25 Hours Live - Radiothon for LATCH

On 24th October 2026, Mat Jones and I will be going live on South Wales ONE Radio to raise money for LATCH Welsh Children's Cancer Charity.

Originally, this was going to be a 24-hour Radiothon.

8am Saturday until 8am Sunday. Simple.

There was just one small detail I hadn't considered...

The clocks go back that night.

So, thanks to some questionable planning on my part, our 24-hour Radiothon has accidentally become a 25-hour Radiothon.

We could finish at 7am and technically complete our 24 hours.

We're not going to.

We're doing the extra hour.

Why we're doing it

This one is very personal to me.

My daughter, Autumn, has faced cancer three times in her 13 years.

She was diagnosed with retinoblastoma when she was just two weeks old, pineoblastoma at three years old and is now undergoing treatment for osteosarcoma.

As a family, childhood cancer has been part of our lives for far longer than we ever could have imagined. Throughout that journey, organisations like LATCH have been there.

LATCH supports children and their families throughout cancer treatment at the Children's Hospital for Wales.

Their help goes far beyond the hospital ward. They provide practical, emotional and financial support and help families stay together at a time when normal family life can suddenly disappear.

We've experienced first-hand just how much that support matters.

So this is our chance to give something back.

The Challenge

At South Wales ONE, we believe community radio should genuinely be part of its community.

So from the moment we switch the microphones on at 8am on Saturday, we're staying there until 8am on Sunday.

Which, as we've now discovered, is 25 hours later.

Two presenters. One radio station. One very long day, night and, apparently, bonus hour.

There'll be music, requests, other South Wales ONE presenters, guests, messages, probably far too much coffee and, as the hours tick by, quite possibly some increasingly questionable broadcasting decisions.

We've already started putting together a full schedule of special programmes throughout the day and night, with other South Wales ONE presenters joining us along the way.

And when the clocks go back and 1am happens for the second time, we're embracing our accidental extra hour with a bonus show called The Time Warp.

Yes, it will begin with The Time Warp.

Obviously.

But behind all the fun is one very serious goal:

To raise as much money as we possibly can for LATCH.

Mat and I previously took on a 24-hour charity broadcast together back in 2020.

We probably should have learned our lesson.

Six years later, we're doing it again - except this time we've somehow managed to make it an hour longer.

And we want to make every one of those 25 hours count.

Why LATCH?

When your child has cancer, your world changes overnight.

Appointments, chemotherapy, operations, scans, blood tests, surgery and hospital stays suddenly become normal.

Parents are trying to hold everything together while children are dealing with things no child should ever have to experience.

Having somebody there who understands that world - and who can offer practical help when you need it - makes an enormous difference.

That's what LATCH does for families like ours.

This Radiothon is my way of saying thank you.

And hopefully, with your help, it's also a way of making sure LATCH can continue being there for the next family who suddenly finds themselves needing them.

How you can help

If you can donate, whether it's £2, £5, £10 or more, every contribution adds to the total and gives us another reason to keep talking when it's three o'clock in the morning.

Businesses and organisations can also sponsor one of our programme slots. We're suggesting a £100 donation to LATCH, although any level of support is genuinely appreciated.

If you can't donate, you can still make a huge difference.

Please share this page.

Tell your friends, family, colleagues and businesses you know about what we're doing. The more people who see it, the more we can potentially raise.

And on 24th October, tune in to South Wales ONE, send us your messages and requests and, most importantly, help keep us awake**.

This is our opportunity to say thank you to an organisation that has done so much for Autumn, for our family and for countless other families across Wales.

25 hours. Two increasingly tired radio presenters. One very important cause.**

**For Autumn. For LATCH. ❤️

Let's see how much we can raise for LATCH Welsh Children's Cancer Charity.