LOCKDOWN LEADER: Katie Sanderson
Instagram followers of Line of Duty’s Vicky McClure received a treat on Tuesday, when she shared a special video made by the team in the run up to series seven to promote the Asks for Masks charity.
In the short film, Vicky and her co-star Martin Compston flagged up the scheme, alongside self-send-up cameos by Sanjeev Bhaskar, riffing on his role as DI Sunny Khan from ITV crime drama Unforgotten; Philip Glenister, the man who for many will always be DCI Gene Hunt from Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes (or “that flash Harry”, as DS Steve Arnott calls him); and Neil Dudgeon, aka DCI John Barnaby in Midsomer Murders – the man investigating “suspicious clusters of geographically implausible murder cases,” as Arnott puts it. Asks for Masks itself is a fundraiser for PPE, started by a doctor, Katie Sanderson. As she relates, “I am a doctor and spent March and April looking after patients with COVID-19 in a London hospital (I am now working in a hospice). I have been very distressed by the significant gaps that remain in PPE provision, in hospitals but even more so in hospices, GP surgeries, and other community settings including care homes. Clearly PPE provision should not be charitably funded, but at the moment there are limited options for those who are failing to obtain it through official routes, and this is forcing my colleagues to take unnecessary risks to look after their patients.” To assist with this, Sanderson has been working with volunteer-based organisations such as NHS Hero Support, Scrub and Face Protection Hub, and Let’s Beat Covid, “to do what we can to get PPE to places where gaps remain… including a hospice which would have had to close without their help”. The PPE is mainly being sourced from Chinese and European manufacturers, and from personal donations – but the organisations still need to raise the funds to enable them to distribute the vital garments. Three special auctions have already been held to raise cash, with prizes including a fancy cream tea with Dawn French; a Line of Duty mug, a tour of the Royal Albert Hall, and a pottery lesson. As auctioneer host Sue Perkins said, “I can’t wait to don my auctioneer’s outfit (I have one in my wardrobe, next to my beekeeping gear). There are auction lots for every size of pocket, so get bidding and help keep our key workers safe.”