Stand Up to Cancer (UK)

In August 2012, Channel 4 and the UK cancer charity Cancer Research UK joined forces to launch a British version of ‘Stand Up To Cancer'.[5] This consisted of a season of factual, entertainment and health programming building up to a live telethon event on Friday 19 October 2012.

Jay Hunt, Chief Creative Officer of Channel 4, says: "Sadly most of us - more than 1 in 3 - will be touched by cancer at some point in our lives. Stand Up To Cancer is about doing what Channel 4 does best - focusing attention on an important issue using entertainment and comedy. We hope to raise vital funds for trials that could save lives." Dr Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK's chief executive, says: "We want everyone in the UK to unite and stand up to this devastating disease. We've made incredible progress in the last 40 years but there's so much more to do. It's not just technology or knowledge that we need to win our fight to beat cancer - it's funding - and every pound we raise is a step closer to achieving our goal to beat this disease. We are entering the ‘golden age' of cancer research - but each and every one of us can stand up and make a difference right now to come together to raise vital funds for clinical research, accelerate progress and ultimately save more lives."[5]

The 2012 telethon aired live on Channel 4 on Friday 19 October 2012 presented by Davina McCall, Alan Carr and Christian Jessen, and was broadcast live from 19.30 until 00.00.[9]

The evening included, a special 8 Out of 10 Cats episode, a live edition of The Million Pound Drop and saw the cast of Made in Chelsea working in a branch of Tesco.[11]

Following its success, in 2013 Channel 4 announced that a second Stand Up to Cancer telethon would take place in 2014.[8]

The 2014 telethon aired live on Channel 4 on Friday 17 October 2014, hosted by Davina McCall, Alan Carr and Christian Jessen, sponsored by AXA, BT and Scottish Power. The show was extended to start at 19.00 and continues until 02.00.

Clair Rowney, director of Stand Up to Cancer, said: "The Stand Up to Cancer animation truly captures the energy of this year’s campaign and shows how our fight against cancer is at a turning point. Stand Up to Cancer is an opportunity for the entire UK to come together to accelerate new cancer treatments to UK patients and save lives.[12]

• The 2014 Celebrity edition of Gogglebox starring Kathy Burke, Noel Gallagher, Naomi Campbell, Miranda Hart, Paul O'Grady and Kate Moss as well as the regular cast
• Taylor Swift and Jamie Oliver's cookery sketch. Filming in ITV's This Morning studios, the feature saw Oliver singing "Bake It Off", a parody of Swift's song "Shake It Off"
• Derren Brown feature with Martin Freeman and Amanda Abbington
• Casting feature for Andy Murray: The Movie with judges Richard Ayoade and Andy Murray
• Special edition of Alan Carr: Chatty Man with Laura Whitmore, Keith Lemon, Melanie Brown, Jonathan Ross, Ollie Locke and Joey Essex
• Special edition of The Last Leg starring Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker and various celebrity guests

Alan Carr played Deal or No Deal for Stand up to Cancer, and raised £41,000.

Stars at Your Service is a 2014 spin-off from the main Channel 4 telethon airing in four parts, presented by Alan Carr and Davina McCall with Paddy McGuinness providing the narration. The public could request celebrities via the programme's official website.[13]

The Feeling Nuts Comedy Night was part of Stand up to Cancer's 2014 season and The Feeling Nuts Movement, which raises awareness of testicular cancer. The show was hosted by Jack Whitehall and featured comedy sketches from One Direction, James Corden, Jimmy Carr, Cara Delevingne, and Men Behaving Badly.[18]

SU2C returned on Friday 9 October 2015, but a telethon wasn't aired, just with a night of SU2C special editions of Channel 4's popular shows. The schedule, which ran from 20.00 to 23.25, is as follows.

• 20.00: The Last Leg SU2C Special
• 21.00: Gogglebox Celebrity SU2C Special, starring Jamie Dornan, Nick Frost, Geri Halliwell, Boy George and Miranda Hart with her real-life mum Diane and her sitcom mum Patricia Hodge.
• 22.20: Alan Carr: Chatty Man SU2C Special
• 23.25: First Dates Celebrity SU2C Special aired on Monday 12 October at 21.00–22.00.

