A mum from Manchester is pleading for people to register their DNA as she hunts for a bone marrow transplant for her toddler.
Hundreds of people, including celebs like Michelle Keegan, have rallied around to share Amy Ramsey’s appeal for her little boy Dillan, 3.
Over the weekend, Amy, 35, announced the devastating news that Dillan’s Leukaemia has returned.
The tiny tot has already been receiving treatment for the blood cancer for two years after he was diagnosed just before his second birthday.
Dillan’s family have raised thousands of pounds to buy toys for children’s wards since he was diagnosed with Leukaemia. Credit: Amy Ramsey
The family have been told that Dillan will need a bone marrow transplant and is being put on a gruelling treatment programme immediately, including full-body radiation and chemotherapy.
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If he can find a donor match – and as he has mixed ethnicity, it’s more complicated than some cases – he will have a 50% chance of survival, Amy wrote.
Michelle Keegan told her six million followers on Instagram today: “He’s in urgent, urgent need of a bone marrow transplant. So we’re trying to get as many people as we can to register for a free swab kit.
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“Please please tell your family, tell your friends, and let’s save Dillan’s life. Thank you.”
Mark Wright said in a video, encouraging people to register their DNA with DKMS: “They’ve now got just two to three months to find him a bone marrow donor to save his life – that donor could be you.
Michelle Keegan and Mark Wright have voiced their support for Amy and little Dillan, who has relapsed with Leukaemia. Credit: Instagram
“There is someone out there right now that could save Dillan’s life.”
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Amy is originally from Manchester but now lives in London with her partner Ozzy and baby girl Aiyla.
She wrote on Instagram this week: “Today, we received the devastating and unimaginable news that Dillan’s Cancer has returned.”
The post continued: “We have gone from being on top of the world in shock, to completely devastated in shock. We were called into the hospital and told that Dillan will need to start treatment right away, and will need a bone marrow transplant.
Credit: Amy RamseyCredit: Amy RamseyDillan was diagnosed with Leukaemia just before his second birthday
“I am BEGGING you on my knees to please register your DNA to @dkms_uk , it takes 2 minutes to swab your mouth and it’s free post to send it back off. The test kit takes a few weeks to be sent out so please immediately post it back off. We have 2-3 months to find a match.”
Amy then detailed the treatment that her son will face, saying: “Dillan will have to have his port taken out, and be replaced with a double Hickman line.
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“He will need full body radiation, meaning he can’t have children, he will have Gruelling chemotherapy for 2-3 months before he has his transplant, which will hopefully get rid of his cancer before the new bone marrow is put in.
“He will lose all of his hair again, and have to move back into Great Ormond Street onto the transplant ward. Which means our family will once again be ripped apart.
“Dillan has a 50% chance of survival if this works, it has to work. Please please share and encourage everyone you know to register to @dkms_uk.”
Since his diagnosis, Dillan’s family have raised tens of thousands of pounds to buy toys for children’s cancer wards.
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Dilly’s Toy Factory has so far donated toys including a fleet of mini Mercedes wagons, which they’ve named the Great Ormond Street Fleet.
You can follow Amy and Dillan’s appeal on Instagram at @amy_rambo, and register your DNA for a donation at dkms.org.uk.
Featured image: Amy Ramsey
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Six teenage boys arrested following stabbing of 13-year-old in Rochdale town centre
Emily Sergeant
Six teenage boys have been arrested following the stabbing of a 13-year-old in Rochdale town centre over the weekend.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained that officers were called out to reports of a ‘serious assault’ near the Riverside Shopping Centre in central Rochdale on Saturday (29 August), and when they arrived on the scene, they found that a 13-year-old boy had been stabbed.
The young boy currently remains in hospital receiving treatment, while a police investigation into the incident is open and ongoing.
Two teenage boys were first arrested on suspicion of assault and possession of a bladed article on the same day the incident occurred (29 August), but have since been released on bail.
Officers then made four further arrests yesterday (31 August), again all teenage boys who were arrested on suspicion of assault and possession of a bladed article, with enquires ongoing.
A Section 60 and 60AA ‘stop and search’ authority was introduced in Rochdale town centre following the recent incidents in area and following reports of youths carrying weapons in the locality, and this has now been extended to 3pm today (Tuesday 1 September).
“This was a serious and sustained attack that could have had far more tragic consequences,” explained Detective Superintendent, Richard Hunt .”Our team of experienced detectives is working around the clock to understand exactly what happened, identify all those involved, and secure the strongest possible evidence.
“We will relentlessly pursue every lead available to us and will leave no stone unturned in bringing all those responsible before the courts.
“Community safety remains our absolute priority, and we are committed to ensuring those who seek to bring violence onto our streets are held fully accountable for their actions.”
Can you help? Anyone who witnessed the incident, was in the town centre at the time, or has any mobile phone, CCTV, or dashcam footage, is urged to come forward and speak to police on 101, quoting log 2750 of 29/08/2026, or using the LiveChat function on the GMP website.
Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Featured Image – GMP
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High School Musical at Lowry, Salford – a night spent reliving our childhood | Review
Amy Williams
What a night spent reliving our childhood.
Now, I don’t want to exaggerate or seem biased, considering this is one of my favourite film trilogies of all time, but this could be the best stage show I’ve seen in a long while.
We all know how High School Musical goes, right? Set at East High, we follow Troy and Gabriella (the star basketball player, and the geeky new girl) who meet over New Year, and then become ‘star-crossed lovers’ when back at school as they’re part of two different ‘cliques’.
The duo mess with the ‘Status Quo’ when they audition for the school musical. But will they stick to what they know? Or become stars of the stage? I’m sure you know the ending.
High School Musical is currently on stage at Lowry, Salford / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)
From the costumes and the characters, to the memorable songs (there’s actually 52 songs in this production, including a mega mix at the end), they’ve kept right to the script of the films – and that’s exactly what we wanted to see.
Of course, the biggest throwback of them all is Kaycee Stroh – who originally featured as Martha Cox in the film trilogy – taking the role as Ms Darbus, and she was just as incredible as we expected her to be. And to see her do the iconic dance in the finale was unbelievable, 13-year-old Amy was screaming.
Also featuring Jason Donovan as Coach Bolton, Tobias Turley as Troy, Leonor Correia as Gabriella, Caitlin Tipping Sharpay, and Luke Bayer as Ryan, it was a proper impressive cast all round.
It’s a night to properly relive your mid-00s childhood / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)
There was crowd interaction right from the off, as they taught the crowd a cheerleading routine to be included later in the show, plus for the finale, they had the lyrics on the big screen too so everyone could sing-along.
If we could go and see this show every single night, we would – it is absolutely brilliant.