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Deputy editor’s silence raises Comic Relief funds

Michelle HurstA deputy editor at a regional daily who is known as a chatterbox kept her mouth zipped for an entire eight-hour work shift to raise funds for Comic Relief.

Michelle Hurst, left, from the Grimsby Telegraph undertook the challenge to keep silent for Red Nose Day, wearing masking tape over her mouth and only communicating by email, text, Twitter and pen and paper.

She decided to carry out the sponsored silence after seeing a poster suggesting it as a way of raising funds for the annual charity appeal and managed to collect almost £200.

Michelle even managed an interview on a local radio station without saying a word but went back after her silence had finished to speak on air.

She said: “I spotted a poster for Red Nose Day with Lenny Henry suggesting a sponsored silence for Comic Relief.

“It just got me thinking, but I went from ‘that’s been done so many times’ to ‘actually, how hard would that be for me?’ in the space of a single thought process.

“My nickname at school was ‘cheese chatterbox’. A bit odd, you might think, but I love cheese and talking … and singing. I am known for my singing at work, which comes as a surprise to newcomers, but they soon get used to me!

“It was very difficult – especially in conference – haven’t written that many notes since school, but the editor Michelle Lalor said people were happy to pay to keep me quiet! Charming!”

A further fundraising effort for Comic Relief took place at Northcliffe’s centralised production unit in Nottingham where staff donned fancy dress, pictured below.

More than £130 was raised as employees dressed up on the theme of Heroes and Villains, with the best entries of Robin Hood, Batwoman, Thor and a cowboy each winning a bottle of wine.

Comic Relief - Nottingham Evening Post