A volunteer who has raised more than £35,000 for a North East hospice has received a massive thanks for her efforts – from the cast of Coronation Street.
Fearless Nancy Spencer, 80, from Heighington, County Durham, took to the skies earlier this year to perform a wing walk across a biplane, in order to raise money for St Teresa’s hospice in Darlington.
Walking across the wings of a plane travelling at 135 miles per hour was only the latest in Nancy’s fundraising pursuits. To date, she has raised £35,000 for the hospice that looks after her husband during his dying days.
And earlier this month, she had the surprise of her life after being duped onto the set of Coronation Street where she was praised for her community efforts by the cast.
Nancy received a "Big Thank You" from the One Show for her work to sustain the charity’s integral palliative care – with the cast of Nancy’s favourite drama, Coronation Street, pitching in to show their appreciation.
Get the latest news, sports, and entertainment delivered straight to your device by subscribing to The Northern Echo here.
Read more: No sleeping on the job for hospice team
Nancy was told that her family had won tickets to a behind-the-scenes tour of the Corrie set, and was whisked off to the Manchester filming location.
Still believing that she was on a set tour, Nancy got to enjoy secret snippets, from seeing the Rovers Return Inn, to the filming of a scene for the kitchen sink drama.
It was only when Sally Ann Matthews, who plays Jenny Bradley, revealed the scene had been setup as a One Show ploy - that reality set in for the octogenarian.
“I jumped on the train never suspecting anything, not even when Sean met us on set,” said Heighington-born Nancy, who now lives in Darlington.
“I just thought it was part of a private tour for winning the tickets. We went in Roy’s Rolls. I met Ken, Rita and Steve and everyone was lovely.
“Then I said I could do with a pint at the Rovers Return but was told they were filming in there so we needed to be quiet. I heard them shout ‘cut’ and when I heard the landlady Jenny say 'Nancy' I presumed she was talking to another cast member.
“I was then led to the bar where she said ‘you thought you were here for a tour but it’s actually all been arranged by the One Show’.
"I was so in awe that I was lost for words, which doesn’t happen very often and suddenly started crying.
"Then Alex Jones came on screen to say well done and our chief executive Nicola Myers, who said how amazing I had been. I never thought this would happen when I did my wing walk.”
Lynn Bradley, Nancy’s daughter, described her fundraising as “absolutely incredible”.
Nancy’s friend, Aileen Little, said: “She started because she knew we needed help and support, and she had time to give and then her husband was admitted to the hospice, and that has driven her on further.”
Lisa Woodhouse, her granddaughter and the person who nominated Nancy for the tribute, added: “I have no doubt that he was looking down on her – I think he’d have said she was crazy – but wouldn’t have expected anything different!”
Nancy has done all kinds of fundraising – from abseiling down local hospitals to donning fancy dress.
Read more:
- Darlington thug jailed for drunken attack on man outside The Gate
- Carmel College, Darlington latest affected after RAAC
- Middlesbrough woman fined after fly-tipped waste set on fire
An utterly surprised Nancy said she “wasn’t expecting anything like this”, but was very happy to have met so many Corrie icons during her "very special" tour of the set. 4
Barbara Knox, who has played Rita since the 1960s, deemed super-gran Nancy “absolutely amazing” for her fundraising work.
Shaun Wallace, a well-known quiz extraordinaire from The Chase, also appeared in a prerecorded message, and urged Nancy to “keep up her work”.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here