Nigel Havers backs Roald Dahl Nurses at Chariots of Fire charity run
Actor Nigel Havers was at Cambridge's Trinity College Great Court last week, scene of the Great Court Run against 12 strikes of its famous clock - a scene which Havers helped bring to life and legend in the movie Chariots of Fire. This time, though, he was cheering on three Roald Dahl Nurses in training ahead of the city's Chariots of Fire annual charity relay race later this summer, this year backing Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity which raises funds to establish Nurse Specialists who care for thousands of seriously ill children across the UK.
Runners and Roald Dahl Nurses Clare Clark, Katrina Cousins and Elizabeth Joshua-John met with Nigel Havers, who played Lord Andrew Lindsay in the film, to talk about the work they do, and their ambitions for their own Chariots of Fire run.
“We didn’t expect this movie to have a lasting legacy,” says Havers. “It has so many layers but mostly it is about winning through. I feel really glad to have been part of it and I am so pleased to be here at Trinity with Roald Dahl Nurses today, and that this year Chariots of Fire is supporting Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity. Nurses everywhere do a fantastic job, but meeting Roald Dahl Nurses Clare and Elizabeth and Katrina and hearing about the work they do and very personalized, bespoke care they offer to children with life-limiting or lifelong serious illness I was struck by how much sense this way of working makes. They are doing a marvellous job for children and their families.”
Havers says he made great long-lasting friendships filming Chariots 45 years ago, including with Lord David Puttman. Puttnam, who picked up an Oscar and BAFTA for the film, started this annual charity relay race in 2003 saying he was proud that the film was still proving its value. "It must have struck a chord for I know of no other film that manages to evoke the same, entirely positive reaction,” he said.
The race is sponsored by HCR Hewitsons who chose Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity as its partner for 2025 as the charity work to establish new specialist Roald Dahl Nurses, to add to the 200 plus in post who now care for over 40,000 children with serious and lifelong conditions. The three Roald Dahl Nurses pictured are Clare Clark and Katrina Cousins who are Roald Dahl Nurses based at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, and Elizabeth Joshua who is a Roald Dahl Nurse based at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital.
"It is wonderful to be part of the Roald Dahl Nurse community and so we're really pleased to be supporting this fundraising initiative," said Katrina (pictured as indicated in email caption depending on which shot used) who, with Clare is running with an Addenbrooke's Hospital team. "The role affords us the time to offer a bespoke, personalised care to the children and young people, and to offer them and their families additional support through Roald Dahl's Marvellous Family Services.
“And it means we can enable care and treatments to be delivered closer to home which saves families, already often overwhelmed, from having to travel to the specialist centres for all aspects of their treatment.
Elizabeth Joshua-John (pictured far right) is based at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital and says in her role she gets to know her patients and their family as they're admitted or from the day of diagnosis and, from that time, is the main point of contact.
"I am someone they can text or call if they are uncertain or anxious about what's happening, and I can be on hand when their child is brought into hospital, be with them in appointments, and liaise with schools and community teams to ensure continuity of care. We all feel really proud to be involved with and supported by the charity in the work we do."
"We are really excited about this partnership and the opportunity to share our story and the work we do with everyone in this region of England, while raising vital funds for the life-changing work our Roald Dahl Nurses do," adds the charity's Chief Executive Louise Griew. “And we are so delighted to have Nigel Havers’ support as he returned to the Great Court setting at Trinity to meet with some of our Roald Dahl Nurses.”
Since the event started in 1992, Chariots of Fire has raised over £1.48 million for local and regional charities, with an estimated 6,245 teams having taken part in the race, with approximately 37,470 individual runners pitting themselves against each other. This year's event is managed by RunThrough, the UK's largest running events company. And there's still time to sign up to run.