UEA grad to deliver Channel 4’s Christmas message

He’s on before the Queen


Ebola survivor Will Pooley is set to deliver this year’s alternative Christmas message on Channel 4.

Last month, we reported that UEA grad Will Pooley was returning to Sierra Leone after contracting Ebola while working there.

Will has since been given the honour of presenting this year’s Alternative Christmas Speech on Channel 4 and will address the nation from Sierra Leone.

The speech has previously been given by the likes of Edward Snowden, a 9/11 survivor and the Simpsons.

The message will be broadcast on Channel 4 before the Queen’s official speech

Will said: “I realise I was incredibly lucky, lucky to be born in a wealthy country, lucky to be well-educated, lucky to have access to the best possible treatment for this awful disease.

“If anything, Christmas should focus our minds on our kinship with people in all corners of the globe. We are all brothers and sisters. I’m sure we would all help a brother or sister in need.”

Dr John McDonagh, head of UEA’s School of International Development, where Will studied, said: “Will was a great student. His commitment and calm, friendly, collegial approach are well remembered by those who taught him.

“We are so proud of him for the work he has done since leaving UEA and the impact he is making on the ground in Sierra Leone.

“He has also done so much to inform people of the urgent and tragic crisis that has unfolded around Ebola in recent months. The calm advocacy and mobilisation role he has played has had a huge influence on public opinion and, I suspect, Government policy.”

The Alternative Christmas Message will be broadcast on Channel 4 at 1.50pm on Christmas Day, before the Queen’s official speech at 3pm on BBC1 and ITV.