Former Shameless star Ciarán Griffiths is gearing up for THREE gruelling charity events, starting with the Great Manchester Cycle on Sunday.
Ciarán, 31, best known for playing Mickey Maguire in Shameless, Gary Best in The Bill and Dylan Hodge in Waterloo Road, will be setting off alongside five Peugeot employees for the 26-mile slog.
The Manchester actor, who is set to play iconic Happy Mondays front man Shaun Ryder in ‘24 Hour Party People 2: England’s Irie’, is helping the French car manufacturer hit its three-year fundraising target of £1million for Children in Need.
Tomorrow’s event will merely pose as a warm up for punishing 60-mile trip from Manchester to Blackpool Bike Ride on July 13, followed up with the Great Manchester Swim six days later on July 19.
NO SHAME: Ciarán played fan favourite Mickey Maguire in Shameless for eight seasons (Image courtesy of Channel 4)
Both charity events are in aid of The Christie, where his dad was successfully treated for thyroid cancer, a rare type of cancer that affects the thyroid gland at the base of the neck, more than 20 years ago.
“My father was successfully treated at The Christie for thyroid cancer when I was just 10 years old. I was young but I remember they looked after him so well and he’s now still fit and well,” Ciarán said.
“At the time my dad was just a bit older than I am now, which is a scary thought, so he is the main reason why I’m doing these events for The Christie.”
The bike ride starts at Old Trafford, going along country lanes to the finish on the South Promenade in Blackpool.
The Great Manchester Swim is a one-mile open swim taking place in Salford Quays.
“I’m really looking forward to the bike ride. The swim should be a challenge though as I’ve not swam for ages,” he said.
“But my motivation is The Christie as they also recently treated my best mate Tom Kelsall’s mum successfully for breast cancer.
GIVING BACK: Ciarán’s father was treated at The Christie more than ten years ago
“Being from Manchester, I’m aware of the good work they do every day and know many people who have had family and friends treated there.”
The Christie has over 30,000 supporters, and also has a new £28.5million Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC) opening this year.
The MCRC is a partnership between The Christie, The University of Manchester and Cancer Research UK.
Sporting events officer at the charity, Rowena Finn, said; “Ciarán is such a passionate supporter of our charity and he regularly takes part in the Great Manchester Run for us.
“We’re incredibly grateful that he’s now taking on these two further challenges to help support cancer patients at The Christie.”
