Hi guys, this is a hard one to write.

As a lot of you know, or can probably see from my pictures, I’m pretty obsessed with my hair. It’s my identity, it’s never been dyed, hardly ever cut and is part of what makes me, me. Also my job as an actor means my whole career can be heavily based around how I look!

However in January, literally days after my mums 60th birthday, she was diagnosed with cancer. It’s been a long three months, an awful lot of tests and confusing results and even more tests for my mum to endure, but finally we are on the right track! She starts chemotherapy next week and although the prognosis is good it is a particularly aggressive type of metastatic breast cancer and the treatment will be pretty horrible, meaning she will lose all her hair.

There is nothing more special to me in the world than my mum and I don’t want her to go through this journey alone. She’s a stubborn and tough nut that I know will put on a brave face and protect her family even when she is at her sickest, and I love her so much. 

So, bearing in mind I haven’t stepped foot inside a hairdressers in over 6 years, and I was once offered £6000 to shave my head for Game Of Thrones and turned it down!!!! I will be cutting my hair and donating it to The Little Princess Trust that provides real hair wigs to children and young people who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment or other conditions.

From receiving hair donations, through to fitting and styling a bespoke wig, it costs the charity £550 to provide a real-hair wig free of charge – so that is the amount I am fundraising for.

This is only a small gesture in a time where I feel pretty hopeless, with lockdowns, coronavirus and my mums compromised immune system, once she starts chemo I won’t be able to see her for a very long time. Hopefully donating my hair will help improve the quality of life and confidence of someone else who is battling cancer. It’s the least I can do, and my agent can shout at me later.