Guest speaker

We are delighted to announce that Reverend Richard Coles – former pop star, vicar, broadcaster, and best-selling author, will be our guest speaker at the 2026 Awards Lunch. As one half of 1980s pop duo The Communards, he achieved three UK Top 10 hits including the No. 1 single Don’t Leave Me This Way, making him the only vicar to have topped the charts.

After leaving the music industry, Richard found faith, studied theology at King’s College London, and was ordained in 2005, serving as parish priest in Finedon until his retirement in 2022.

Richard is a familiar face on TV starring on programmes such as Strictly Come Dancing, Celebrity Masterchef and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, where he finished in third place.