Olympic legends, sporting greats and iconic names from stage, screen and beyond will be on the Start Line of the 2025 TCS London Marathon, the 45th edition of the event, on Sunday 27 April.
The list of famous faces taking part this year is stacked with substantial sporting pedigree, none more so than former professional cyclist Sir Jason Kenny, whose seven Olympic gold medals make him Britain’s most successful Olympian of all time.
The 36-year-old now works as a sprint coach for Great Britain’s men’s cycling team and is looking forward to taking part in his first TCS London Marathon.
Speaking about his marathon debut, Kenny said: “I’ve never seen myself as a runner, but since retiring from competing on the bike I’ve started to run more and completely fallen in love with it.
“Taking on the TCS London Marathon for the first time is a huge challenge, but I’m excited to step out of my comfort zone. It’s a different kind of test and I’m ready to give it my all.”
Kenny will be joined by another Olympic champion also making his debut: Chris Mears. The 3m synchronised springboard diving champion at Rio 2016 will be running to support the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.
Legendary England cricketers Sir Andrew Strauss and Sir Alastair Cook, who have 261 international Test appearances between them, will be taking part in the TCS London Marathon for the Ruth Strauss Foundation, with Cook making his debut.
The charity was set up in 2019 to support research into the diagnosis, treatment and cure of rare forms of lung cancer after Strauss’s wife, Ruth, a non-smoker, passed away from lung cancer in 2018.
Boxing coach Shane McGuigan will run the 2025 TCS London Marathon in memory of his elder sister, Danika, who died of bowel cancer in July 2019.
The former amateur Irish boxer, and son of former world champion boxer Barry, now works as a coach training the next generation of boxers, several of whom have become world boxing champions, including David Haye, George Groves, Carl Frampton and Daniel Dubois.
In November 2024, Danika’s story captured the nation via the reality TV show I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! after her father, Barry, gave an emotional recollection of her fight against her illness while he spoke to fellow contestants.
Shane, 37, is now preparing to complete his first TCS London Marathon for the charity Young Lives vs Cancer in Danika’s memory. He said: “My beautiful sister Danika lost her battle with cancer in 2019 at the young age of 33.
“She overcame it once with a two-year fight when she was aged 11 to 13. My parents and my brothers have known the devastating impact that childhood cancer can have on the whole family.
“Young Lives vs Cancer’s specialist social workers provide practical and emotional support every step of the way from the point of diagnosis for as long as they are needed.”
Romesh Ranganathan also returns to the TCS London Marathon, after he made his debut in the event last year. The 46-year-old comedian, TV presenter, actor, radio host and author will be raising money for Teenage Cancer Trust, with a fundraising target of £115,000.
He said: “I was lucky enough to visit Teenage Cancer Trust units across the country during my tour last year, so I decided to run the TCS London Marathon again to fundraise for the charity.
“I saw first-hand how invaluable Teenage Cancer Trust’s work is. The support they offer to not only teens and young adults with cancer, but their families too, is remarkable.
“By running the marathon, I want to raise as much money as I possibly can and to raise as much awareness for the charity as I can. My target is £115,000, which will pay for two Teenage Cancer Trust nurses for a year and any support is greatly appreciated.”
TV personality, radio host and model Kelly Brook will take on her first TCS London Marathon alongside her husband Jeremy Parisi. The 44-year-old Loose Women panellist was a keen long-distance runner at school and decided to try her hand at the marathon distance shortly after competing on the BBC’s Celebrity Race Across the World with Parisi.
Brook said: “Myself and Jeremy are so excited to be running our first TCS London Marathon this year with Radox. It’s something we’ve always wanted to do, and I can already feel the butterflies flying inside my stomach!
“The training has been quite challenging at times so far, but it will be so worth it when we cross the finish line on The Mall, with the crowd cheering on around us! This will be an unforgettable experience, and we can’t wait!”
British soap stars will be represented this year by London Marathon veteran Tony Audenshaw, who has played Bob Hope on the ITV soap Emmerdale since 2000. The 60-year-old lost his wife to pancreatic cancer in 2017, so he decided to run this year to support Pancreatic Cancer UK, the 2025 TCS London Marathon Official Charity of the Year, a decade on from his last London Marathon in 2015.
Fellow actors Lisa McGrillis and Kedar Williams-Stirling, who both appeared on the hit Netflix show Sex Education, will be taking part in the event for the first time. McGrillis, who now stars in the Disney+ TV series Rivals as Valerie Jones, will be running with her best friend, Mary, in support of the BHF, after Mary lost her husband, Nigel, who had a heart attack aged 47.
McG said: “How do you help your best friend through losing someone irreplaceable? Nigel was one of those amazing people who lit up a room and left a lasting impression on everyone he met. Funny and charismatic, and the most wonderful, kind-hearted dad to his two beautiful daughters.
“Sadly, 49,000 people in the UK under 75 die every year from heart and circulatory diseases. Mary and I want to help put a stop to this by raising vital funds for the BHF’s lifesaving research to keep more families together for longer.”
Williams-Stirling, 30, who starred in the play Red Pitch in London’s West End in 2024, will be running to raise money for environmental charity WWF.
He said: “I’m running the TCS London Marathon because I’ve been allowed to be part of something special. For the challenge, the community and the fun of it.
“As a WWF ambassador, I’m passionate about the future of our planet and the most vulnerable communities affected by the ongoing climate and nature crisis throughout the world, so I find events that bring attention to the causes we face as humans inspiring.
“I’m really looking forward to it, and hopefully this won’t be my last. London, stand up tall!”
