Stand Up To Cancer shoots down star

Actor Chris O’Dowd is to shoot his wife, presenter Dawn Porter, for the Channel 4 cancer fundraising event with the help of Derren Brown.

Five guns, only one loaded. In this instance however the plan is to find the gun with the bullet and shoot the celebrity. Not to worry fans of Dawn, it will be a paintball pellet and if they’re all successful, they’ll raise £10,000 for Stand Up to Cancer.

Channel 4 and Cancer Research UK have joined forces to launch Stand Up To Cancer in the UK, after a successful American version launched in 2008. The event will see stars from television, music and film come together this autumn as part of this unique new fundraising campaign.

The campaign has seen special programmes air across the week and will climax tomorrow night in a fundraising extravaganza hosted by Davina McCall, Alan Carr and Dr Christian.

Other guests confirmed for the live event tomorrow night include Samuel L Jackson, Leona Lewis, Cheryl Cole, Russell Tovey, Alesha Dixon, Jimmy Carr, Max Beesley, Jonathan Ross and sporting stars from the London Olympics.

Jay Hunt, Chief Creative Officer of Channel 4, says: “Sadly most of us – more than 1 in 3 – will be touched by cancer at some point in our lives. Stand Up To Cancer is about doing what Channel 4 does best – focusing attention on an important issue using entertainment and comedy. We hope to raise vital funds for trials that could save lives.”

80% of the money raised will be administered by Cancer Research UK with the funds going towards leading UK clinical cancer research projects, in the form of grants to hospitals, institutes, charities and universities. The awards will be subject to an independent selection process and researchers from universities, institutes, charities and hospitals across the UK are invited to submit funding proposals for clinical research. Any proposals will be independently peer-reviewed and considered by world-leading experts. Grants will be awarded on the basis of these reviews. The remaining 20% of the money raised will fund UK-US collaborative research.

Stand Up To Cancer tomorrow on Channel 4