Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make the public laugh, while raising money to help people around the world and in the United Kingdom. A new CEO, Samir Patel, was announced in January 2021.
Michael Ashley Ball is an English singer, presenter and actor. In 1985, he made his West End debut as Marius Pontmercy in the original production of Les Misérables. In 1989, he reached number two in the UK Singles Chart with "Love Changes Everything", from the musical Aspects of Love, where he played Alex Dillingham. He played the role in the West End and on Broadway. His album Coming Home To You reached number one in the UK making it his 4th number one album to date. On 24 April 2020, Ball and Captain Tom Moore entered the UK Singles Chart at number one with a cover of "You'll Never Walk Alone", with combined chart sales of 82,000 making it the fastest-selling single of 2020.
Frederick Rowland Emett OBE, known as Rowland Emett, was an English cartoonist and constructor of whimsical kinetic sculpture.
Scalextric is a brand of slot car racing sets which first appeared in the late 1950s. The Scalextric were first invented by engineer B. Fred Francis, when he added an electric motor to the Scalex tin cars that were produced by Minimodels Ltd, his own company The first "Scalextric" were first made in Havant, Hampshire, in 1956. Hornby Hobbies acquired the company in 1968.
Chitty Bang Bang was the informal name of a number of celebrated British racing cars, built and raced by Count Louis Zborowski and his engineer Clive Gallop in the 1920s, which inspired the book, film and stage musical Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang.
Frank Cottrell-Boyce is an English screenwriter, novelist and occasional actor, known for his children's fiction and for his collaborations with film director Michael Winterbottom. He has achieved fame as the writer for the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony and for sequels to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car, a children's classic by Ian Fleming.
Cadwell Park is a motor racing circuit in Lincolnshire, England, 5 mi (8.0 km) south of Louth, owned and operated by MotorSport Vision, a business associated with former racing driver Jonathan Palmer. Sited on former parkland across a steep-sided valley with dips and crests, the circuit features sharp changes in gradient, including one section called The Mountain where bikes can become airborne by up to several feet. Its mix of challenging corners has led to its nickname as the Mini-Nürburgring.
Oulton Park is a hard surfaced track used for motor racing, close to the village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is about 5-mile (8.0 km) from Winsford, 13-mile (21 km) from Chester city centre, 8-mile (13 km) from Northwich and 17-mile (27 km) from Warrington, with a nearby rail connection along the Mid-Cheshire Line. It occupies much of the area which was previously known as the Oulton Estate. The racing circuit is owned and operated by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation.
Harold Owen "Gary" Wilmot, MBE is a British singer, actor, comedian, presenter, writer and director who rose to fame as a contestant on New Faces. As a television presenter, he is best known as the host of You and Me, So You Want To Be Top and Showstoppers. His West End credits include Me and My Girl, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Prince of Egypt, and Wicked.
Formula Ford 1600 is a group of auto racing championships catered to 1600cc, Ford Kent powered Formula Ford racing cars. The UK national Formula Ford category disbanded these cars when it adopted the 1800cc Zetec engine in 1993. However, it has been running as several regional club championships ever since and has recently renewed success. Several cars constructed to Zetec rules have been converted to accept a Kent engine, as well as the Duratec powered cars that followed. There have also been several recent purpose-built Kent cars which have enjoyed success.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is the vintage racing car which is featured in the book, musical film and stage production of the same name. Writer Ian Fleming took his inspiration for the car from a series of aero-engined racing cars built by Count Louis Zborowski in the early 1920s, christened Chitty Bang Bang. The original Chitty Bang Bang's engine was from a Zeppelin dirigible. The name reputedly derived either from the sound it made whilst idling, or from a bawdy song from World War I.
Jason John Manford is an English comedian, presenter, actor and singer.
Richard Jones is a British music producer, songwriter, bass guitar player and founding member of the rock band The Feeling.
MotorSport Vision (MSV) is a motorsport organisation and an operator of six UK venues. MSV has a portfolio ranging from major two and four-wheel championships to organising the PalmerSport corporate driving event.
Victoria Louise Lott, better known by her stage name Pixie Lott, is an English singer, songwriter, actress, and former ballet dancer. Her debut album, Turn It Up, released in September 2009, reached number six on the UK Albums Chart and sold over 1.5 million copies. It also spawned six consecutive top twenty singles on the UK Singles Chart, including two number-one singles, "Mama Do " and "Boys and Girls".
Laverstoke Park Farm is a farm near Overton, Hampshire, England, owned by 1979 Formula One World Champion, Jody Scheckter.
Merrymouth was a folk-oriented band founded by Ocean Colour Scene songwriter and vocalist Simon Fowler (guitar/vocals), Dan Sealey (guitar/piano/vocals), Mike McNamara (Bass/Piano/Organ/Guitar/Percussion) and later Adam Barry (piano/organ/accordion/harmonica/vocals).
Boomtown is a British music festival held annually on the Matterley Estate in South Downs National Park, near Winchester, Hampshire. It was first held in 2009 and has been held at its current site since 2011. Its diverse line-up of bands, DJs and speakers perform on many different stages each a part of a district with its own individual theme. Each yearly event is known as a Chapter and expands on the story line from the previous year, told through the sets, live actors and many forms of alternate reality games. The festival site is split into several districts, and the narrative is reflected in the design of the districts, streets and venues, which are populated by hundreds of actors to play the role of inhabitants. The large scale of the sets and infrastructure require six weeks of construction, and a month of disassembly.
Kevin Whyman was an English rower and air pilot. Whyman died in an aviation accident at the 2015 CarFest.
Viola Beach were an English indie rock group formed in Warrington in 2013. The band's final line-up consisted of Kris Leonard, River Reeves (guitar), Tomas Lowe (bass), and Jack Dakin (drums). All four, along with their manager Craig Tarry, were killed during their first overseas tour when their car fell from a bridge in the Swedish city of Södertälje on 13 February 2016. Founding members Frankie Coulson (guitar) and Jonny Gibson (bass) left in 2015 to focus on their studies, and are thus the last surviving members of the band.
