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All Photos courtesy of
Tony Swift Photography
Rose Keegan, Sylvia Anderson
& Ron Cook
Emma Jesson
Bev Bevan
F erdie & Edmund Kingsley
Sylvia Anderson with Adam Woodyatt
Photo Gallery
Thunderbirds Movie Premiere 2004
The Midlands Premiere July, 20th
The International Convention Centre – Birmingham in association with the Birmingham Evening Mail and Heart FM
Sponsored by the
Ford Motor Company and Wealthwatch.
The special Midlands Premiere of Thunderbirds at Birmingham's International Convention Centre on the evening of Tuesday, July 20th, was a tremendous success for organisers Baby Lifeline, the mother and baby charity founded in 1981 by West Midlands nurse Judy Ledger. Presented in association with Universal Pictures, Birmingham Evening Mail and The Ford Motor Company, the premiere raised more than £50,000 for the charity.
Approximately £7,000 was raised at an auction of specially-donated items following the screening of the film: among the lots on offer were an all-expenses-paid trip to the Hollywood Premiere of Thunderbirds, a holiday at Sir Richard Branson's private game reserve in South Africa, a selection of movie books signed by British film industry luminaries, and dinner for eight with original television series voice artist Matt Zimmerman. Additional monies were raised via a raffle which included tickets to see Busted in concert, Busted CDs signed by the members of the band, and a trip on the Orient Express.
The 95-minute film was screened for an audience of 1500 in High Definition Digital format with the ICC's state-of-the-art projection equipment. The event was attended by Thunderbirds movie stars Ron Cook (Parker) and Rose Keegan (Transom), original television series co-creator Sylvia Anderson (who posed for pictures with Ron Cook and the movie's new FAB 1 car), voice artist Matt Zimmerman (Alan Tracy), soap actor Adam Woodyatt (EastEnders), former Crackerjack presenter Don Maclean, Electric Light Orchestra drummer Bev Bevan, ITV sportscaster Gary Newborn and local television and radio personalities.
Baby Lifeline chief executive Judy Ledger told the Coventry Observer that the Thunderbirds premiere had been a fantastic event for the charity. She said, "This was one of the most exciting events we have ever put together. We are known for our events, but this has been the most trying and has been really tough as we have had to work off a small budget."
Sylvia Anderson with Don Maclean
Baby Lifeline is a charity that offers support for unborn babies, newborn babies and their mothers by providing additional funding to complement the NHS maternity services, helping to purchase technology to care for and monitor pregnant mothers and newborn babies, and supporting specialised education, training and research programmes.
Baby Lifeline was founded from tragedy 23 years ago to support the care of pregnancy and birth in Coventry.
From purchasing its first incubator for newborn sick babies in 1981, to present day - equipment for mums and babies has been placed in most UK maternity hospitals, and training provided for around 1000 health professionals a year, both in the UK and worldwide.
Kindly sponsored by:
In association with:
