Soap stars take on Kilimanjaro

A group of soap stars are leaving the glamour of showbusiness behind them to climb Africa's highest peak.

Familiar faces from Coronation Street and The Bill are flying from Heathrow Airport to the base of Mount Kilimanjaro.

The five-day hike, for cancer research, begins on Sunday.

The actors will experience freezing conditions, possible altitude sickness.

Included in the group are Coronation Street actors Stephen Beckett, otherwise known as Matt Ramsden, his on-screen wife Clare McGlinn and Naomi Russell, who plays lingerie factory worker Bobbi Lewis.

Stars from The Bill include Simon Rouse, who plays DCI Jack Meadows, Natalie Roles, known as DS Debbie McAlister, Matthew Crompton, who plays PC Sam Harker, and Suzanne Maddock, aka PC Cass Rickman.

They will be led by Home And Away star Kylie Watson as they take one of the most challenging routes up the mountain, which is nearly five times higher than Ben Nevis.

A documentary commissioned by Channel 5 will film their progress as they camp out for six nights in sub-zero temperatures.

When the group reaches the 5,895m peak, they will be forced to breathe air with only half the normal amount of oxygen.

The climbers are set to raise more than £20,000 for the Bobby Moore Fund, which was set up by Stephanie Moore MBE after Bobby's death from bowel cancer in 1993.