19-05-2025
Gemma Atkinson ‘struggles' through race – but raises £17,000 for East Lancs charity
Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez took part in the Great Manchester Run on Sunday (May 18), raising thousands for an Edenfield charity.
Gemma, a former Hollyoaks actress from Bury, took part in the 10K run with fiancé Gorka.
The radio presenter struggled but managed to complete the run. At the time of writing, her efforts have helped raise more than £17,000 for Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary.
Gemma, who is ambassador and president of the animal sanctuary, said: 'We are just home. Hand on heart, I cannot thank you all enough. You have made more than [£17,000] for Bleakholt. Last year we raised £10,000 so in my head I wanted to get more than that.
Gemma Atkinson with a cat (Image: Bleakholt)
'Gorka loved it – I hated it. It wasn't fun, there was nothing fun about it. I didn't enjoy the run. I enjoyed the atmosphere, the day, the people.
'If you did it and you're not a runner, well done. It is tough and I struggled.'
The money will go towards Bleakholt's Project Purrfect, which is a £300,000 renovation and extension of its cattery which will help more neglected and abandoned cats in the region.
The extension will allow the sanctuary to house at least another 100 cats while also improving the welfare of the cats they look after.
Sanctuary manager Karen Weed said: "We are blown away by the money Gemma and Gorka have raised for our Project Purrfect.
"We are so thankful to them for doing the AJ Bell Great Manchester Run for us and for everyone who sponsored them.
"This is a massive boost as we begin Project Purrfect this year, which is a £300,000 renovation and extension of our cattery which will help more neglected and abandoned cats in the north-west.
"Only this weekend we had five large kittens left in a plastic box on site. Every penny Gemma and Gorka raised will go straight to Project Purrfect."
