Famous tenor raises money for Greyhound Charity
English tenor Russell Watson, famous for both his pop songs and operatic-style vocals, brought attention to a South Yorkshire animal charity last weekend, as he scooped up the winning prize on popular BBC music game show The Hit List.
The programme is now into its fourth series, and it sees pairs of contestants pitted against each other for a chance to sing their way to victory. Salford-born Watson took part in a special charity edition of the competition. He was partnered with Shane Richie, who is best known as an entertainer and for his role as Alfie Moon in the long running BBC soap opera EastEnders. Together, the tuneful duo used their vocal talents to battle their way to the winning spot, securing a whopping £10,000 jackpot.
Whilst Richie’s share of the winnings was donated to a respite facility in Guildford, dog-lover Watson pledged his £6,447 share to the Greyhound Trust in Sheffield. He told the show’s hosts Rochelle and Marvin Humes that:
“When the dogs have finished running they get a really really bad deal and it’s been a difficult year for a lot of the animal trusts this year.”
The animal charity responded in kind with a public message of thanks to Watson, which was posted on its Facebook social media page.
In previous years, Watson has revealed that his Shi Tzu, called Muffin, and his Greyhound, named Blaze, were his unconditional friends, in addition to his rescued Saluki named Poppy. Blaze was also a rescue dog, and Watson has made no secret of his love of the Greyhound breed.
A dog owner since the early 80s, after convincing his parents to buy a Yorkshire terrier named Sadie, Darren created Dream Dogs so dog owners could find the best dog related information on the Internet.
