Every year, UK women devote a month of their daily lives* to catching up on girly gossip, according to a new survey released today.

The research, carried out by Tesco and Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life, found that women in London are the most vocal in the country, spending a whopping 35 days a year indulging in chit-chat, while the Welsh and those in the West Midlands only chatter for the equivalent of 25 waking days a year.

The YouGov survey of 2,284 women also saw national sweetheart Cheryl Cole pipped to the post by queen of daytime TV Lorraine Kelly as the female celebrity women would most like to have a girly gossip with (12 per cent opted for Lorraine as opposed to 11 per cent for Cheryl). Joint third were This Morning presenters past and present Fern Britton and Holly Willoughby (10 per cent).

Eight per cent of women said they’d most like to share a girly gossip with Ann Widdecombe – perhaps picking up some tips on how to improve their cha cha cha.

Natasha Dickinson, head of Race for Life, said: “We girls like to natter! So we’re urging ladies across the UK to channel their passion for chatting into a rallying cry to ‘join the girls’ at Race for Life to beat cancer together by raising money for Cancer Research UK’s life-saving research.

“Let’s make Race for Life the main talking point among women across the country and encourage women of all ages and levels of fitness to walk, jog or run 5k and chat the kilometres away with friends, family and people they meet on the day.”

Lorraine Kelly said: “I am really delighted that women in the UK have voted me the celebrity they most want to have a chat with. I do enjoy a good catch up with my friends and I am so grateful to all of the amazing women who take part in Race for Life. It’s a fantastic experience and a brilliant opportunity to meet loads of other women who are all raising money for Cancer Research UK’s vital work.”

Overwhelmingly, the nation’s women still like to meet up face-to-face (57 per cent) as opposed to staying in touch via social media like Facebook (nine per cent) for a good old girl talk.

Their appetite for gossip extends to catching up on everything from TV soaps to celebrity tittle-tattle but over a third (34 per cent) say family or friends is their favourite subject for a chit-chat, followed by their love lives (14 per cent).

Race for Life is the largest series of women only fundraising events in the UK. Women are invited to walk, jog or run 5k at 300 events across the country to raise money for Cancer Research UK. 2011 is a very ambitious year for Tesco and Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life. Every two minutes someone is diagnosed with cancer, and that’s why this year more women than ever before are needed to join the girls at events across the UK.
The money raised through Race for Life goes towards all Cancer Research UK’s work, to prevent, diagnose and treat and cancer.

ENDS

For more information please contact the Cancer Research UK press office on 020 3469 8315.

ENDS

*Calculated by Cancer Research UK. On average, women in the UK spend a month a year (28 days) chatting to their female friends and relatives. This is out of the time they are awake – their daily lives – assuming an average day length of 16 hours
Survey conducted by YouGov 27th December 2010 – 4th January 2011. All percentages, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,284 women from across the UK. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).

The list of celebrities for the question ‘which celebrity would you most like to share a girly gossip with’ are:

  • Cheryl Cole
  • Kara Tointon
  • Colleen Rooney
  • Holly Willoughby
  • Lorraine Kelly
  • Ann Widdecombe
  • Charlotte Church
  • Felicity Kendal
  • Fern Britton
  • Christine Bleakley

About Race for Life

  • Race for Life opens for entries on 17th January 2011
  • Entry fee is £14.99 to cover organisational and administration costs of the series
  • Enter now at www.raceforlife.org or via the hotline on 0871 641 1111
  • 2011 is the tenth year that Tesco will have been supporting Race for Life
  • In recognition of the increased commitment from Tesco, in 2011 Race for Life will be re-named ‘Tesco and Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life’ and it should be referred to by its full name on first usage. ‘Race for Life’ can be used in subsequent copy

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