A Leeds woman who has worked at Asda for 12 years is to star in a special charity film with seventeen celebrities from film, TV, music and sport.
This includes BAFTA-nominee Julie Hesmondhalgh, Great British Menu host Andi Oliver, After Life star Kerry Godliman, and former EastEnders actor Maisie Smith. The film has been produced by Yorkshire charity Causeway to raise awareness of modern slavery.
It is estimated that over 50 million people worldwide are currently trapped in modern slavery and exploitation, with over 100,000 of those in the UK. Survivors in the UK will most commonly have experienced labour exploitation, sexual exploitation and criminal exploitation.
Recent reports have found that from July 2023 to June 2024, Yorkshire and the North East was the fifth region in England and Wales with the highest number of referrals for modern slavery support, through the government’s National Referral Mechanism.
Now Anna Smith, an Asda employee from Leeds, is teaming up with famous faces from stage and screen to feature in a film for the Yorkshire modern slavery charity.
The film is part of the charity’s new campaign called Stand With Survivors, which aims to increase awareness around modern slavery, and educate the public about the signs to look out for which indicate somebody may be experiencing it.
Appearing alongside Anna are BAFTA-nominee and Mr Bates vs the Post Office actor Julie Hesmondhalgh, chef and Great British Menu host Andi Oliver, stand-up comedian andAfter Life star Kerry Godliman, and Call the Midwife actor Cliff Parisi. Joining them are Fantastic Beasts’ Derek Riddell, EastEnders’ Maisie Smith, The Last Kingdom‘s Jacob Dudman, Coronation Street‘s Shelley King, and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner Danny Beard.
Other celebrities taking part are West End and Broadway star Kerry Ellis, Olympic boxer Cindy Ngamba, journalist and broadcaster Simon Calder, former Emmerdale actor Charlie Hardwick, Bad Girls’ Alicya Eyo, Married at First Sight UK star Matt Jameson, and The Traitors UK contestants Miles Asteri and Theo Mayne.
Anna was approached to feature in the star-studded film after working closely with Causeway for a number of years in her role as Senior Manager (Modern Slavery SME) at Asda. The retailer is a key corporate partner for the charity, having launched the Ingredients for Life programme with them in 2017. Ingredients for Life provides cookery courses for modern slavery survivors out of Asda’s Leeds HQ test kitchens.
Anna also regularly organises for her colleagues to use their annual volunteering days to volunteer for the Yorkshire-based charity. The supermarket has also become a critical partner for Causeway’s LifeSupply service. LifeSupply provides material items to modern slavery survivors, who often come to Causeway with nothing but the clothes on their backs. These items they provide can include clothes, shoes, bedding, toiletries and household essentials.
In the special film produced by Causeway, you will see Anna urging the public to join her and “stand with survivors”. You will also see celebrity Kerry Godliman explaining “If somebody finds themselves in a place of vulnerability or crisis, they can be particularly at risk” of modern slavery. Andi Oliver goes on to say “modern slavery does not always mean somebody is being physically deprived of their freedom, although this does happen”.
Cliff Parisi says “signs of modern slavery can be nuanced and hard to spot”, with Julie Hesmondhaigh adding “If you think somebody may be experiencing modern slavery, please visit Causeway’s website [www.wearecauseway.org.uk] or call the UK Modern Slavery Helpline [08000 121 700].”
You can find out more about the Stand With Survivors campaign and watch the film on social media @CausewayCharity or by visiting www.wearecauseway.org.uk
Main image: Andi oliver
