Neil and Leba were very moved by what a wonderful tribute The Variety Club produced. Neil would like to send a Special Thanks to Lyn Staunton, and everyone at The Variety Club who worked so hard on a truly unforgettable evening.

Mike and Della Cohen from Bellagio Time presented Neil and Leba Sedaka with a Bellagio watch each, they were absolutely thrilled. When Mike asked Neil for a quote on Elvis; he replied “There will NEVER be another Elvis Presley; EVER.”

Neil will be presented with the prestigious Silver Heart Award. Lyn Staunton, development director of the Variety Club North West, says: “Neil Sedaka is loved worldwide and the Variety Club are honored and delighted that he is accepting this prestigious award.”

The Coronation Street legend was presented with a trophy on the show’s Granada Studios set after entering the 2011 Guinness World Records book as the world’s longest serving soap star.

Then he went to a tribute night in his honour, organised by the Variety Club, where he received the children’s charity’s Lifetime Achievement award.

The evening also gave us the chance to see 78-year-old William’s new girlfriend up close for the first time. William, whose wife Sara died last year, looked delighted to have 41-year-old TV weathergirl Emma Jesson on his arm – even if she wasn’t too keen on the ever-present paparazzi.

As she encountered a clutch of paps in full snap, she exclaimed: “Oh, I’m not used to all this” but handled the experience well, laughing as she dashed into Bolton’s Reebok Stadium to the flashing blitz.

Emma, who wore a layered voile strapless dress, is more at home hosting charity events than being a top-table guest. She told The Diary she was “honoured to share in such a lovely evening – everyone loves Bill.”

Fans joined soap stars in the 550-strong audience which included Corrie’s Vicky Entwistle in a tailored striped suit, Helen Flanagan in micro-skirt, and Katy Cavanagh in a floating long dress.

Liz Dawn, resplendent in smart gold and bronze outfit, spoke movingly about Roache as “an amazing person.” Longtime friend Stuart Hall, aged 80, paid tribute to the actor’s longevity, stating “Bill will go on for eternity.”

Corrie executive producer Kieran Roberts described him as a “consummate craftsman” and said that he always told young actors new to the Street to “go and watch Bill work” to learn their trade.

Accolades also came from veteran comedians Johnnie Casson and Cannon and Ball and there were filmed tributes from Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Ian McKellen – who said he had “fulfilled a dream” by taking a role in the soap – and the Chancellor, George Osborne who praised William’s work in his Tatton constituency as well as his genuine warmth.

Modest William, who has played Ken Barlow for 50 years, overtook Don Hastings in American soap As The World Turns which wasn’t re-commissioned. The star said he was “overwhelmed” by the night and the kindness shown.

He stated he had been “so lucky” to be in Coronation Street. He recalled the on-set practical jokes of the late Graham Haberfield (Jerry Booth), and the sharp off-screen tongue of Margot Bryant who played mild-mannered Minnie Caldwell.

Bolton bakers Greenhalghs created a celebration cake for him featuring the iconic scene where Ken punches love rival Mike Baldwin. “I’m going to share this with the cast,” said William. “They love a bit of cake!”

From skydives to charity fashion shows, every girl has shown incredible enthusiasm and dedication to the cause; and together the all the girls have raised over £100,000!

As well as their individual fundraising pursuits the ladies have been lending a helping hand at Variety Club events throughout the UK and bringing that extra touch of glamour to the day.

The Miss England pageant is so committed to the cause that they have dedicated a new title to the benefit the charity.

All national finalists were encouraged to raise as much as they can for our chosen charity. Miss Cumbria Kirstie Day raised a staggering £30000 for the charity and was therefore awarded with the title, Miss Variety Club of Great Britain. Kirstie will now appear at Variety Club events throughout the year.

Kirstie from Hayton, has raised all the money over the last month, auctioning VIP tables for Carlisle Racecourse and selling Variety Club raffle tickets at Brunton Park, home of Carlisle United.

The invite only event will be aiming to raise £50,000 for children’s charity. The evening was hosted by the wonderful Paddy McGuiness who was in attendance with his beautiful fiancée Christine Martin.

The auction raised ???? on the evening and we donated one of our Paccioni ‘Estrella’ 5 Time zone diamond watch; this fetched £3400 for the charities on the evening. The box was signed by many of the celebrities in attendance

Mike and Della Cohen were in attendance for such a special day. “We are privileged and honoured to be part of the 52nd Variety club race day at Sandown park” said Mike. With a performance of War Horse, celebrities wandering around the Parade Ring, a special fun park for children and top draw racing, the Variety Club Day at Sandown park was a great day for all 10,000 people that came out.

