‘Revenge’ star Josh Bowman has become one of a host of famous faces to take on the ‘Teabag Challenge’ to raise money for the NHS amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The 32-year-old English actor took over the Instagram account of his wife, ‘The Resident’ star Emily VanCamp, to post a video of himself completing the task, which involves social media users having to kick a teabag into a mug.
The challenge was started by Josh’s brother-in-law, London-based businessman Robert Colicci – who is married to Josh’s sister, former ‘Hollyoaks’ actress Scarlett Bowman – to help raise money for the National Health Service in the UK, as medical staff work around the clock to help tackle the outbreak of the deadly respiratory illness.
Josh shared a video of him accepting the challenge as well as another of him successfully completing it in super slow motion along with a blooper in which his pet dog intercepted the teabag before it could land in the cup.
Alongside the vids, he wrote: "Hey guys! Josh Bowman here taking over Emily’s Instagram for a second! I’ve been nominated by my brother in law @robcolicci for the #teabagchallenge in order to raise money for the @nhs in England. Wherever you are in the world please donate money or supplies to your local health care workers who are risking their lives on the front lines every day. We see you and we thank you.
"Now for the challenge itself… RULES: – only use your feet
– use a tea bag & mug
– stand as far back as you can (I was 17.25 feet)
-nominate 3 friends to join the challenge
-Donate! (Even if it’s just a small amount)."
Josh – who has also appeared in ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Our Girl’ – nominated two soccer players, Monaco midfielder Cesc Fabregas and Arsenal defender David Luiz, and ‘NCIS: Los Angeles’ actress Daniela Ruah to take on the challenge.
Fabregas – who also played for Chelsea, Barcelona and Arsenal – accepted the nomination and after posting a video of him chipping a teabag into cup he nominated a host of fellow footballers in return with Borussia Dortmund’s Mario Gotze and Real Betis’ Marc Bartra taking up the mantle.
Fabregas captioned his Instagram video: "I’ve been nominated by my friends josh and @emilyvancamp for the #teabagchallenge to raise money for the nhs. But please donate anything you can to help your local health care providers in your country! Money or supplies or just your love and support to these wonderful heroes working on the front lines every day. We are so grateful for your hard work!"
All donations are being asked to be made to the NHS Charities Together Campaign in aid of the NHS Charities COVID-19 Appeal via the Virgin Money Giving page.
Teabag Challenge creator Robert – who is the director of artisan London coffee shop brand Colicci – is also organising free donations of Colicci coffee capsules to be delivered to UK hospitals as a thank you to the nation’s nurses and doctors who are battling coronavirus.