Ryan Thomas embarked on his incredible charity mission to walk 10 marathons in 10 days from London to Manchester on Monday.
The former Coronation Street star, 36, posed for pictures outside Buckingham Palace with his fiancée Lucy Mecklenburgh, 29, and their son Roman, 14 months, before he set off on his 10-day charity walk.
The father-of-two is raising money for CALM (Campaign Against Living Misery) as part of Mental Health Awareness Week 2021.
Ready to go: Ryan Thomas set off on his charity mission to walk ten marathons in ten days on Monday afternoon, waved off by his fiancée Lucy Mecklenburgh, 29, and their son Roman, 14 months, outside Buckingham Palace
On Friday, Ryan revealed one of his friends took their own life during lockdown and so decided to take on the enormous 262-mile journey to raise money for mental health awareness.
Speaking candidly about his friend Ryan said: ‘It really shook everyone. You’d never have known he was suffering.’
Vowing to ‘let people know help is out there’ as he teams up with suicide prevention charity CALM for his city-to-city trek, the doting father added: ‘If I can save even one life, I’ll have done a great job.’
Ryan hoped to raise £25,000 to support mental health charities and has already smashed his target, with around £32,400 in donations as of Monday.
Saying goodbye: Ryan posed for pictures with his family before he embarked on the gruelling walk from London to Manchester for charity
Looks the part: Ryan was seen wearing a bright blue jacket, shorts, a baseball cap and some blue sunglasses before he set off
Before he set off Lucy and Roman stopped to take some snaps with Ryan before he set off on his 10-day walk.
Ryan looked the part, seen wearing a bright blue jacket, shorts, a baseball cap and some blue sunglasses.
He cuddled with Roman, who looked adorable in his blue knitted cardigan as he sucked on his dummy, and showed him around the van which will follow him along on his journey.
Doting dad: Ryan cuddled with son Roman, who looked adorable in his blue knitted cardigan and one of his dad’s charity T-shirts, and showed him around the van which will follow him along on his journey
He then handed the youngster back to his mother Lucy, who was wearing a green bouclé jacket, wide leg jeans and a pair of white Alexander McQueen trainers.
Lucy shared a clip of Ryan setting off on his charity walk on Monday afternoon, where several people cheered him on and he said ‘love you, bye’ to his fiancée.
On his Just Giving page, Ryan wrote: ‘I am lucky enough to have a big following and as someone in the public eye I want to use it for positive change. The stats are shocking, and we need to do something about it.
‘If one life is saved by me doing this challenge, if someone checks on their friend, or uses CALM for advice and help – then it’s been worth it.
Charity mission: The father-of-two is raising money for CALM (Campaign Against Living Misery) as part of Mental Health Awareness Week 2021
‘I’ll also be using this time and challenge to use my platform to give the charity, mental health experts and survivors a platform to tell their story.’
On his journey, Ryan will make nine overnight stops via six different canals.
The Office For National Statistics reported that there were 6,507 suicides in the UK in 2018, and of those, 75% were men.
Last year, the Samaritans charity reported middle-aged men with financial struggles are most at risk from suicide as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Farewell: Lucy shared a clip of Ryan setting off on his charity walk on Monday afternoon, where several people cheered him on and he said ‘love you, bye’ to his fiancée
Quite the challenge: On his journey, Ryan will make nine overnight stops via six different canals before getting to his final destination in Manchester
It comes after the TV personality moved back to Essex from Manchester with Lucy and Roman.
Ryan and Lucy are in the process of renovating their new home in Cheshire.
Back in March, Lucy shocked her Instagram followers when she shared a snap of a set of keys, captioned: ‘New house, new project, new memories to be made.’
Although Ryan now has two homes in the UK, he recently confessed that he would love to live abroad.
He explained that won’t be able to happen in the near-future, however, as he wouldn’t want to leave 11-year-old daughter Scarlett, who remains in Manchester with actress mother Tina O’Brien.
Vow: Ryan vowed to ‘let people know help is out there’
Talking to brothers Adam and Scott for his Mancs on the Mic podcast, he said: ‘What it comes down to is the weather. The weather changes everything, if it’s not nice weather you stay indoors.
‘In California the weather is good all year round so what do people do? They spend their time outside. Playing basketball, on the beach, going for runs. I feel like that is a happy life when you have the good weather. It keeps people motivated.
‘The only thing that stops that happening, is Scarlett. She lives in two homes. I would like her to have a base, where she can feel it is her “other home”.
‘Otherwise for six months of the year I could live abroad and work from home.’
The actor has previously worked in Australia after scoring a short-lived role in long-running soap Neighbours, starring as Rafael Humphreys for two months between February and April 2018.
New home: It comes after Ryan moved back to Essex from Manchester with Lucy and their son Roman