Coronation Street star's epic bike ride in honour of friend who died after slipping on the stairs

Wales Online

19-05-2025

Coronation Street star's epic bike ride in honour of friend who died after slipping on the stairs
Charles Dale, who has starred in Coronation Street and Casualty, was left devastated when his friend died after falling down the stairs
Welsh actor Charles Dale will ride around Britain in memory of his friend
(Image: WalesOnline/ Gayle Marsh )
A Welsh soap star will set off on an epic month-long motorbike ride in honour of his pal who died from a brain injury. Charles Dale, 62, who played Dennis Stringer in Coronation Street and Big Mac in Casualty was left devastated when his friend died after falling down stairs. Shaun Griffiths, 63, suffered a brain injury in the accident before he died in October 2024. So, Charles - who also appeared in Emmerdale, Holby City and The Bill - will rev up his motorbike to set off from Tenby to ride around Britain visiting 100 motorcycle cafes in a sponsored ride.
He will be joined by other fundraisers in the month-long adventure dubbed 'Shaun's TT One Hundred' to raise money charities Brain Tumour Research and Headway. Charles said: "Just over six months ago one of my oldest and best friends suffered a catastrophic brain injury because of what can only be described as a 'silly' household accident - he slipped on the stairs. "Unfortunately for Shaun this resulted in a bleed on the brain and just over a week later his family had to make the most difficult decision ever, to withdraw life support. Shaun died shortly after; he was 63. "When you get to my age you are unfortunately no stranger to death, but losing loved ones to old age or illness, though no less painful, has always sort of made sense to me. This however was different, I couldn't make sense of it. "Shaun slipped on the stairs, something we've all done, and yet my lovely, always smiling friend of over 40 years, was gone. I had to do something, so after talking with his family, 'Shaun's TT One Hundred' was born." Charles said he will set off from his hometown of Tenby where he serves as deputy mayor has also become an Ambassador for Brain Tumour Research after seeing friends and their relatives suffer in recent years. They include Charles' Corrie co-star Bill Tarmey, whose son Carl died of a brain tumour, as well as poet Benjamin Zephaniah, also died from a brain tumour in 2023
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Charles is also very good friends with fellow actor and Ambassador Craig Russell who underwent surgery to remove a meningioma two years ago. He said: "Seeing the devastating impact brain tumours have had on my friends' lives has been awful - so I'm deeply honoured to become an Ambassador for Brain Tumour Research, the leading voice of the brain tumour community and a cause that's very close to my heart. "Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet, to date, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease since records began in 2022. This must change - enough is enough." Dan Knowles, CEO of Brain Tumour Research, said: "We are deeply honoured to announce Charles as our new Ambassador. He has been a huge support to the charity, playing a key role in some of our biggest campaigns such as Shine A Light and Wear A Hat Day during Brain Tumour Awareness Month. "One in three people knows someone affected by a brain tumour and we look forward to working with Charles to drive the much-needed change which brain tumour patients and their families so desperately deserve.
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Headway provides support, services and information to brain injury survivors, their families and carers. Headway - the brain injury association supports a network of more than 100 independent Headway charities and volunteer-led branches throughout the UK. You can find out more about Charles' ride here.