Soap stars, Matt Hancock and Ruth Wilson among celebs battling London Marathon

21 April 2024 , 11:51

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Soap stars, Matt Hancock and Ruth Wilson among celebs battling London Marathon

The 2024 edition of the iconic London Marathon sees over 50,000 runners take to the 26.2-mile course through England’s capital, with a number of celebrities among those at the start line.

The race for the celebs began in Blackheath before the course snaked around some of the most iconic sights of the capital and a number of the famous runners were pictured before heading to the start line. Actress Ruth Wilson, who is best known for her role in Luther, is running on behalf of Alzheimer's Research UK following her father Nigel's diagnosis, who had ran in the inaugural London Marathon, back in 1981.

Ruth was also joined by former Olympic champion, Dame Kelly Holmes, as well as TV presenter Jenni Falconer, as they looked forward to the race ahead. Virgin Radio presenter Chris Evans, with wife Natasha Shishmanian, were looking in fine fettle as they got ready to line-up for the start, where newsreader Sophie Raworth was also waiting to take on the historic course.

Dame Kelly Holmes at the start line (Getty Images)

Ruth Wilson prepares to compete in the 2024 TCS London Marathon (Getty Images)

Comedian Romesh Ranganathan is running for the first time, in aid of mental health charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), after the TV star struggled with his own mental health in the past leading him to become a patron of the charity since October 2023.

Romesh Ranganathan is running for a mental health charity (Getty Images)

Chris Evans and his wife Natasha Shishmanian before the race (Getty Images)

The BAFTA winner actor took to Instagram ahead of the big day in which he detailed the reasons why he is running the London Marathon this year. He said in a clip on the social media site: "I said I’d never run a marathon but here I am. I’m not sure where I’d be today if I didn’t get help when I hit rock bottom. In fact, I don’t know if I’d be here at all. So, I want to help to make sure more people know about CALM’s life-saving services, as well as raising as much money as I can."

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Matt Hancock prepares ahead of running the London Marathon (Getty Images)

Jenni Falconer, Aimee Fuller and Sophie Raworth photographed ahead of the start of the 2024 TCS London Marathon (Getty Images)

Former MP and I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! star, Matt Hancock, will be plodding the streets while two EastEnders stars will be running in character, with the race forming part of an episode of the BBC soap. Emma Barton and Jamie Borthwick, who play Honey Mitchell and Jay Brown on Albert Square, will be filmed for Monday's episode of the soap.

Jamie Borthwick and Emma Barton will be running as their EastEnders characters (Getty Images)

The pair are running in memory of Lola Mitchell, played by Danielle Harold, who was married to Jay when she passed away following a battle with brain cancer in 2023..

James Brinsford