SU2C returned in October 2016. A telethon was confirmed in August 2016, airing on 21 October live on Channel 4.

One part of the telethon featured Noel Gallagher performing "Half the World Away" as tribute to comedian and actress Caroline Aherne, who had passed away from cancer earlier that year.[19] Boy George performed David Bowie's “Starman” – nine months after his idol's death from liver cancer – along with the National Health Service choir.[20]

In April 2016, as part of Stand Up to Cancer UK, a celebrity edition of The Island would be made to raise money in air of Cancer Research UK. The series will see 10 celebrities live on the island for two weeks with the show airing for 60-minute episodes over the same week as the telethon night. Celebrities taking part were Aston Merrygold, Dawn Harper, Dom Joly, Josie Long, Karen Danczuk, Lydia Bright, Mark Jenkins, Ollie Locke, Thom Evans and Zöe Salmon

A one-off special edition of The Crystal Maze was filmed for the SU2C 2016 at The Crystal Maze Live Experience in London, presented by Stephen Merchant, accompanied by a team of five celebrities – Sara Cox, Michelle Keegan, Rio Ferdinand, Josh Widdicombe and Jonnie Peacock – and aired on 16 October. They won a total of £25,000 for Cancer Research UK in the Crystal Dome. The success of the special subsequently led to the series being revived.

SU2C returned on 3 November 2017 with celebrity specials of Channel 4 programmes.

It was confirmed in October 2017 that a celebrity edition of the Channel 4 series Celebrity Hunted would be made for Stand Up To Cancer. The series began airing on 10 October 2017 over 4 episodes.

The celebrities taking part were Gogglebox’s Stephanie and Dominic Parker, Made in Chelsea’s Jamie Laing & Spencer Matthews, The Wanted’s Jay McGuiness & Siva Kaneswaran and Anneka Rice.

It was confirmed that another Celebrity edition of Celebrity First Dates would be made. Airing on 3 November 2017.

The celebrities taking part include 80's singer Sinitta, MP for Lichfield Michael Fabricant, TV and Capital London Breakfast presenter Roman Kemp and TV presenter Jan Leeming.

It was confirmed in October 2017, that Gogglebox: Celebrity Special would broadcast on 3 November 2017. The one episode celebrity special editions for SU2C has continued since 2017 to present.

The celebrities that took part were Liam Gallagher, Jeremy Corbyn, Jessica Hynes, Freddie Flintoff, Jamie Redknapp, Ed Sheeran, Big Narstie, Example and Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne.

The 2018 telethon aired on Friday 26 October, and was hosted by Alan Carr, Adam Hills and Maya Jama.

The second series of Celebrity Hunted began airing on 16 October on Channel 4. Celebrities participating in the series include Chris Hughes and Kem Cetinay, AJ Pritchard and Louis Smith, Dom Joly and Vicky Pattison, and Kay Burley and Johnny Mercer.[21]

In October 2018, it was confirmed that eight celebrities would take part in a special for Stand Up to Cancer, where they will be agony aunts and uncles in a call centre.[22] The celebrities taking part will be Georgia Toffolo, Joel Dommett, Kimberley Walsh, Kim Woodburn, Louie Spence, Mo Gilligan, Rachel Riley and Tyger Drew-Honey. It will air on 22 October on Channel 4.

Stand Up to Cancer took place on 23 October 2020

The telethon was on 15 October 2021[1] and was hosted by Davina McCall, Alan Carr, Maya Jama and Adam Hills. The programme had an episode of Celebrity Gogglebox split-up into chunks throughout the night, with Graham Norton, Michelle Visage and Matt Lucas being some of the celebrities taking part.[23]

Channel 4 also scheduled a number of additional programmes in the run-up to the telethon, including a documentary about boyband singer Tom Parker as he tries to organise a special charity concert at The Royal Albert Hall, in aid of Stand Up to Cancer, called Inside My Head. The documentary was supposed to be followed by the full concert on 4Music but, due to the ongoing problems at the channel caused by the Red Bee Media broadcast centre incident on 25 September 2021, this live show has not yet been broadcast.[24]