The Variety Club were also extremely pleased to be able to present a brand new Sunshine Coach to the children of The Charlie Chaplin Adventure Playground at the Race Day. The specialised minibus which was sponsored Variety Club supporters Malmaison & Hotel du Vin and presented by Gladiators Enigma & Doom, will be used by the group on a range of educational and recreational days out.

There was also a world of fundraising taking place at the day with members of the public generously supporting the work of The Variety Club. Thousands of pounds were raised through raffles, prize draws, bucket collections and a special ‘Guess How Many Balloons are in the Sunshine Coach’ game!

Bellagio Time donated some fabulous raffle prizes from there various collections in order to enable the ‘Props’ to raise funds on the day.

The ceremony was presided over by Omid Djalili and the awards themselves were presented by Miss World herself. With accolades going for a range of categories including the Lifetime Achievement Award, Deal of the Year and Young Property Person of the Year, everyone who was anyone in the industry was there.

Variety Club Easy Riders Ambassador Matt King spoke movingly about his own experiences of the programme and the achievements that it had allowed him to accomplish.

At 17 years old, just 20 seconds into his first professional Rugby match, Matt was left paralysed from the neck down. The Variety Club Easy Riders Wheelchair Programme provided Matt with a specialist electric wheelchair which has allowed him to go on to do incredible things.

Matt recently graduated from Hertfordshire University, where he achieved a first class honours degree in Law, is about to start at leading law firm Stewarts Law, was the first quadriplegic to complete the New York marathon and since his accident, has never let his disability get in the way of doing exactly what he wants to do.

“The Variety Club came in and helped fund my wheelchair that I’m using now. The major impact it has had is just enabling me to try and live a normal life and just do normal things like walk my dogs, go to the park and I’ve just finished my law degree…If The Variety Club hadn’t stepped in I don’t think I would have been able to achieve any of these goals.” Matt King

Once Matt had spoken about his own experiences, he reminded everyone that whilst he had been lucky, there were hundreds of thousands of children who still couldn’t achieve their dreams, and that everybody in the room could do something to help.

Hundreds of thousands of pounds were raised and hundreds of specialist Easy Riders Wheelchairs were bought to give freedom, independence and hope to children across the UK.

Executive Chef Henry Brosi, and his team, did a wonderful job of creating a sumptuous six course menu for guests to enjoy. The menu was perfectly accompanied by wines selected by Master of Wine, Conal Gregory. We were delighted that Conal was available to attend this year, and were overjoyed when he donated his expertise, along with Corney & Barrow, to host a wine tasting experience for our auction.

Bellagio Time created a ‘Special Edition’ timepiece based on there ‘Centurion collection, wherby they had custom made watch hands in the shape of a Gastro Knife and fork. The box was signed by Chef Henry Brosi and the watch was sold in auction at £1500!!

Throughout the evening everyone enjoyed taking part in lots of fantastic fundraising initiatives to help the charity bring freedom, independence and hope to children and young people across the country. Famous and fabulous auctioneer Charlie Ross conducted an exciting live auction raising nearly £40,000 on this alone!

While the guests were wined and dined they were entertained by live music, magic and comedy. The talented and glamorous Blayz wowed guests with their electronic take on the traditional string quartet.

Stephen Barry of The Inner Magic Circle, entertained and amazed guests throughout the evening, performing unbelievable magic right before their eyes. Finally comic legend and friend of The Variety Club, Joe Goodman, closed this memorable night.

Winning her role on the ITV soap was the proudest moment of her life, but by this time her mother was unable to share her joy due to the onset of Alzheimer’s, she said.

The money raised by the event would “really help make a difference” to those affected by dementia, according to Sue Clarke, manager for Alzheimer’s Society Manchester.

“We are thrilled that Angela is holding such a fabulous event here in Manchester to raise money for [the] Alzheimer’s Society. We need to raise money to care for people today and to find a cure for tomorrow,” Ms Clarke added.

The ball takes place on April 24th, and tickets are available now. Ms Lonsdale is not the first celebrity to demonstrate support for the Alzheimer’s Society in recent weeks.

Model Nell McAndrew announced earlier this month that she would be entering the Great North Run on behalf of the charity.