Stoma support TV star Mollie backs bowel issues awareness campaign

DANCING On Ice and The Traitors star Mollie Pearce has teamed up with an eight-year-old stoma patient and Instagram sensation to front a national campaign raising awareness of children’s bowel and bladder issues.

- Lewis CLARKE

The TV personality from Nailsea joined forces with schoolgirl Katie Thirling during World Continence Week, from Sunday, June 16, to Saturday, June 22, to support Bristol-based charity ERIC, The Children’s Bowel & Bladder Charity.

The campaign aims to break the stigma around bowel health, an issue affecting 1.5 million children across the UK - roughly one in nine - many of whom are too afraid to speak out.

Mollie, who lives with a stoma herself after being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, said: "When I was 18 I had a stoma formed and I've learned to live with my condition. It doesn't stop me living my life and I'm able to talk about it now. But there are so many young people suffering in silence, feeling scared and alone. That's why ERIC exists. They offer a listening ear, advice and support to families struggling with bowel and bladder issues. They need our support to keep being there for young people who have nowhere else to turn."