Charlie Quirkes Emotional London Marathon for Dementia

Pauline Quirke's son Charlie has shared an insight from an 'emotional and beautiful' day running the London Marathon to raise money for dementia charities following his mother's diagnosis.

Charlie and the rest of 'Team Quirke' - which included his fiancée Chloe Thornton and his friend - ran the marathon in aid of Research UK.

Actress Pauline, 66, stepped away from the spotlight after being diagnosed with dementia in 2021.

Around one million people in the UK have the condition, and her son Charlie, 31, is determined to help the cause to find a cure.

In his latest attempt to raise awareness and money Charlie ran the 26.2-mile race around the capital on Sunday, with donations at £11,000 and counting.

Charlie posted a series of snaps on social media to mark the event, one including a celebratory kiss with Chloe and a group snap with Team Quirke.

Alongside his post, he penned: 'London Marathon ✅ Tough is an understatement. But so proud of what we all achieved & a great day with my loved ones all for @Alzheimerreasearchuk'

Charlie and his father, Steve Sheen, announced Pauline's diagnosis last year, at which time she had already been dealing with her diagnosis for four years.

Charlie's actor friend Jack O'Connell, who also ran the marathon, met Pauline on the E4 teen drama Skins, where she played DS Blunt, and he has since gone on to ready the heady heights of Hollywood.

Revealing how he was feeling ahead of the run, Charlie told the Mirror: 'I'd only feel comfortable running if Chloe and James could do it with me, as the two people closest to me.

'When they said yes, we came up with the idea of forming Team Quirke and offered the opportunity to some of my best friends. When I said why we'd be running, they all agreed instantly.'

He added: 'I just want to make my mum proud.'

Charlie smashed their 'incredible' target of 10,000 so early that they have now upped it to 15,000 in the hopes of raising even more for the charity.

Generous support so far has come from James Corden, who gave £2,000, and Dominic Cooper, who donated £500.

The team also included Luke Roskell, who worked with Pauline during his first job on Emmerdale, and Waterloo Road's Adam Long, Gavin & Stacey's Andrew Knott and sports broadcaster James Sharman.

During his last challenge to raise money and awareness, Charlie walked 140km over five days to raise vital funds for Alzheimer Research UK.

He successfully completed the achievement and by the end, he had also helped raise around £175,000 for dementia research.

Pauline's ex-castmate surprised her son Charlie during day two of the 'Trek For A Cure' challenge.

Actors Mathew Baynton, Tom Glynn-Carney and Perry Benson joined Charlie on a soggy start to the second day of his challenge.

Charlie trekked down memory lane, retracing the Birds Of A Feather star's footsteps by visiting places that are significant to her on his fundraising journey.