Clara 'so excited' to sing on Children in Need

A little girl smiles straight at the camera. She has blonde hair tied back and is wearing a yellow fluffy headband with teddy-bear style "Pudsey" ears. She has dark brown eyes. She is wearing a red top and white cardigan. The background is bright and colourful with blocks of orange and yellow.
Image caption,

Clara from Cleethorpes will sing live on BBC One

  • Published

A girl with a rare kidney condition is "excited" to be singing in the BBC Children in Need choir.

Clara, from Cleethorpes, has Denys-Drash syndrome, which caused kidney cancer and led to her needing a transplant.

She will represent East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in the 2025 BBC Children in Need Choir, when they sing a special arrangement of the Coldplay song Yellow, on BBC One on Friday.

Mum Elliott said: "Clara is so excited, she said to me that she's going to be famous and she cannot wait to be on TV. She's been practising constantly – I've heard the song so many times now."

A person with short hair - coloured light brown with flecks of pink - and a small silver nose ring smiles at the camera. They are wearing a black top. The background is colourful with purple, blue and green blocks and large hand-made letter murals in autumnal colours.
Image caption,

Mum Elliott says Clara "sings from morning to night"

Clara will be one of 16 children in the choir, who have all been helped by BBC Children in Need-funded projects.

Elliott said: "She has gone through quite a lot.

"She's had chemotherapy, radiotherapy, she was on dialysis for a very long time before she got her kidney transplant from her dad."

"Clara's got a very uncertain future – we don't know what's going to happen in the years to come," said Elliott.

"The chances are she's going to have to go through a lot more treatment.

"She will probably need another kidney at some point".

A woman smiles and looks directly at the camera. She has auburn, mid-length hair. She is wearing a cream crew-neck, long-sleeved top. Although the background is blurred, it is colourful - a children's soft-play area.
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Sam Page's role at St Andrew's Hospice is funded by BBC Children in Need

Clara said she was "really, really excited to be in the choir" and had been practising the song "lots".

"The thing I'm excited for most is being on TV," she added.

Clara and her family have been supported by St Andrew's Hospice in Grimsby, where a family support practitioner and other costs are funded by BBC Children in Need.

Sam Page, from the hospice, has worked closely with Clara's family and especially her two sisters.

"Without the Children in Need funding, I wouldn't be here, this role wouldn't be possible," she said.

A young girl stands to the right of a life-sized Pudsey Bear. She is smiling, with dark eyes and blonde hair. She is wearing Pudsey ears. Pudsey has both thumbs up at the camera. The background is colourful, with red, orange, and yellow blocks and green tables.
Image caption,

Clara had a visit from Pudsey at St Andrew's Hospice

Elliott added: "When a child gets poorly, it doesn't just affect them, it affects everyone.

"St. Andrew's Hospice have been absolutely incredible with all the support they've given us as a family.

"They have gone above and beyond what I ever expected they would be able to do."

BBC Children in Need is funding 32 projects in East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, helping 11,147 children and young people, and with a total value of £1,886,457.

This year's appeal show will be on BBC One on Friday from 19:00 GMT and will be presented by celebrities including Paddy McGuinness and Vernon Kay.

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