Bristol TV star Marina Wingrove might not be on our screens on Gogglebox anymore, but the 88-year-old legend is still busy - and helping to raise thousands for a children’s charity.
Marina and her friends at the Monica Wills residential home in Bedminster get together every Thursday in their communal lounge and hold coffee mornings, where they all donate items for the raffle and then sell tickets to raise money around the building.
Marina and her friends have raised an incredible £8,623.70 for the Children’s Hospice South West charity, which runs a hospice for children with life-limiting conditions at Charlton Farm, just outside Bristol.
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Fundraisers at CHSW were delighted to receive the donation, as Marina spoke of her determination to support the charity.
“CHSW is very close to my heart, my dear late friend Margaret had four babies and they all sadly passed away, and back in those days there wasn’t the support for them that there is now at local children’s hospices such as Charlton Farm,” she said.
“I have also been very lucky to have visited the beautiful Charlton Farm on occasions so I know all about the special work they do supporting so many local families,” she added.
For years, Marina was one part of the Gogglebox double act with her best friend Mary Cook, until Mary sadly passed away at the age of 92 in August 2021. Last December, a picture of Marina raising a glass of bubbly to mark her 88th birthday was greeted by congratulations from fellow Gogglebox stars when it was posted on the show’s social media, and now Marina has popped down to the hospice at Wraxall to handover her latest donations from Monica Wills House.
“We rely on voluntary donations to continue to care for local children with life-limiting conditions and their families,” explained Amanda Leonard, the area fundraiser for CHSW. “We are truly grateful for the support from Marina and her friends; we would not be able to do what we do without the energy, devotion and sheer generosity of all our supporters,” she added.
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