A host of singers and musicians will also be on the Start Line in April, including West End star and X Factor winner Alexandra Burke, who will make her TCS London Marathon debut in support of Diabetes UK.
Burke lost her mum, Melissa, to diabetes aged 53 in 2017. She will run alongside her fiancée, former Premier League goalkeeper Darren Randolph. The pair are both ambassadors of the charity.
Grammy and Tony award-winning American actor and Broadway star Patina Miller will swap the boards for the streets of London to make her TCS London Marathon debut.
Pop star Harry Judd, best known as the drummer in the band McFly, will return to the Start Line this year to make his third London Marathon appearance.
Joe Wicks, otherwise known as the ‘Body Coach’, will take to the Start Line for the first time in 10 years to raise money for his charity, The Body Coach Foundation.
The 39-year-old is not worrying about the time he records this time around: “I’m so looking forward to enjoying the journey this time. I’m planning to run at a slower pace, just to enjoy the experience and cheer as many people on throughout the day.”
Full list of celebrities taking on the 2025 TCS London Marathon
Adam Woodyatt – actor: EastEnders (Bab’s Army)
Adele Roberts – radio personality
Alexandra Burke – singer and actor (Diabetes UK)
Dr Alex George – TV personality and presenter (Anthony Nolan)
Dr Amos Ogunkoya – contestant on The Traitors (Season 1), (Anthony Nolan)
Baasit Siddiqui – star of Channel 4’s Gogglebox (Mind)
Candice Brathwaite-Abdoerin – social media influencer
Cel Spellman – actor and TV and radio presenter (WWF)
Chris Evans – radio presenter
Chris Newton – former Olympic cyclist (Anthony Nolan)
Clara Francis – actor (Child Bereavement UK)
Courtney Clare – fitness influencer (Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance)
Craig Doyle – TV presenter: This Morning (LooseHeadz)
Craig Parkinson – actor: Line of Duty, Grace
Danny Mills – former footballer: Leeds, Manchester City, England
Darren Randolph – football goalkeeper: ex West Ham and Ireland player (Diabetes UK)
Emma Campbell – author, speaker and podcaster (Bowel Babe Fund)
Emon Choudhury – winner of TV show Race Across the World
Gary Rowett – Oxford United football manager
Harry Judd – musician and McFly drummer
Helen Thorn – comedian and author
Jack Greenlees – actor: Shetland, Joan
Jack Skipper – comedian (Teenage Cancer Trust)
Jack Wilshere – former footballer: Arsenal and England (British Heart Foundation)
Jake Quickenden – singer and TV personality
James Rodwell – former England and Great Britain rugby sevens player
Jamie Jones-Buchanan – former rugby league player (Sue Ryder Care)
Jenni Falconer – Smooth FM radio presenter, TV presenter and podcaster
Jeremy Joseph – founder of G-A-Y nightclub (various charities)
Jody Morris – former footballer: Chelsea (Rays of Sunshine)
Joel Dommett – comedian, presenter and TV personality
Joe Sugg – TV and social media personality
Joe Wicks – fitness coach, TV presenter and influencer (The Body Coach Foundation)
John Terry – former footballer: Chelsea and England (Rays of Sunshine)
Kedar Williams-Stirling – actor: Sex Education, Small Axe (WWF)
Kelly Brook – TV personality: Loose Women, model and actor
Kimberley Hart-Simpson – actor: Coronation Street (British Heart Foundation)
Kitty Scott-Claus – drag artist, star of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK (various)
Leonardo Bonucci – former footballer: Juventus and Italy (Young Lives vs Cancer)
Lisa McGrillis – actor: Rivals, Sex Education (British Heart Foundation)
Marcus Bean – TV chef and presenter (Royal Marsden)
Michael Griffiths – TV personality: Love Island 2019 (Rays of Sunshine)
Michael Jamieson – former Olympic swimmer (Pancreatic Cancer UK)
Ollie Proudlock – reality TV personality: Made In Chelsea (British Heart Foundation)
Patina Miller – stage actor: Sister Act, Pippin, Into The Woods
Paul Ainsworth – TV chef (Pancreatic Cancer UK)
Paul Tonkinson – comedian, radio host and TV personality (Parkinsons UK)
Randall Park – actor, producer and filmmaker (Kulture City)
Rob Deering – comedian, broadcaster and writer (Parkinsons UK)
Romesh Ranganathan – comedian and presenter (Teenage Cancer Trust)
Rou Reynolds – musician and singer from band Enter Shikari
Sam Heughan – actor: Outlander (Blood Cancer UK)
Shabaz Ali – comedian and broadcaster (Save The Children)
Shane McGuigan – boxing coach and former amateur boxer (Young Lives vs Cancer)
Sir Alastair Cook – former England cricket captain (Ruth Strauss Foundation)
Sir Andrew Strauss – former England cricket captain (Ruth Strauss Foundation)
Sir Jason Kenny – former Olympic cyclist
Spencer Matthews – TV personality: Made In Chelsea
Stef Reid – former Paralympic athlete, Canada and Great Britain
Stephen Mangan – actor and TV presenter
Stephen Webb – star of Channel 4’s Gogglebox
Steve Bland – former host of You, Me And Big C podcast and journalist (Bowel Babe Fund)
Steve Sidwell – former footballer: Chelsea, Reading and Fulham (British Heart Foundation / MND)
Stevie Bradley – reality TV personality: Love Island (Prostate Cancer UK)
Suzanne Shaw – TV personality and singer (WellChild)
Thomas Law – actor: EastEnders
Tony Audenshaw – actor: Emmerdale (Pancreatic Cancer UK)
