Gemma Atkinson, Dannii Minogue set for Great Wall of China walkathon

London, Apr 8 : The Great Wall Of China would soon be clouded by stars like Gemma Atkinson and Dannii Minogue, who will be taking part in a 142-mile walkathon along the wall, to raise money for cancer charities.

A host of other celebrities will be joining Atkinson and Minogue, while they take on sand storms and searing temperatures on one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

The idea of the charity walk, which started on Apr 8, came from Grease bombshell Olivia Newton-John, 59, who is trying to raise 2.5million pounds to build a cancer centre.

Team Britain in the challenge will include celebrities like veteran rocker Sir Cliff Richard, 67, Strictly Come Dancing's Anton du Beke, 41, and Eighties punk star Toyah Willcox, 49.

Dannii, whose sister Kylie has battled breast cancer, will arrive at China on Apr 12 and will embark upon a four-day segment of the hike, where she's expected to trek 30 miles in 14 hours despite warnings to prepare for harsh desert dust storms.

"I joined the walk as a personal journey to try to understand why cancer is affecting so many people, to raise money to help find a cure, to celebrate the lives of friends and family that have been saved and to reflect on those I have lost," the Daily Star quoted Dannii, as saying.

In fact, the singer is disregarding all the wild condition while she plans to disco dance along the Wall.

She added: "I'm looking forward to meeting the rest of the crew on the walk, walking with my hero Olivia Newton-John and being totally out of my comfort zone. If anyone can do a disco grapevine through rural China, it will be me."

However, 23-year-old Gemma is all set to trudge on one of the hardest parts of the trek, as she'll be walking a whopping 42 miles up a steep mountain incline from Apr 19.

"Being a female, I am very aware of how common breast cancer is and I want to do my part to help," Gemma said.

ANI