Michelle Collins leads celebrities backing campaign to help disadvantaged children get free sun cream

Celebrities are supporting a program that is giving underprivileged elementary school children free bottles of high SPF sunscreen for the third year running.

As part of the Sun Poverty campaign, 30,000 bottles of HPF lotion are being distributed through London’s food and beauty banks to children with free school meals to use over the summer holidays.

Research has shown that exposure to the sun as a child is the most important risk factor for developing life-threatening melanoma and a blistering sunburn doubles the risk of developing skin cancer in adulthood, since 80% of all lifetime sun exposure occurs before the age of 18.

Skin cancer is the fastest growing cancer in the UK and according to Cancer Research UK there were 12,000 new cases of skin cancer in 2020 and the incidence rate is now 27 in 100,000, which is 140 per cent higher than skin cancer rates in the early 1990s.

Actress Michelle Collins, 60, is a mother of one and lost her own mother to skin cancer in 2021.

The former EastEnders and Coronation Street star shared a video online and was emotional as she paid tribute to her late parent while highlighting the importance of this year’s campaign.

“I experienced this firsthand because my mother was diagnosed with end-stage skin cancer and sadly passed away a few years later,” she said.

As she spoke, Collins took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling to calm himself, then continued, “So I know how important it is to wear SPF.”

She stressed that “prevention is so much better than cure” and encouraged parents to make sure their children use high SPF sunscreen “to protect them from the harmful UV rays”.

The initiative is being organized by online beauty retailer Escentual, which is also campaigning for the government to lower VAT on children’s sunscreen.

As part of their commitment, they have created educational comics for teachers across the UK to download and use to teach children good sun habits.

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Steps singer Faye Tozer, who is a mother to a teenager, said: “The fact that 80% of sun damage occurs before the age of 18 shocked me; I have a son who is always protected from the sun, but not all families can afford sunscreen. Sun protection should not be a luxury!”

Strictly Come Dancing judge and mother-of-one Shirley Ballas agreed, “It is so important that children are protected from the sun and all families should have access to high SPF sunscreen.”

Learn more at escentual.com/escentual/sun-poverty/