Adam Kay compiles a collection of stories from the stars

Adam Kay is to curate stories about the NHS from 100 celebrities to help raise money for health service charities.

Those contributing to Dear NHS: 100 Stories To Say Thank You include  Michael Palin, Dawn French, Ricky Gervais, Graham Norton, Catherine Tate, Johnny Vegas, Jack Whitehall, Lee Mack, Frank Skinner, Jimmy Carr, Sandi Toksvig and Kevin Bridges.

It also features an exclusive new scene from Peter Kay’s Car Share. 

Kay – the medic turned comedian behind the bestseller This Is Going to Hurt –  said: ‘Every single one of us owes so much to the NHS. It is our single greatest achievement as a nation, always there for us, and never more so than now. 

‘Since this project was conceived barely a week ago, I have been blown away by the number of people who have been in touch to share their amazing stories. I hope that the book, and the money it raises for charity, will in some way manage to say thank you to the heroes who are putting our lives before their own every day.’

Other comedians contributing stories ‘from the heartfelt to the hilarious’ include  Sue Perkins, Frankie Boyle, Shappi Khorsandi, David Baddiel, Daisy May Cooper, and Nish Kumar

It will be published on July 9  priced £16.99. At least £3 from the sale of each book will go to NHS Charities Together and 15p to The Lullaby Trust, which supports parents bereaved of babies and young children. 

Anna Valentine, executive publisher of the Orion Publishing Group said: ‘In Dear NHS, 100 inspirational people come together to share their stories of how the national health service has been there for them, and changed their lives in the process. 

‘By turns deeply moving, hilarious, hopeful and impassioned, these stories together become a love letter to the NHS and the 1.5 million people who work within it. It is a privilege to be able to publish a book that gives something back to those who already give so much.’

The list of contributors also includes Sir Paul Mccartney, Stephen Fry, Sir Trevor McDonald, Sir Michael Palin, Sir David Jason, Dame Emma Thompson, Joanna Lumley Peter Crouch, Chris O’Dowd, Jameela Jamil, Chris Evans, Lorraine Kelly, Jonathan Ross, Emilia Clarke, Naomie Harris, Konnie Huq, Greg James, Louis Theroux, KT Tunstall, Peter Capaldi, Charlie Brooker, Martin Freeman  Kathy Burke, Bill Bryson, Caitlin Moran, Nick Hornby, Ian Rankin, Irvine Welsh, E.L. James, Jilly Cooper, Zoe Ball, Robert Webb, Dame Jacqueline Wilson, Marian Keyes, JoJo Moyes and Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson.

Place an order for the book here.

Published: 17 Apr 2020