After losing his brother Andrew to kidney cancer two years ago, Peter Andre is back flying the flag for Cancer Research UK. The Mysterious Girl singer raised £100,000 for the charity last year with his Pete's Champions campaign, and with its return, Peter is calling on fans to double the amount this time around. One loyal supporter who remains at his side is Peter's fiancée and trainee doctor Emily MacDonagh, who is doting mum to the couple's nine-month-old daughter Amelia.
"The family are very supportive," Peter told HELLO! Online in an exclusive chat. "What I really love is that this campaign is one of the ways that me and Emily feel very connected work wise because this is her field. I can pick her brains on ideas, and it's great." Peter, 41, is encouraging fans to fundraise by holding bake sales, doing sponsored runs or even wearing onesies to work. The TV personality plans to take Emily and his children from his previous marriage – Junior and Princess – down to his coffee shop in Brighton to hold an open mic night, where the singer will charge on the door to raise money for The Peter Andre Fund.
Peter established the charitable fund after his sibling passed away in 2012. "I cannot tell you the pain our family went through when we lost my brother, so much so that I couldn't talk about it for a long time," he said. "Has Pete's Champions helped me? Absolutely," added Peter. "At first I was angry with the word cancer. I didn't want to hear it. I lost my brother to it. I wanted to bury my head in the sand but then I thought, hang on, you're not alone on this. Other people are going through this pain so why don't we all try and help other people not go through it?"
As the campaign takes centre stage and Emily, 25, focuses on her medical degree at Bristol University, the couple haven't had time to even think about their wedding. "Emily's doing really well at the hospital and I'm really proud of her because she's a mum as well," said Peter. "I'm sure secretly she loves to read all the bridal magazines but we've never really discussed it further. The plan was to always finish this section of her career – get used to calling her Dr Emily Mac – and so we've not really taken it any further but I do know I have to get a move on. We both will." The singer travels at least once a week to see Emily and baby Amelia in the West Country, where they are currently living with the trainee doctor's parents. "I would love it to be more but we always knew this time was coming," said Peter. "It's not going to be forever and we're more than halfway through so we're fine."
The family plan to also spend Amelia's first Christmas at the MacDonagh home. Recalling his fondest memory of his youngest, Peter said: "When she started smiling and laughing it was the cutest thing ever. That feeling when you walk in the room, first thing in the morning, and she sees you and she kind of rolls around and gets excited, that feeling – I can't explain it but it's just beautiful."
