ready, steady... rickshaw!
The One Show’s Matt Baker joins a team of youngsters for a gruelling challenge
Agroup of intrepid teens are preparing for one of the biggest challenges of their lives as they team up with The One Show’s Matt Baker to travel 423 miles by rickshaw!
Now in its eighth year, the Rickshaw Challenge will see the youngsters – including 16-year-old Abby from London, diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and Kieran, 18, a young carer from South Wales – begin their eight-day journey on 9 November in Calais, France, before crossing through the Channel Tunnel and heading north from Folkestone, finishing on 16 November in Salford. The One Show will be previewing the journey on Thursday.
The annual event has raised over £21 million for Children in Need. ‘I can’t wait to get back in the saddle alongside six truly inspirational young people,’ Matt says. ‘Every year the support we get never ceases to amaze me.’
Joining Matt, Abby and Kieran will be four other youngsters who have all benefited from Children in Need-funded projects.
Making a difference
Harry, 17, from Plymouth, was diagnosed with quadriplegic cerebral palsy when he was one, as well as Worster-Drought syndrome, which affects his facial muscles. Phoebe, 19, from Leicester, developed a severe stammer at the age of eight and has been supported by Action for Stammering Children.
Maisie, 16, from Southampton, was born with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, while 16-yearold Kayla from Derry was given help by Bogside & Brandywell Health Forum after her mum passed away from alcoholism.
‘This is a chance for viewers to really see how funding from BBC Children in Need is making a difference,’ says Alex Jones, Matt’s co-host on The One Show. ‘I can’t wait to cheer them on!’ n Follow the team’s progress on The One Show each day, or at pudsey.viewranger.com