Stephen Fry-hosted virtual pub quiz raises £140,000 for Alzheimer's Research UK
A virtual pub quiz co-hosted by Stephen Fry has raised more than £140,000 for Alzheimer's Research UK.
Jay Flynn's lockdown phenomenon, which has brought together more than 180,000 keen quizzers each week, featured Fry on Thursday night.
It now holds the Guinness World Record for most viewers of a quiz YouTube live stream.
This week, it joined forces with Alzheimer's Research UK and Fry to raise money for dementia research and promote awareness of the condition.
Quizzers were encouraged to give cash to the charity, which has experienced a drop in donations of up to 45% as a result of the pandemic.
Wealth management and employee benefits company Mattioli Woods match-funded the first £15,000 of donations, with a total of £50,000 match-funded.
Fry said: "Many of us have been close to someone they love very much in the grip of dementia.
"I remember visiting the mother of a friend in the very severe stages of the condition and seeing her not recognise her own son.
"Humans are ultimately social animals and dementia isolates you from your social networks.
"That is as frightening as anything can be and sadly we know this is only exacerbated by Covid-19."
He added: "The partnership between Alzheimer's Research UK and the Virtual Pub Quiz feels so perfect.
"The quiz is keeping people connected, while the money raised will support research that will ultimately keep us connected to our loved ones for longer.
"By supporting charities like Alzheimer's Research UK, future generations will only be reading about diseases like Alzheimer's and not experiencing it."
The Virtual Pub Quiz has now raised more than £300,000 for charities over seven weeks.
Mr Flynn told the PA news agency: "Once again we had over 181,000 households playing the virtual pub quiz.
"I want to give a massive thanks to every single person in the community, without them none of this would be possible."
He added: "So many of our community will have been touched by dementia in some way and it's a cause that's close to me and my family, too.
"It's so important we don't forget about important causes like this at this time.
"I'd like to thank Stephen for giving up his time to support the charity and the quiz, and I know our amazing community will get behind Alzheimer's Research UK 100%."
Published: by Radio NewsHub