Bury born actress and model Gemma Atkinson will be among the stars taking to the city centre streets in this year's Bupa Great Manchester Run on Sunday 16th May.

Gemma, who is currently touring the country with the award winning play 'Calendar Girls', will join the 36,000 runners on the 10k route to raise money for The Christie based in Withington, South Manchester.

Thousands of participants have run for the specialist cancer centre since the Great Manchester Run was launched in 2003, but this is the first time it has been selected as the main local charity. It was chosen by Manchester City Council for the next three years. The official charity was previously the new Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and prior to that the Kirsty Appeal. The Christie is also the nominated charity for both the Bupa Junior and Mini Great Manchester Runs.

The popular event is one of the largest and most prestigious mass participation runs in the UK and money raised will help The Christie fund cancer research and extra patient services that fall outside the remit of NHS funding.

Gemma, 24, who shot to fame starring as Lisa Hunter in Hollyoaks and appeared on I'm A Celebrity, is a long-term supporter of The Christie.

She said; "Sadly everyone knows someone who's been affected by cancer and having visited The Christie on many occasions now, I've seen just how dedicated and passionate every member of staff is and how lucky we are to have such a world leading centre on our doorstep.

"The Christie is at the forefront of cancer treatment and research across the world and I'll be proud to support it in the Great Manchester Run.

"Last year I finished the run in one hour and six minutes, so I'm looking to better that this time around. It'll be a great event once again and for a great cause."

All 26,000 general entries for the run were snapped up within 48 hours of opening but because of high demand, the race organisers Nova International decided to hold a ballot for the final 10,000 public places. It is scheduled to be drawn on Monday 1st February.

Communications director of Nova International, David Hart, said "The Bupa Great Manchester Run has captured the imagination of the region to such an extent that despite the horrendous weather conditions at the start of this month, we received entries at a record rate. To give more people a chance of taking part, we felt that creating a ballot for the last 10,000 places was the fairest way of progressing and demand for those have been high too."

Head of sporting events at the Christie charity, Jenny Haskey, added; "If you already have a place or are successful in securing one in the ballot, we'd be delighted if you choose The Christie as your chosen charity. All the money raised will help cancer patients now and in the future. Visit www.greatrun.org for more information."

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