Salford comedian Jason Manford has enlisted the help of his Mancunian mates and comedy chums to join dying teen Stephen Sutton in his fundraising battle.
Funnyman Manford brought Stephen’s cause, 19, who suffers from ‘incurable’ cancer, to the attention of the nation yesterday in an attempt to help him hit his target of one million pounds for charity Teenage Cancer Trust.
With the star’s backing, Stephen’s total raised skyrocket to £1,674,707.43 – a far cry from the original target of £10,000.
BRAVE: Stephen Sutton’s thumbs up has delivered a huge boost to his fundraising campaign
Manford saw Stephen’s tragic farewell posted on Facebook, which now has 273,000 followers, on Monday: “It’s a final thumbs up from me! I’ve done well to blag things as well as I have up till now, but unfortunately I think this is just one hurdle too far.
“It’s a shame the end has come so suddenly – there are so many people I haven’t got round to properly thank or say goodbye to. Apologies for that.”
Now, Manchester-based celebrities have given the #ThumbsUpForStephen selfie campaign on Twitter their backing in further bid to make the total soar even further beyond the one million mark.
Manford’s Manchester pals joined the fray as Middleton-born Steve Coogan, led the way before Coronation Street star Anthony Cotton took a break from the drama in Weatherfield to add his support.
The 1 & only Mr Steve Coogan & his #thumbsupforstephen For the legendary @_StephensStory https://t.co/guWz2xt3qh RT pic.twitter.com/sptwbWYJZL
— JasonManford (@JasonManford) April 24, 2014
@JasonManford What a guy Stephen is. Come on twitter – £2,000,000 and his legacy will live on…. pic.twitter.com/3jnrUwIQ88
— Antony Cotton (@antonycotton) April 23, 2014
Clocking Off trio Manchester’s Lesley Sharp, Salford-born John Thomson and James Nesbitt also got involved.
And Lesley Sharp! You can go to the Just Giving site https://t.co/guWz2xt3qh @_StephensStory. #ThumbsupforStephen pic.twitter.com/dLpTar52z2
— JasonManford (@JasonManford) April 23, 2014
Please text STEPHEN to 70500 to donate £5 thank you. pic.twitter.com/NpXDUqQ6cl
— John Thomson (@JohnnyThomson2) April 23, 2014
Only James bloody Nesbitt! #ThumbsupforStephen https://t.co/guWz2xt3qh pic.twitter.com/BOJv1qBdiR
— JasonManford (@JasonManford) April 23, 2014
Golden girl Rebecca Adlington, the Olympic swimmer now based in Stockport, and cycling great Chris Hoy, also based in Manchester, also joined the race for funds.
Txt STEPHEN to 70500 to donate £5 to teenage cancer. #ThumbsUpForStephen @JasonManford @_StephensStory pic.twitter.com/ikc23EBgse
— Chris Hoy (@chrishoy) April 23, 2014
What an incredibly brave man. Please donate! @_StephensStory #ThumbsUpForStephen pic.twitter.com/kjd11hFagH
— Rebecca Adlington (@BeckAdlington) April 23, 2014
Manford also gained support of his comedy chums as well as friends from other areas of showbiz.
Stand-up heavyweights Russell Brand, former Manchester Metropolitan University student John Bishop and Jack Whitehall aimed to put smiles on faces once again with their contributions.
Hey help this brave lad please – he’s making the world better! #ThumbsUpForStephen pic.twitter.com/0Xzu0cIF3G
— Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) April 23, 2014
I apologise the right twitter name for this brave you man is @_StephensStory. Thanks pic.twitter.com/P99BUgkDZ9
— John Bishop (@JohnBishop100) April 23, 2014
Let’s do this guys! @_StephensStory pic.twitter.com/ex07wjInSK
— Jack Whitehall (@jackwhitehall) April 23, 2014
Other support came from behind the bar with pub landlord comic Al Murray and even from the red carpet with Hollywood star Simon Pegg.
#ThumbsUpForStephen folks! Text 70500 to donate a fiver for @TeenageCancer pic.twitter.com/CrqmM1j50P
— Al Murray (@almurray) April 24, 2014
Help this remarkable young man reach an amazing £2M for the Teenage Cancer Trust. #ThumbsUpForStephen pic.twitter.com/Y8VeJeHxxC
— Simon Pegg (@simonpegg) April 23, 2014
Vic Reeves, Bill Bailey and Noel Fielding also added further backing from the world of comedy – although Vic seems to have misplaced his thumb somewhat.
Not sure Vic Reeves really got the hang of the #thumbsupforstephen selfie! Ah well. He tried! Text Stephen to 70500. pic.twitter.com/Gjs4jWNu6X
— JasonManford (@JasonManford) April 24, 2014
Thumbs up from me! Help @_StephensStory raise money for @TeenageCancer pic.twitter.com/vIYj6KU01r
— Bill Bailey (@BillBailey) April 23, 2014
#thumbsupforstephen pic.twitter.com/lBVoK806JF
— noel fielding (@noelfielding11) April 23, 2014
Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton-Myers also put up a selfie she might not have had chance to make earlier from her MediaCityUK base.
hey twitter family please support @_stephensstory text 70500 to donate a fiver or http://t.co/KLbmGhXguq pic.twitter.com/T5Rg780hDT
— Helen Skelton-Myler (@HelenSkelton) April 23, 2014
Manford even tried to get Barack Obama on board – but the US President is yet to reply.
Ta Bazza, Legend! “@BarackObama please read @_StephensStory. Txt Stephen to 70500 to donate £5 #ThumbsupforStephen” pic.twitter.com/8kWc0AU9gY
— JasonManford (@JasonManford) April 24, 2014
