I'm a celebrity - get your wallet out
by Alan Rowley, 19th March 2004

I'm A Celebrity star Phil Tufnell attempts to swop his 'King of the Jungle' crown for the 'King of the Road' title when he takes part in a 500 miles walk around the cricket grounds of England in an attempt to raise £250,000 for the charity Macmillan Cancer Relief.

The former England cricketer – now a team captain on the popular TV game show They Think It's All Over – will walk to a total of 20 village cricket clubs and six Test Match grounds, starting at Hove in Sussex on Sunday 16th May and finishing 28 days and 500 miles later at the npower Test Match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Saturday June 12th.

Phil said: 'The npower 500 is going to be my biggest test yet but it’s a challenge I look forward to. There are very few of us who are not affected by cancer and I have a very personal connection – I lost my mother to leukaemia and understand the difference that a charity like Macmillan can make to people living with cancer. I am really committed to raising as much money as possible knowing that it will help Macmillan Cancer Relief to continue their excellent work.'

Phil Tufnell starts his training for the 500 mile trek at headquarters

Great news for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire is that the walk will pass through the area calling at four of our local clubs. On May 31st, the walk arrives at Derbyshire County League club Parwich and will depart from there the following morning heading for Yorkshire and Derbyshire club Hathersage. Phil and his entourage depart from Hathersage on Wednesday 2nd June and head off for South Yorkshire.

On the 9th June, the walk arrives in Hartington before departing the village the next morning on route for Premier League club Wirksworth. The final full day of the walk takes place on Friday 11th June when Phil walks to South Notts League club Eastwood Town. On Saturday 12th, Phil takes the short stroll from Eastwood down to Trent Bridge in time for the third day of the New Zealand Test.

Read: Full npower 500 route | Tufnell to walk npower 500 | npower 500 official website

Preparations are already underway at Eastwood to provide a suitable welcome for the celebrity and his friends on their final evening of the walk. The attractive traditional pavilion at Eastwood will be a welcoming site for Phil and he is bound to want to relax with a pint next to the stream which runs through Eastwood's ground.

Eastwood Town chairman Alan Hill told 'the follow on' that the club would like to stage some sort of cricket match on the Friday afternoon providing a suitable opportunity for readers of this site to become involved. It is unsure how Phil will want to become involved with each club on his epic trek as pain and blisters might understandably dent his enthusiasm. Eastwood, however, are discussing plans for an evening barbecue and auction similar to the one organised for last year's Monsters of Cricket event at Marehay.

If you would like to help with this event, or take part in any cricket match that is organised, please contact alan@thefollowon.com.