Television icon Davina McCall is set to take on a profoundly personal and powerful new presenting role, fronting a groundbreaking live programme for Stand Up To Cancer 2025. This comes shortly after the presenter bravely shared news of her own breast cancer diagnosis and subsequent surgery.
A Pioneering Broadcast from Inside the Clinic
The centrepiece of the campaign will be Cancer Clinic: Live, a pioneering show presented by McCall. In a UK television first, the broadcast will come live from inside a special one-off clinic at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. Viewers will be given an unprecedented, real-time look into clinical consultations with cancer specialists from both Addenbrooke’s and Royal Papworth Hospitals.
The programme will follow the journeys of patients and their families, who have been documented for several weeks from diagnosis through to receiving results and continuing treatment. The aim is to demystify the process, tackle the fear that often prevents people from seeking help, and highlight the life-saving impact of an early diagnosis.
Week-Long Campaign of Challenges and Awareness
The week-long fundraising and awareness drive launches on Friday, December 5, building towards the main live event on Friday, December 12 on Channel 4. McCall will be joined by co-host Adam Hills for the evening, which will also feature special editions of popular shows like Celebrity Gogglebox and The Last Leg.
Throughout the week, a series of extraordinary celebrity challenges will take place across the UK. These events are designed to blend entertainment with raw emotion, all to raise crucial funds for cancer research and drive home the message about the importance of early detection.
They will be supported by broadcaster Dermot Murnaghan, who revealed his own cancer diagnosis earlier this year. He will deliver nightly campaign bulletins on Channel 4, providing updates on the challenges and the campaign's progress.
A Personal Mission for Early Detection
For Davina McCall, this campaign is deeply personal. She stated, "I want to take the fear out of cancer screening and show everyone that they are not on their own in this." A long-time supporter of the cause, she has been part of Stand Up To Cancer UK since its inception in 2012.
She explained her motivation for this year's unique format: "I knew for this year's campaign I wanted to step out of the TV studio and speak to real people facing a cancer diagnosis... Cancer Clinic: Live is about showing the reality of the incredible care, science and humanity of a cancer diagnosis, and reminding people that early diagnosis gives you options and hope."
Co-host Adam Hills added that the week will also encourage the public to use an online screening checker to bust common myths around cancer screening, combining the effort with entertainment to pay tribute to those lost and celebrate breakthroughs in research.
Stand Up To Cancer UK is a joint national fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4. Since its launch in 2012, it has raised an incredible over £113 million, funding 73 clinical trials and projects that have involved more than 13,000 cancer patients across the nation. This research has pioneered innovations in robotic surgery, AI for cancer detection, and even diagnostic lollipops for mouth cancer.
