our lives. BUT, one in two of us will now survive cancer. On the night of Stand Up To Cancer, pairs of famous faces, some rather unlikely but all incredibly competitive, will be playing these odds, going head to head, to help the public understand the message that cancer can be beaten. Light hearted and funny, but with a serious message, the celebrity match ups include Iggy Pop vs Josh Homme in a distinctly rock ‘n’ roll stare off competition, Broadchurch stars David Tennant vs Olivia Colman munching on a chili hot afternoon tea, José Mourinho vs John Bishop armed with dad jokes, Rick Astley vs Meat Loaf in a nail-biting game of Buckaroo and Piers Morgan vs Susanna Reid getting fiercely competitive in a tent challenge.

Press contact: Lesley Land

Picture Publicist: Lis Clucas

Gogglebox: Celebrity Special for SU2C 

A firm favourite of the Stand Up To Cancer live extravaganza, the Gogglebox Celebrity special will once again be part of the night’s viewing. This very special edition of the TV review programme will see some surprise famous faces join the show’s favourite families as they pass judgement on a vast array of TV goodness.

Press contact: Lesley Land

Picture Publicist: Jamie Fry

The Crystal Maze

After a 21-year absence from our screens, celebrated adventure gameshow The Crystal Maze is returning to air as part of Channel 4’s Stand Up To Cancer programming this October. 

Comedian, writer and actor Stephen Merchant will host the one-off special guiding a team of celebrity contestants around the Aztec, Medieval, Futuristic and Industrial zones before sending them in to face the fans in the iconic Crystal Dome.

The five celebrities hoping to crack the crystal in this special edition are football legend Rio Ferdinand, acclaimed actress Michelle Keegan, Paralympics champ Jonnie Peacock, radio host Sara Cox and comedian Josh Widdicombe.

Press contact: Kate Conway

Picture Publicist: Lis Clucas

About The Crystal Maze

The Crystal Maze is a Fizz production filmed with Little Lion Entertainment at the Crystal Maze Live Experience for Channel 4’s Stand Up to Cancer campaign, and is sponsored by BT. 

Streetmate

Much loved 90’s dating TV show Streetmate will return as part of Stand Up To Cancer night on Friday 21st October 2016. Davina McCall, who presented the series when it aired in the late 90’s, will be back pounding the streets of one UK city to find one single cancer survivor love.

In this special mini episode of Streetmate especially for Stand Up To Cancer, Davina will trawl the pavements for a suitable suitor before handing over the future of the romance to First Dates’ Fred Sirieix who will ensure they have the most romantic of encounters.

Press contact: Lesley Land

Picture Publicist: Lis Clucas

The Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls 

In a special four part series of The Island with Bear Grylls, filmed as part of Channel 4’s Stand Up To Cancer programming, ten famous souls have bravely endured The Island experience.

For two weeks they gave up their fabulous showbiz lives leaving behind friends, family and all mod cons to come together and make a remote uninhabited island their home.

There will be no easy passes for those taking part as they tackle head on everything that the island can throw at them. With just the clothes on their back, basic tools, medical supplies and enough water to last them for 24 hours the goal was to simply survive.

Made up of celebrities from the worlds of television, music, sport and comedy the group includes former JLS singer Aston Merrygold, Made in Chelsea’s Ollie Locke, comedian and writer Dom Joly, The Hotel’s Mark Jenkins, rugby ace and model Thom Evans, Channel 4’s Dr Dawn Harper, former Labour Councillor and ‘selfie queen’ Karen Danczuk, comedian Josie Long, TOWIE star Lydia Bright and former Blue Peter presenter Zoe Salmon.

Press contact: Elena Kemp

Picture Publicist: Becky Allin 

Child Genius v Celebrities: Stand Up To Cancer Special

It’s adults vs children as four brave, and hopefully clever, celebrities will be battling four super intelligent children in Celebrity Child Genius. Hosted by the ultimate TV quizmaster Richard Osman, the two teams will fight it out to see who is the cleverest – university educated celebrities or some of the nation’s favourite and brightest past Child Genius competitors.

Middlesex University graduate Alan Carr is heading up the celebrity team and he’s joined by Oxford University graduates Channel 4 newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Countdown Rachel Riley with their fourth team member Irish comedian, with not one but two degrees including one from Trinity College Dublin, Aisling Bea.

Heading up the Child Genius team is series three champion Thomas who has an IQ that puts him in the top 0.1% of the population, series two finalist Eleanor who reads up to 100 books a month, series three competitor David who took his maths GCSE at 9 years old and series four competitor Mog who has a passion for languages and virgin mojitos.

The two teams will battle it out over the hour-long show in spelling, memory, maths, general knowledge and specialist subject rounds. But will the celebrities play fair or have they got some tricks up their sleeves to try and beat the Child Genius stars?! You’ll have to tune in to find out and see who will be crowned Celebrity Child Genius champions.

Press contact: Samantha Fraser

Picture Publicist: Charles Fearn

Hollyoaks 

Hollyoaks is supporting Stand Up To Cancer with a storyline following the love-story of Jade and Alfie - two teenagers both diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. Over the last year both characters have endured gruelling treatments whilst trying their best to be ‘average’ teenagers - dealing with pressures of school, family life and friendship battles while also living the highs and lows and of first love.

Actors Kassius Nelson (Jade Albright) and Richard Linnell (Alfie Nightingale) researched the roles in a workshop with youngsters undergoing cancer treatment, learning particularly how young people manage side-effects of treatments, like sickness and hair loss, at a time when body image is all-important.

‘Jalfie’s story is not sugarcoated and sadly this autumn their dream of a ‘happy ever after’ moves further out of reach. But as funny and uplifting as it is tragic their story reflects the inspiration, strength and bravery of young people with cancer.

The next chapter in Jade and Alfie’s story will air on weeknights throughout the Stand Up to Cancer campaign at 6.30pm on C4 followed by a first-look at the next episode at 7pm on E4. 

Press contact: Lucy Connolly 

Picture Publicist: Charles Fearn

Tattoo Fixers for Stand Up To Cancer

A special celebrity edition of E4’s Tattoo Fixers will see tattooists Jay, Sketch, Alice and receptionist Paisley open the doors of their pop-up shop to some well-known faces from the world of showbiz, as they take use their skills to support Stand Up To Cancer.

Jay, Sketch and Alice will be meeting people whose lives have been affected by cancer. From mothers and sons who have lost someone to famous faces who want a permanent tribute the Tattoo Fixers will offer them a personal and beautiful piece of body art to symbolise what they have been through.

This special edition of the show will premiere for the first time on Channel 4 in the run up to the night of Stand Up To Cancer. It will be a poignant and moving tribute to those that have survived cancer and those who have lost their lives and will air as part of Channel 4 and Cancer Research UK’s Stand Up to Cancer campaign this October.

Press contact: Victoria Hartley-Wilson 

Picture Publicist: Becky Allin