Freddie has Top Gear Muscle Dream come true
The Muscular Help Foundation’s latest Muscle Dream saw 15 year old ‘car-mad’ enthusiast Freddie Kemp (from Truro in Cornwall) meet Jeremy Clarkson and James May at the BBC Top Gear film set at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey on Wednesday 16th July 2008. He was also a part of the studio audience in watching the show being filmed for episode 5 broadcasted on Sunday 20th July 2008. In Freddie’s own words, the experience was ‘a dream come true’!
The original email nomination from Freddie’s dad arrived in the INBOX of The Muscular Help Foundation (MHF) on Thursday 23rd November 2006. MHF was not put off by the fact that the Top Gear Production office receives thousands of requests from so many deserving causes – far from it: the charities Muscle Dreams planning team went into ‘overdrive’. They say that ‘time waits for no man’, originally a quote from the famous medieval play ‘Everyman’ regarding certainty.
Despite the frustrations of changing film schedules, the need for immense tenacity and patience, countless phone calls, emails and letters, it took the small Hertfordshire-based charity one year and just over 8 months for Freddie’s Top Gear Muscle Dream to finally be fulfiled … and in all that time self-confessed ‘petrol-head’ Freddie knew absolutely nothing!
A long-term ‘covert relationship’ took place between Freddie’s dad and Michael McGrath, the charities CEO and Co-founder, himself a sufferer of the muscle wasting disease muscular dystrophy and the only disabled person in the world to have reached both North and South Poles. Freddie’s day became a reality on Wednesday 16th July and he was accompanied by both his parents (Emma & Rob) as well as MHF’s founders, Chairman Miles Peckham and Michael McGrath.
The family travelled from Truro to Tisman’s Common in West Sussex (10 minutes from Dunsfold Aerodrome), staying in the Mucky Duck Inn, previously visited by MHF to ensure that the ensuite accessible accommodation would be comfortable for Freddie who has the most severe form of muscular dystrophy known as duchenne or DMD for short.
“We met up with Miles and Mike for a light lunch at the Mucky Duck. I was still totally unaware about what lay in store. As I had previously seen signs for Farnborough Air Show, I thought that perhaps I was going to be dropped out of the back of a plane or something”, said Freddie.
“We followed Miles and Mike to the middle of nowhere, eventually turning into an old aerodrome at Dunsfold Park. I was still very confused. We were given wrist straps by the security man at the gate. We were told where to park. I still didn’t have a clue where we were or what was about to happen. I was far too busy trying to get an answer out of my mum to even notice another man in a wheelchair say ‘are you here to see the Top Gear show too’? Then I spotted what it said on the wrist band, ‘Top Gear’ and this filled me up with huge excitement. We approached the racing circuit where I could see a celebrity driving around the track, aided by none other than The Stig”, Freddie added.
For the ‘Stars in a Reasonably Priced Car’ slot, Jeremy Clarkson interviewed Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones off Dragons Den. Peter's lap time was 1:46.9, and Theo's was 1:48.5. Despite not personally meeting the Dragons (perhaps another time!), Freddie did meet the star of the show, Jeremy Clarkson (pictured below) who generously signed one of his books and kindly posed for photographs.
Freddie also met James May (pictured below) who he described as ‘a really nice guy’. James happily signed the only piece of paper Freddie had (a school letter) and he also posed for a picture. Freddie did ask where Richard Hammond (affectionately known as the hamster!) was but was told by both Jeremy and James that he was too small to find!
In summary, Freddie said, “Watching the show being filmed was fantastic! When it was all over we were allowed to take photographs inside the hangar of the set. This was a dream day and one that I will always remember. Thank you so much to MHF for making this all happen”.
As Muscle Dreams can cost anywhere between £250 to for example £5000, the charity is
unable to fund every single Muscle Dream nomination received – if you or your company would like to sponsor a Muscle Dream, you can either contact us via email or phone the MHF office on +44 (0)1763 274658
www.mucky-duck-inn.co.uk
The Mucky Duck Inn, Tisman’s Common, West Sussex, RH12 3BW
Special thanks to the owner of the Mucky Duck (Roger) for looking after Freddie and his family so well and for ensuring that the celebratory dinner afterwards was enjoyed by all.
From the press office of The Muscular Help Foundation
Registered Charity No. 1096716
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