Denise Van Outen has been announced as a finalist in the JustGiving Awards 2017. She has been shortlisted for Celebrity Fundraiser of the Year for her work with pioneering charity .

Helen Osborne, Brand and Social Media Manager for JustGiving said "The JustGiving Awards are our annual celebration of all the outstanding people, charities and teams who've used JustGiving to change lives. We’ve had a record-breaking year for nominations this year, receiving over 30,000. Being a finalist for Celebrity Fundraiser of the Year is testament to how amazing Denise’s fundraising was.”

The winner in this category will be decided by a public vote, which opened last night. Denise is up against actor Tom Hardy and football presenter Jeff Stelling. The big reveal will come as part of the JustGiving annual awards, taking place on the 21^st November at The Brewery in central London.

Inspired by the tragic early death of a close friend last year, Denise led a team of celebrities including Kate Thornton and Michelle Heaton on a 187-mile bike ride across Kerala in India in March. The Nicki Waterman Kerala Challenge team raised tens of thousands of pounds for Brain Tumour Research in memory of fitness trainer to the stars, Nicki Waterman. Nicki trained Kelly Brook and girl group All Saints, amongst others, before her illness and died in August 2016, just 15 months after her terminal brain tumour diagnosis.

Denise has an impressive track record in taking on massive charity challenges over the years, from climbing Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief to trekking Machu Picchu for Breast Cancer Care and cycling across India for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Denise said: “This is wonderful news! I'm so touched and feel honoured to raise awareness and money in my friend Nicki’s memory. Research into brain tumours is so underfunded, that needs to change.”

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours, according to the charity Brain Tumour Research.

Robin Meltzer, Director of Fundraising for Brain Tumour Research, said: “We are so grateful for the incredible efforts by Denise, Nicki’s daughter Alex, and the Nicki Waterman Kerala Challenge team. I remember watching their progress back in the office and cheering them on.

“This nomination for Denise is well-deserved, she is a wonderful supporter of Brain Tumour Research and it’s a real pleasure working with her to raise awareness of this devastating disease.”

To vote for Denise, please visit: http://pages.contact.justgiving.com/awards/2017/voting/

For further information, please contact:
Caroline Marrows at Brain Tumour Research on 01908 867221 or 07714 743764 or Caroline@braintumourresearch.org

Notes to Editors

Brain Tumour Research is the only national charity in the UK focused on funding sustainable research to find a cure for brain tumours. We are building a game-changing network of world-class Research Centres of Excellence in the UK. Embracing passionate member charities nationwide, £5.5 million was raised towards research and support during 2016.

We are campaigning to see the national spend on research into brain tumours increased to £30 - £35 million a year, in line with breast cancer and leukaemia. The charity is celebrating a year of high-profile campaigning on this issue following the unprecedented success of its petition in 2016. Following that, Brain Tumour Research is now taking a leading role in the Government’s Task and Finish Working Group convened to tackle the historic underfunding for research.

Key statistics on brain tumours:

• Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer
• They kill more children than leukaemia
• They kill more men under 45 than prostate cancer
• They kill more women under 35 than breast cancer
• Just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease
• In the UK 16,000 people each year are diagnosed with a brain tumour
• Less than 20% of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years compared with an average of 50% across all cancers
• Incidences of, and deaths from, brain tumours are increasing.

Please quote Brain Tumour Research as the source when using this information. Additional facts and statistics are available from our website including our latest Report on National Research Funding. We can also provide case-studies and research expertise for media.