Our MediCinema Appeal – fronted by Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff – has reached an incredible £250,000, thanks to the generosity of hundreds of supporters, including individuals, community groups and businesses from across Manchester and the North West. The Appeal has also received high-profile backing from Coleen & Wayne Rooney, Mason Mount, Phil Jones, Bryan Robson, Jennie McAlpine, Kelly Condron, Jimmy Anderson, and the League Managers Association, all helping to raise awareness across the region.

The Appeal aims to build Manchester’s first-ever in-hospital cinema. Delivered in partnership with the BAFTA Award-winning charity MediCinema, the project will create a fully accessible 50-seat cinema at no cost to the NHS, bringing big-screen magic to thousands of patients at the Trust’s Oxford Road Campus, including Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and Manchester Royal Infirmary.

The £1.1 million Appeal will fund the build and initial running costs, providing patients with a vital therapeutic escape during long or frequent hospital stays. The MediCinema will transform an unused lecture theatre into a purpose-built space featuring cinema-style seating, room for wheelchairs, hospital beds and medical equipment, and inclusive features such as subtitles, audio description and sensory-friendly screenings. Up to 260 films a year will be shown, supported by MediCinema nurses and trained volunteers, with capacity for personalised screenings for patients in particularly sensitive circumstances.

Celebrating the new fundraising milestone, Freddie Flintoff said: “It’s fantastic to see the Appeal reach £250,000 – a brilliant achievement made possible by hundreds of generous supporters from right across Manchester. I’m so grateful to everyone who has already donated. But there’s still more to do, and this MediCinema will mean the world to thousands of children and adults in hospital. Every pound helps bring this amazing project to life.”

He added: “If everyone gave just £2, we could hit the target so much faster. Please text CINEMA2 to 70580, or donate any amount at the Manchester Foundation Trust Charity website – your support genuinely makes a difference.”

Kathy Cowell OBE DL, Chair of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Reaching £250,000 is a remarkable milestone, and we’re incredibly grateful to the hundreds of individuals, groups and businesses who have helped us get here. The MediCinema will offer our patients precious moments of normality at times when they need them most. Every single donation – no matter how small – brings us closer to making this wonderful facility a reality.

“We’ve seen an amazing response so far, but we still need the public’s help to make this dream a reality. I would encourage everyone, if they can, to support the Appeal – your generosity will make a lasting difference to patients of all ages, and their families, across our hospitals.”