On February 15th of last year, beloved TV presenter Caroline Flack passed away. The shock was felt across the country as her many fans – who had followed her successful trail through Strictly Come Dancing, The Xtra Factor and Love Island – grieved for a woman who, thanks to her infectious personality, felt like their friend. But she also left behind friends and family who had known her intimately, and are now paying tribute to her via a fundraising challenge.
Bradley Simmonds met Caroline in 2019, when she approached him via Instagram to enlist his services as a personal trainer.
‘She just messaged me saying “I'm looking for a new trainer”, Bradley recalls. ‘”Would you like to train me?” So we got into a good conversation about her goals and what she wanted to achieve, and we got on really well, so we went from there. We trained almost five days a week, and we became very good friends: you can gain a good relationship as a trainer, and throughout the year she got in really good shape, and mentally was in a great space.’
Her passing affected Bradley greatly. ‘What people saw on TV was actually what Caroline was like,’ he says. ‘She was always so bubbly, her personality was amazing, she was always smiling. She always saw the best in people. And she always wanted to see people do well.’
Keen to find a way to honour his friend, and after a summer spent helping his social media followers with their fitness in lockdown, an idea was born: to gather people who knew Caroline well, enlist them to climb 24 peaks in the Lake District in 24 hours, and raise vital funds for Samaritans. The project, Climb For Caroline, officially launched last year. Mollie Grosberg, Olly Murs, Lou Teasdale and Nana Acheampong are among those joining Bradley on the trek.
‘It was quite emotional, of course’, Bradley says of reaching out to potential participants. ‘But they were all very keen to jump on board and to help where they can. I think it's going to be incredible.’
The original plan – to get going last October – was rendered impossible by the pandemic, which gave the group more time to prepare. ‘Caroline had a lot of celebrity friends who have got big followings,’ Bradley says. ‘So I hope it’s going to raise a lot of awareness and, hopefully, money, for Samaritans.’
24 peaks in 24 hours (the group will walk twelve hours a day across two days) is quite the challenge, especially for a group with different levels of fitness. But Bradley says it comes down to support.
‘As a group, we will be motivating each other and pushing each other’, he says. ‘And if we need to rest to let others have a break, just so that we can all finish together, then we'll do that. We are doing this for Caroline, showing our support, because that’s what people need when they struggle with their mental health: support.’
The mission is, of course, bittersweet. Raising money and awareness is an honourable goal, but the project was inspired by the death of a loved one. But Bradley is keen to stay positive and acting. ‘I have lovely memories of Caroline, which I have always treasured and always thought about’, he says. ‘And something she said to me, which I’ll never forget was “Bradley, 2020 is going to be your year. So for me, that was a sense of motivation to go and make her proud. You know, if she's looking down, I’m going to make her proud.’
Climb 4 Caroline will take place this weekend. To donate visit https://justgiving.com/fundraising/climb4caroline/
Samaritans, which offers a free listening service, can be contacted via itswebsiteor by phone on 116 123.