McFly and Russell Howard in challenge for Samaritans

Stars show their support for the emotional support charity at football match

Friday 28 May 2010

- For immediate release -

Boy-band McFly and comedian Russell Howard are aiming for cup victory this weekend as they head the line-up for this year’s Samaritans Celebrity Soccer Six. The annual football tournament will take place at Charlton Athletic FC this Bank Holiday Monday, 31 May.

Samaritans has been chosen as Soccer Six’s charity of the year for the sixth year running. Funds raised from ticket sales and celebrity donations will be put towards ensuring Samaritans’ service remains available 24 hours a day, supporting people in emotional distress, including those at risk of suicide.

Other celebrities taking part in Monday’s tournament include snooker legends Mark Williams and Ken Doherty, actress Tina O Brian and TV Presenters Rick Edwards and Jeff Brazier. The cast of top-rated TV show Waterloo Road will be swapping their school blazers for football shirts and will face competition from teams made up of band members from music groups including The Hoosiers, Phacebook and NDUBZ.  

Other celebrities aiming for victory to support Samaritans will be actor Danny Dyer, singer Tinchy Stryder and X Factor finalists Olly Murs, Lloyd Daniels, Stacey Solomon, Jamie Archer, Danyl Johnson and Lucy Jones. Kiss 100 FM DJ Charlie Hedges, stars from hit TV show Britain’s Got Talent and comedians Omid Djalili, David Baddiel and Milton Jones will also be taking part.

Samaritans’ Claire Duncan said: “It’s great that the boys from McFly and Russell Howard are amongst the 150 celebrities now confirmed to support Samaritans at this year’s Soccer Six. At this stage it is difficult to call who will triumph as champions of the tournament. Soccer Six is a fun event that helps us to raise awareness of the 24/7 emotional support service we offer.”

For your chance to see who will triumph as 2009’s Celebrity Soccer Six champion log on to www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_london&query=detail&event=383773 or call 08444 77 1000.Alternatively you can purchase them directly from Charlton FC. All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to Samaritans.

For further information, or details regarding press access to the event please contact: Claire Duncan on Tel: 0208 394 8345 or Email:c.duncan@samaritans.org

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Notes to editors

Samaritans' vision is for a society where fewer people die by suicide because people are able to share feelings of emotional distress openly without fear of being judged.  Samaritans believes that offering people the opportunity to be listened to in confidence, and accepted without prejudice, can alleviate despair and suicidal feelings.

Samaritans is a registered charity, founded in 1953, which offers 24-hour confidential emotional support to anyone in emotional distress.  The service is offered by 16,534 trained volunteers and is entirely dependent on voluntary support.  Across the UK, you can call Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 (1850 60 90 90 in the Republic of Ireland) email jo@samaritans.org, write to Samaritans at Chris, PO Box 9090, Stirling, FK8 2SA, or if you are deaf or hard of hearing use the single national minicom number 08457 90 91 92. Log on to www.samaritans.org for more information. Calls from BT will be charged at up to 2 pence per minute at all times. A call set-up fee of 7 pence applies to calls from residential lines. Mobile and other providers' charges may vary.