TV’s Hugh Dennis walks across London for dementia charity
He put his best foot forward to support a 13-mile sponsored walk by the Alzheimer’s Society starting at Tower Bridge, raising money and awareness for the 900,000 people living with the disease in the UK and the millions more families and carers who are affected.
“Dementia is a huge and often undiscussed issue,” Dennis said. “But the Alzheimer’s Society is tackling it head on, helping those who live with it and those who care for them.
“I was sharing the day with different people with different stories and reasons for being on the walk who were united by one aim — to help to stop dementia in its tracks.”
But the 13-mile trek was taking its toll on the 58-year-old star of TV’s Mock the Week, a vicar’s son brought up on the Isle of Dogs and in Mill Hill in north London.
“My feet are tired,” he admitted. “But the community spirit spurred me on towards the finish line.
“I hope that joining the trekkers has made a small contribution to helping provide support to everyone affected by dementia.”
The father-of-two, who also stars in BBC sitcom Not Going Out, has previously been seen out walking on Hampstead Heath near where he lives.
The trek on June 3 was one of the charity’s 13 ‘long walk’ events planned all over Britain, with London the first in the series which took in landmarks like the Tower of London, St Paul’s Cathedral, the London Eye and Houses of Parliament.
One-in-three of the population could go on to develop dementia in their lifetime, the charity points out.
Alzheimer’s Society fundraising manager Hannah Mayfield said: “Everyone who took part in the walk like Hugh Dennis has helped raise money and awareness, towards a world where dementia no longer devastates lives.
“Every penny raised from events like this helps us continue to be a source of support and a force for change for everyone affected by it.”
Money raised goes towards the charity’s support services which have been used more than four-and-a-half million times in the last 12 months alone.