The sports broadcaster and former professional tennis player came to visit the Fountain Centre with her husband Mel and they were really impressed by what they saw. It was obvious that Annabel was “at one” with the ethos of the Fountain Centre and had a real understanding and sympathy for our holistic approach to the care of cancer patients.

Her shared belief in the holistic approach to health meant she had no hesitation in becoming one of our patrons and asked us to call if we needed any help in the future.

In fact we did call on Annabel, to feature in a promotional film we have made about the Fountain Centre, to raise awareness of what we offer and to highlight the fact that the Fountain Centre is a charity in need of donations to survive.

George McGavin studied Zoology at Edinburgh University, followed by a PhD in entomology at Imperial College and the Natural History Museum in London. After 25 years as an academic at Oxford University he became a television presenter.

George is an Honorary Research Associate of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and an Honorary Principal Research Fellow at Imperial College. He is a Fellow of the Linnean Society and the Royal Geographical Society, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and an Honorary Life Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society.

His programme credits include Expedition Borneo, Lost Land of the Jaguar, Lost Land of the Volcano, Lost Land of the Tiger, The Dark: nature’s night-time world, Prehistoric Autopsy, Miniature Britain, Planet Ant, Ultimate Swarms, Dissected: the incredible human hand and foot, Monkey Planet, The Secret Life of your House (ITV) and the multi-award winning documentary After Life: the strange science of decay. His most recent programme The Oak: nature’s greatest survivor was shown on BBC4 in October 2015 and won a Royal Television Society Award and a Grierson Award. George is a regular presenter on BBC’s The One Show and has written numerous books on insects and other animals. He is currently working on two documentaries for BBC 4. In 2019 he became the President of the Dorset Wildlife Trust.

Flavia has been a patron of the charity since she hosted a fashion show on our behalf in 2009, and first visited the centre in 2010. The “Strictly” star has been a great friend ever since.

Flavia said “I am proud to be part of this pioneering enterprise and realise that the gentle complementary therapies available to patients are a wonderful addition to the orthodox medical approach to the treatment of cancer.”

Flavia said she would do all she could to publicise and raise awareness of the Fountain Centre in order to raise more vital funds. So she has welcomed our supporters back-stage when she was performing in Woking, hosted a ‘selfie’ opportunity in Guildford and donated her winnings from her appearance on ITV’s ‘Celebrity Mr & Mrs’ – which of course also introduced the Fountain Centre to an audience of millions.

She visited us in December 2017, in a gap in her most recent tour, to meet the Head of our Family Service and find out more about the work we are doing with children.

Eric Peters is a Scottish former amateur and professional rugby union player who was Captain of Rugby at Cambridge and played for England Under 21s, before electing to play for Scotland.

He played in 29 tests and went on four tours, and was appointed captain of Scotland in 1999, but shortly afterwards shattered a kneecap and had a year out of the game. While he was recovering he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which was successfully treated. He returned to rugby and played for Harlequins and other clubs in England and Ireland, and was recalled to the Scotland team.

He retired in 2003. He is now a Chartered Surveyor, and an occasional rugby commentator on BBC Radio 5 Live. Introduced to the Fountain Centre by one of our founders Monica Simpson, he said “when we met she explained what the Fountain Centre does. Given my previous encounter with cancer I was delighted to get involved.”