The dying wish of Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding is coming a step closer thanks to one of her best pals.
Sarah died of breast cancer aged 39 in September 2021 but wanted part of her legacy to be saving others from the disease. Now close friend Liz Martins, 51, is running the London Marathon in aid of the hospital that cared for Sarah.
All funds Liz raises will support the Christie Hospital in Manchester, a dedicated cancer treatment centre.
The make-up artist added: “If me doing the London marathon for the Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal can save just one life, it will have been worth it.”
She said the pair were “instantly drawn to each other” when they met on the set of the Long Hot Summer video in 2004.
Her favourite memory of Sarah is from the 2009 Brit Awards. Girls Aloud had just won best single for The Promise.
Liz said: “We were heading to an after-party at a hotel and were being chased by paparazzi. As I got out of the car, I tripped up and went flying, and Sarah came to help me. It was all caught on camera and the photo got used the next day in loads of newspapers.”
As Sarah was diagnosed at the height of the pandemic, the friends’ weekends together watching movies had to end – she could not risk a Covid infection.
Liz, of Leytonstone, East London, adds of their quality time together: “She was an amazing cook, her Sunday roast was killer. She could play the guitar so beautifully, she could have me in tears.”
As Sarah’s health deteriorated, she would sometimes cry in voice note messages to Liz, asking “why me?”
Liz, who Sarah nicknamed Mad Head, said: “I’ve kept every single voice note she ever sent me. When I’m running I listen to her music and I can feel her presence... when I actually do the marathon she’ll be there screaming ‘Go on Mad Head’.”
When Sarah realised it was the end, Liz says, she wanted her book Hear Me Out to be a thank you and a farewell to everyone. She also wanted women to check their breasts for early signs of cancer.
Liz, who runs the London Marathon on April 23, added: “The baton has been passed to me now.”
