A former Emmerdale star is coming is coming back to her hometown next week as part of a documentary which looks closely at mental health.

Singer, actress and wellbeing and running advocate Suzanne Shaw, who also won Dancing on Ice in 2008, is inviting people to take part in a gruelling four-day challenge with her that will start in Bury at The Rock Shopping Centre on Thursday, May 25.

The challenge, dubbed "Run in 4", involves doing four ultra-marathons in four consecutive days to shine a light on the mental health issues one in four people face every year.

Suzanne said: “I have made no secret of the fact that I have struggled with my mental health over the years, despite spending decades trying to hide my struggles from everyone.

“Taking on challenges like this is a way for me to push my body beyond its limits but also to challenge myself mentally.

“I hate to think of so many people across the world struggling silently and being too afraid to stand up and say ‘I am not OK’.

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"Hopefully by continuing to talk about my experiences, I can help even just one person who sees what I am doing and delves deeper into the reason why.”

Suzanne will tackle between 30 and 50 miles per day for four consecutive days, all decided on the roll of a dice the morning the challenge takes place.

She will run alongside friend and National Running Show CEO, Mike Seaman, and is inviting runners across the country to join her on her run each day with the locations and timings revealed on her Instagram page.

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The challenge will finish at London's South Bank on Sunday, May 28 and all money raised during the challenge will go to mental health charity Mind.

She said: “This is going to challenge me in ways I am scared to even fathom and I welcome support from local runners to keep me going and help pick me up when I need it most.

"Hopefully by coming together over these four days following Mental Health Awareness Week we can all show that no one needs to struggle alone.”

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Suzanne said both she and Mike will be regularly updating their Instagram accounts and posting stories once the challenge starts so anyone interested can get an idea of estimated times at the various checkpoints to join them. 

For more information on how to donate see here:  https://www.justgiving.com/page/suzanneshaw

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