Simon Cowell might be portrayed as TV's Mr Nasty but last week the X Factor judge showed off his soft side by appealing to his 11million Twitter followers for the #HoldAmysHand appeal to help raise money for a life-saving operation for Showbiz journalst Amy Watts.
Amy is 37 years old and has stage four colon cancer. After being diagnosed in August - when she was told it had spread to her liver - Amy bravely underwent gruelling chemotherapy and was hoping to have an operation in December. Towards the end of last year her LA doctors told her they couldn't go ahead.
After seeking a second opinion, Amy found a doctor in the UK who gave her a lifeline - and hope. Now, Amy is scheduled to have two operations at a private hospital in Leeds in February but the cost is £70,000. Amy's friends and family have rallied around her to start the #HoldAmysHand campaign and Simon Cowell is just one of many celebrities supporting the cause. Kylie Minogue, Naya Riveria, Noel Fielding, Jermaine Jackson and Ronan Keating are among the names who are backing the campaign and efforts have already helped to raised over £50,000. On Monday night Matt Goss (of Bros boyband fame) even hosted a fundraiser gig at The Dorchester hotel too.
I worked with Amy for a number of years and got to know her during a year out in LA. We share a love of dogs (her hilarious stories about her pups Rocky and Killer helped me through many a gloomy night shift at work), we both adore hats, share British pals in LA and a love of 'The North'. She's the kind of person who will go out of her way to help you - now we need to help her.
On Wednesday Amy's friends and family will be sharing pictures 'holding hands' on social media to help promote the campaign. Please donate, Tweet, Instagram and Facebook pictures of support if you can.
To find out more visit holdamyshand.com