Scottish Clowndoctors to Put Smiles on TV Viewers’ Faces

The National Lottery Live show will feature CHAS Robin House Hospice in Balloch and a project which cheers up sick children across Scotland this Saturday (21 December).

The Clowndoctors, who use performing arts to brighten up the lives of children in hospitals and hospices, will be shown visiting CHAS Robin House on the BBC One show at 9.50pm.

The Clowndoctors will also be travelling to London to take part in the live show and be interviewed by host Chris Evans about the work that they do.

Run by charity Hearts and Minds, The Clowndoctors have received more than £87,000 of National Lottery funding over the last ten years to enable them to visit 17 venues in Scotland and put smiles on the faces of 10,000 children. The most recent grant was

Pip Quinn, Fundraising and Communications Officer at Hearts and Minds, said: “Clowndoctors bring joy and laughter to children and hope to their families. We visit short stay patients, children who are long term ill and children who are fully dependent on care and have life-limiting illnesses.

“We are not just about magic tricks, it is therapy. We use storytelling, music and drumming to help distract children from their situations and stimulate them to help their development.

“We are really excited to be featured on the National Lottery Live Show. We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without National Lottery funding and to be recognised in this way means a lot to us as we are a small charity.”

Jackie O’Sullivan, spokesperson for the National Lottery, said: “We are delighted to be able to showcase the brilliant work of The Clowndoctors to an audience of millions. It is important that National Lottery players know how their money is helping people."

National Lottery players raise over £33 million for projects every week, and since 1994 a whopping £30 billion has been raised to help more than 420,000 projects across the arts, sports, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.

To find out more about how National Lottery players’ money is supporting people, projects and places across the UK, visit www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk.