Our High-Profile Supporters
Meet our High-Profile Supporters and why they’ve chosen to support Mencap.
Our patron, HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh
HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh has been patron of Mencap since 2002 and is committed to supporting people with a
learning disability
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things.
.
The Duchess is a much-valued patron of the charity and over recent years has publicly supported Mencap in a number of ways, including a visit to a children’s centre in Belfast in 2018 and supporting the charity when it was the official partner of the Virtual London Marathon in 2020.
The Duchess ran the first 1.5 miles of the marathon with a member of the Mencap running squad, to represent and raise awareness
Emily Burnett
Emily Burnett is a BAFTA award winning actor and writer, best known for her role as Charlie Morris in CBBC’s The Dumping Ground, and Olivia Bradshaw in C4’s Hollyoaks. Emily has a personal connection to Mencap through her Auntie Teresa who has multiple learning disabilities.
Teresa has been supported by Mencap throughout her life, and is very proud that Emily is now in a position to campaign for awareness so that more people with a learning disability can get the opportunities and support that she has had.
Kit Harington
Kit Harington is an actor, best known for his role as Jon Snow in the HBO series, Game of Thrones.
He has a personal connection to Mencap through his cousin, Laurent (pictured with Kit), who has
Down syndrome
Down syndrome, also known as Down's syndrome, is a type of disability. People with Down syndrome may find it hard to learn new things and may need support. They may have more problems with their health too.
.
Laurent attended one of Mencap's former colleges and his mother (Kit's aunt) has cited Mencap as one of the great areas of support that she and Laurent have received over the years.
Kit has been incredibly generous with his time by publicly supporting our
campaign
A campaign is when people work together to try to change something.
work, featuring in the media, working alongside colleagues with a learning disability on short films and participating in a high value fundraising campaign.
The Edge
Guitarist with U2, The Edge, has been a Mencap Ambassador since 2008 and has been actively
involved
Involved is being included in something or taking part in something.
in helping to raise awareness and support the
organisation
An organisation are a group of people who work together.
’s important work to improve the lives of people with a learning disability.
“Not many people know what a learning disability is, or the challenges people with a learning disability face. I’ve seen how much work goes into Mencap and want to continue to see it flourish.”
The Edge’s cousin, Ciara Lawrence (pictured), works as the Big Plan Engagement lead for Mencap.
Photo credit: Eve North
Kate Spicer
Kate is a journalist, an author, and a Mencap supporter helping to raise awareness of its work to improve the lives of people with a learning disability.
In 2012 Kate made a film called Mission to Lars with her two brothers, Tom Spicer, who has a learning disability and
Fragile X Syndrome
Fragile X syndrome is a condition which some people are born with. It can affect how people learn, communicate, or behave.
and Will Spicer, who is a filmmaker. The film followed Tom’s journey from a sleepy Devon seaside town where he lived in residential care and across America as the siblings tracked his great hero, Lars Ulrich, the drummer and founding member of the legendary metal band, Metallica. The New York Times called the film, “Beautiful”.
The film brought Tom, Kate and Will closer together and showed that family, fun, adversity and shared experiences are what bond us. Tom grew in confidence and his world became much bigger after his adventure.
Jodie Whittaker
Jodie Whittaker is an award-winning British actress across TV, film and stage. She is best known for starring as the first female and Thirteenth Doctor in BBC’s Doctor Who, as well as roles in Broadchurch and Cranford and stage roles including Antigone and The Duchess.
Jodie has a personal, family connection to learning disability and has been an Ambassador of Mencap for a number of years. She ran the London Marathon for Mencap in 2012 and is the face of Mencap’s fundraising partnership with Omaze and stars in its high-profile TV ad campaign
Meet our Myth Buster Ambassadors!
A cover model. Athletes. TV stars. Activists... And more! Meet the ambassadors who are challenging misconceptions about what living with a learning disability looks like.
