Emmerdale celebrities to make a pit stop at college

Celebrities from the hit ITV soap Emmerdale will be making a pit stop at Hopwood Hall College’s Middleton campus as part of the Tour de ITV charity bike ride.

ITV and sports charity Join In are partnering for the celebrity pub to pub cycle fun ride, which takes place on Tuesday 1 July, and will see members of the Emmerdale cast ride the 60 miles from the Rover’s Return back to Emmerdale’s local Woolpack pub. They’ll be accompanied by some well-known faces including Laura Tobin – Good Morning Britain’s weather presenter. Emmerdale riders confirmed so far include:

Gaynor Faye (Megan Macey)
James Hooton (Sam Dingle)
Jamie Shelton (Robbie Lawson)
Nicola Wheeler (Nicola King)

The ride begins at Coronation Street’s Rovers Return pub and the first stop for the celebrity riders is Hopwood Hall College’s Middleton campus at 10am. The College is encouraging everyone to come along and cheer on their favourite soap stars en route and they may even have a chance to meet them in person when they stop for refreshments at the College.

Tour de ITV, which is raising funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care, the official charity of *The Grand Départ, will be part of the nationwide ITV Local Heroes campaign, an initiative launched earlier this month that encourages volunteering in local sport. The campaign, which runs alongside ITV’s coverage of the World Cup and the Tour de France, aims to inspire, engage and empower viewers to make a difference and help out at their local sports clubs.

Celebrity rider Gaynor Faye, who has starred in both Emmerdale and Coronation Street said: "I'm excited to be doing something at the heart of our local community inspiring people to volunteer at sports clubs which allows others to enjoy more sports and lead a healthy life. It's also great that we raising funds for a great charity like Marie Curie Cancer Care"

John Spindler, Deputy Principal at Hopwood Hall College, commented: “We’re really excited to welcome the ITV celebrities to the College next week and hope lots of people will join us in cheering them on.” 

Sara Hanson, Head of Corporate Responsibility, ITV adds: “The Tour de ITV is a great way that we can go that extra mile during a fantastic Summer of Sport and a perfect opportunity to showcase the essential role of the volunteer behind any big or small sporting event. We hope that it will inspire more people to become ITV local heroes and lend a hand at a sporting club or event near them”