Several celebrities have asked the nation to stay home and help defeat coronavirus in a powerful new campaign.
Kate Garraway, 53, Myleene Klass, 42, and Gemma Collins, 40, all appear in a star-studded video encouraging people to play their part in helping bring an end to the pandemic.
Also pleading with the country to ‘stay home, saves lives and protect our NHS‘ are stars such as Joey Essex, 30, Harry Redknapp, 73, and Shane Richie, 56.
Stay home: Several celebrities including Kate Garraway (pictured) have asked the nation to stay home and help defeat coronavirus in a powerful new campaign
Kate Garraway, whose husband Derek Draper, 53, is still in hospital 10 months after contracting Covid, kicks off the moving clip telling viewers to ‘please stay safe and stay at home if you can’.
TV and radio presenters Graham Norton, 57, and Angellica Bell, 44, then appear from their workplaces, with the former CBBC host saying: ‘Please do stay at home if you can so we can be together soon’.
Recent Dancing On Ice contestant Myleene Klass is also seen making a radiant appearance alongside her youngest child Apollo, one, as they film in their kitchen.
Appeal: Myleene Klass (pictured with her son Apollo) also appears in a star-studded video encouraging people to play their part in helping bring an end to the pandemic
And TOWIE star Gemma Collins clearly tells viewers to ‘stay home, saves lives and protect our NHS’ while speaking directly to the camera.
Elsewhere, Shane Richie appears from a room jam-packed with movie memorabilia and says: ‘We are all in this together, so please, please stay at home.’
Sharon Osbourne, 68, who lives in LA with rocker husband Ozzy, is joined for her part by her pet dogs, sitting on a sofa to politely say: ‘Stay home, please’.
And England footballer Jesse Lingard, 28, wraps up the 60 second clip, telling Brits: ‘We’re nearly there. Stay home so we can be together soon’
Do your bit: Gemma Collins is another star who gave up her time to take part in the important video message
Stay safe: Sharon Osbourne (left) and Harry Redknapp (right) also said a few lines from their own homes in the powerful clip
‘We’re all in this together’: Shane Richie appears from a room at his home jam-packed with movie memorabilia as he pleads with people to stay home
Also taking part in the new campaign are TV doctor Dr Ranj Singh, 41, former boxer Frank Bruno, 59, TOWIE star Joey Essex, 30, and radio presenter Jordan North, 30.
Strictly’s Shirley Ballas, 60, football manager Harry Redknapp, 73, hypnotist Paul McKenna, 57, MasterChef presenter Greg Wallace, 56, and radio host Chris Evans, 54, are also seen in the video.
The film was made as part of the newspaper industry’s All Together partnership with the UK Government, and will run across 650 national and regional news brands from Thursday 11 Feb.
We can do it: Gregg Wallace was another familiar face seen in the new government campaign
Almost made it: TV’s Dr Ranj Singh (left) and Strictly’s Shirley Ballas (right) joined in the group message telling Brits to ‘please stay at home’ if they can
Protect the NHS: hypnotist Paul McKenna also gave up his time to help encourage people to stay home amid the pandemic
For some in the video, the message takes on an extremely personal meaning as their own families have been impacted by the pandemic.
Kate Garraway’s appeal comes after she revealed she’s uncertain about her husband Derek’s future, 10 months after he contracted Covid.
While Derek no longer has coronavirus, the virus has left him suffering from multiple health conditions including diabetes and holes in his heart and lungs.
Back in September, he passed the grim milestone of becoming the longest patient battling coronavirus in hospital in the UK, with doctors telling Kate that Derek’s infection was the ‘highest they had seen in a patient who had lived’.
Important message: The film was made as part of the newspaper industry’s All Together partnership with the UK Government (Graham Norton pictured)
Getting it out there: The campaign will run across 650 national and regional news brands from Thursday 11 Feb (radio star Chris Evans pictured in the video)
Direct appeal: Radio host and recent I’m A Celebrity contestant Jordan North (left) was another celeb who took part alongside former boxer Frank Bruno (right)
Strong: For her line, Angellica Bell asks people to ‘please do stay at home if you can so we can be together soon’
Following their own advice: Joey Essex recorded his message from his plush velvet bed
The Good Morning Britain host has often spoken candidly about his ongoing fight and supporting their two children Darcey, 14 and William, 11, since he was diagnosed.
Speaking on the 5 Years Time podcast last week, Kate confessed that after months of uncertainty, she is still unsure if Derek will recover, but is continuing to hold out hope.
She explained: ‘It’s been really tough for us. Derek got really sick in the beginning of March… Even though we’re hoping he can recover, it’s taking a very, very long time.
‘We don’t know how much he can recover. So that’s impacted on us obviously dramatically. So, it’s been really difficult.’
Revealing that she had a more positive outlook this year, she added: ‘Everybody is hoping 2021 will bring just a bit of hope and relief.
Please listen: England international footballer Jesse Lingard wraps up the 60 second clip, telling Brits: ‘We’re nearly there. Stay at home so we can be together toon’
‘The vaccine is here now, so everybody is hoping that will help Covid, I think, and help us regain some normality.’
The video message also comes as Britain announced 13,013 more coronavirus cases and 1,001 deaths on Wednesday, as the winter wave continues to be brought under control by draconian lockdown restrictions.
The latest Covid infections are down by a third on last Wednesday’s figure, while fatalities have shrunk by a quarter compared to the tally a week ago.
The number of Covid patients in hospital has also fallen by more than a fifth in a week, with just over 26,000 beds now taken up by sufferers compared to almost 40,000 at the peak last month.
Meanwhile, Department of Health officials revealed another 415,000 vaccines had been administered on Tuesday, with more than 13million Brits having now received their first dose. With five days still to go, Britain is now cruising towards the Government’s target of injecting the 15million most vulnerable by February 15.
Tough: For some in the video, such as Kate Garraway, the message takes on a very personal meaning after their own families have been impacted by the pandemic (pictured with her husband Derek Draper who was hospitalised with Covid last March)
With all the key metrics now pointing towards a quickly shrinking epidemic, and with the vaccine rollout steaming ahead, pressure is mounting on the Government to start dropping the most brutal lockdown curbs.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised to lay out a ‘route map’ out of the national shutdown on February 22, with schools expected to be the first to go back sometime after March 8.
It also comes as figures show Britain has dished out 10 per cent of the entire world’s coronavirus vaccines and more than France, Germany, Italy and Spain combined.
Despite its small population on the global stage, the UK has administered a whopping 13.5million out of 146million doses given out internationally.
According to the statistics compiled by the Oxford University-based research platform Our World in Data, this puts Britain in third place behind only the US and China, which have far larger populations.
The figures also show more doses have been dished out here than in France, Germany, Italy and Spain combined.
