Throng

A team of celebrities is heading to Kenya for Saving Planet Earth – Running Wild.

Jon Culshaw (Dead Ringers), Kelli Young (Liberty X), Les Dennis (comedian), Michaela Strachan (presenter) and Jeremy Edwards (Holby City) are donning their running shoes to raise money for the BBC Wildlife Fund.

They will be joined by Ruby Wax (comedienne) who is grabbing her ra-ra skirt to go along as the team's sponge girl.

The Safaricom Marathon in Lewa, Kenya, is run on dirt roads and has gained a reputation for being one of the ten toughest marathon events in the world.

The results of the race will be shown during the exciting fund-raising finale Saving Planet Earth – Live on Friday 6 July.

This will be followed on Monday 9 July by Saving Planet Earth – Running Wild, a special programme which will follow the celebrities as they embark on the race of their life.

The Saving Planet Earth season across the BBC is focusing on the plight of endangered wildlife. It kicks off on Sunday 24 June with a show presented by Sir David Attenborough examining the impact of humans on the planet.

Will Young, Graham Norton, Nick Knowles and Edith Bowman are among a host of stars joining Sir David Attenborough and Alan Titchmarsh in Saving Planet Earth, a wide-reaching season of programmes supporting wildlife conservation across BBC this summer.

The celebrities, who also include Jack Osbourne, Carol Thatcher, Fiona Bruce, Phil Tufnell and Saira Khan, explore the work of global conservation charities before appealing for public donations to help save endangered wildlife.

Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the world-renowned BBC Natural History Unit, Saving Planet Earth begins with a show presented by Sir David Attenborough examining the impact of humans on the planet. The season culminates in a live fund-raising finale on BBC One.

Saving Planet Earth also features on CBBC, local BBC programming, BBC Two and online at bbc.co.uk/savingplanetearth. Conservation charities will be hosting a number of events across the UK.

At the end of each programme in the season, and during the fundraising finale, Alan Titchmarsh makes an appeal for donations to help save Planet Earth's wildlife.

Will Young, Graham Norton, Nick Knowles and Edith Bowman are among a host of stars joining Sir David Attenborough and Alan Titchmarsh for Saving Planet Earth, a wide-reaching series supporting animal conservation on BBC One this summer.

The celebrities, who also include Jack Osbourne, Carol Thatcher, Fiona Bruce, Phil Tufnell and Saira Khan, explore the work of global conservation charities before appealing for public donations. The Saving Planet Earth season then culminates in a live fund raising finale.

Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the world-renowned BBC Natural History Unit, Saving Planet Earth kicks off on BBC One with a launch show hosted by Sir David.

Using previously unseen footage from BBC One's award-winning series Planet Earth, Sir David explains how destruction of crucial habitat is affecting the future of many of the planet's animals.

He says: "Some scientists suggest that up to a quarter of animal species could be extinct by 2050. But it's not too late – you can be involved in Saving Planet Earth.