SIMON Shepherd, star of television’s medical drama Peak Practice, will be the special guest of honour when Community Action Malvern and District holds its popular Christmas fair on Saturday, November 21.

Mr Shepherd, who is in town to appear in Our Man in Havana at the Malvern Theatres, will officially open the charity fair in the York Hall, Malvern St James, at 10am.

The Community Action fair has been a fixture in Malvern’s calendar during the run-up to Christmas for many years, and it provides an important fund-raising opportunity for various charities.

Among the groups that will be setting out their stalls at this year’s event are Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation, Home Start Malvern, Malvern Childline, Malvern Hills Gymnastic Club and Malvern Special Families, plus many more. Clare Jenkins, of Community Action, said: “We’ve got about 30 stalls from local and national charities and it’s a really good fund-raising day for them.”

The stalls sell a whole variety of merchandise, including arts and crafts to help make Christmas shopping a bit easier. There is also a raffle with prizes including a flight in a hot-air balloon, lunch for two at the Mount Pleasant Hotel and prints by local artist Vivien Bromley.

The fair is set to run from 10am until 3pm. Entry is £1 for adults, 50p for senior citizens and free for all children.