Monty Python star Sir Michael Palin among famous faces marking NHS charities milestone

Monty Python star Sir Michael Palin has spoken about how his father's struggles with a stammer inspired him to help the NHS change lives.

Sir Michael is among a number of famous faces who will feature in an exhibition to celebrate 75 years of NHS charities.

The photographic exhibition, led by renowned artist Rankin, is titled Love and Charity: A History of Giving in the NHS.

Those featured in the project come from across the UK and each has their own personal connection with the role and impact of NHS charities.

Sir Michael, who is best known for his role in the comedy sketch show Monty Python, is taking part to celebrate the work of the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering, which is partly funded by the Whittington Health Charity.

The centre helps children and adults through individually-tailored therapy and was named after the actor due to his role in A Fish Called Wanda where he played Ken, a character with a stammer.

Sir Michael's father also had a stammer, which inspired him to help others and give his name to the centre in 1993.

"My father had quite a serious stammer and when he grew up, no one was able to do anything about it," Sir Michael said.

"I think it would have changed his life immeasurably if he'd been able to have the treatment that the Michael Palin Centre now provides," he added.

Sir Michael was photographed for the exhibition alongside Nafisat Ibrahim, 25, from London - a nurse whose childhood was significantly impacted by a stammer, who found her voice following treatment at the Centre.

He will appear alongside other celebrities, such as Liverpool footballer, captain and NHS Charities Together ambassador Jordan Henderson, as well as other high-profile supporters, NHS staff, patients, and volunteers.

Henderson surprised a warehouse worker and lifelong Liverpool fan, Matt Kennard, on the set of the exhibition's photo shoot.

Others featured in the exhibition include Afghan Refugee Dr Aziz Abdul, from Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, who was separated from his mother as a child at gunpoint.

He went on to become a specialist registrar on the frontline of the pandemic.

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The exhibition will also feature Stefan Edmondson, a consultant clinical scientist at University Hospitals Birmingham who helped lead the reconstructive surgery for Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by the Taliban.

Exhibition lead Rankin, who has photographed the likes of David Bowie and Madonna, said: "The thing I've learned from all these people is how much of a massive contribution NHS charities make to the national health service."

Love and Charity: A History of Giving in the NHS will be exhibited at the Saatchi Gallery in London from 31 May to 11 June, ahead of the 75th anniversary of the health service, and will be free for the public to attend.