A six-year-old girl from Salford has battled a rare type a cancer to realise her biggest dream of becoming a YouTuber.
Local Worsley resident Isla underwent a gruelling eight-hour operation after she was diagnosed with a Wilms’ Tumour / Nephroblastoma – a form of kidney cancer which affects around 70 British children every year – and after having successfully come through the surgery and four weeks of chemotherapy, she decided to set her sights on her dream of becoming a YouTuber.
Her dream came true when she was given the opportunity by The Make-A-Wish Foundation to star in a video with viral singing sensation and YouTuber Rosie McClelland, who has nearly one million subscribers.
“It was way more than Isla ever expected,” Isla’s mum Jill admitted.
“We went to the Apple store in Manchester and picked up a laptop for her. Isla said, ‘is this mine, can I keep it?’, she couldn’t believe it. She was also given a vlogging camera, and then we drove down to meet YouTuber Rosie McClelland at her home in Hertfordshire.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Obviously, I’d heard of Make-A-Wish and I knew exactly what the charity did but in that intense time [in hospital], I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“You’re just bombarded with information, and living in the moment, so we just put it to one side, but for Isla, it was looking forward to her wish and ringing the bell at the end of treatment that got her through”.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It changed the way she talked about what was going on from ‘Am I going to get better?’ to ‘When I get better’.”
Make-A-Wish
The touching story of Isla’s wish being granted comes as new research from the world-renowned charity shows that the number of children eligible for a wish has doubled in the last 15 years, and that there are currently 63,296 young people in the UK who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening or life-limiting condition.
The study also found that children in the north are more likely to be diagnosed with one of the aforementioned conditions, as are children aged between three and seven, those in Pakistani communities, and in areas of high social deprivation.
ADVERTISEMENT
According to researchers at the University of York, neurological and respiratory conditions are the most prevalent.
You can find more information via The Make-A-Wish Foundation website here.
Featured Image – Make-A-Wish
Trending
Trailer for Clayface gives closer look at Batman villain in new DC film shot in Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
DC have dropped a brand-new trailer for the upcoming Clayface film: a new ‘body horror’ movie by the Hollywood studio and superhero franchise.
Giving the first extended look at the cult favourite Batman villain, it’s set to be one of the darkest and most disturbing big-budget DC projects for some time.
Set to release on 23 October, it drops in just time for ‘spooky season’, and judging by this latest trailer, they’re certainly doubling down on the creepiest sides of the character. If you’re a bit squeamish, we’d say proceed with caution:
It’s certainly a striking reveal and has some of the most mature themes we’ve seen from DC over the years; that’s what you get when you park a supervillain like this.
For anyone who hasn’t come across Clayface before, it is an alias used by multiple individuals in the comics, including Basil Karlo and Preston Payne.
However, this version of the alter ego follows the story of Matt Hagen, a struggling actor who suffers serious disfiguration and experiments with experimental science before embarking on a tale of revenge.
While this differs somewhat from Hagen’s original backstory, without straying into spoiler territory, there’s plenty to be made from the trailer, as you can see.
If you’re wondering what kind of film to expect beyond what you’re now already aware of, it’s worth noting that James Watkins is known for films such as The Woman In Black (2012), Bastille Day (2016), and the heavily nominated James McAvoy-led movie, Speak No Evil (2024).
We were lucky enough to walk past their other major period of filming over in Manchester city centre last September, where the often-used Castlefield doubled as Gotham.
Oasis’ (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? named biggest UK studio album EVER by Official Charts
Danny Jones
You’re damn right: Oasis continue to be MASSIVE as new figures from the Official Charts Company have confirmed that (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? has clocked in as the biggest UK studio album of all time.
The Britpop icons and history go hand in hand.
Yes, according to the latest numbers by our domestic chart-crunchers, only two other albums surpassed Oasis‘ second LP – and they’re both greatest hits collections.
The announcement was made on Wednesday, 22 July, just over a whole year on from those reunion world tour shows at Heaton Park. How fitting.
Starting off by channelling Liam Gallagher energy and quipping that “Oasis vibes are in the area”, they go on to explain the colossal cumulative record.
“Oasis claim one of the biggest honours in British music history, they write, “as (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? is named the UK’s Official biggest studio album of all time, according to new Official Charts Company data.”
Combining UK sales of the record – both physical and digital over the years – along with modern streaming statistics, the sophomore outing from the Britpop giants has amassed approximately 6.2 million UK chart units. Staggering stuff.
Last year’s Live ’25 shows have no doubt helped give an added boost to their metrics, but it’s still gargantuan stuff from the local band.
Yet another incredible stat not just for the Burnage boys but the Manchester music scene as a whole.
2026 looks to be just as big a comeback, by the looks of things.
In case you were wondering who beat them out in the race for the top spot, they were pipped to the post by Queen’s Greatest Hits and the same again from ABBA, two worthy opponents to take third place after.
You can see the rest of the list in full right HERE.
Oh, and Definitely Maybe also made the list, too, coming in at number 39 – making that two in the top 50 even amongst all the compilations.
It feels like last July all over again, doesn’t it? And if now isn’t the perfect time to stick on the title track, we don’t know what is.
Actually, sod it – we’re sticking the full thing on…
Emily Sergeant -
4th May 2021 
