A REALITY TV star from Inverclyde is toasting sobriety and his £460 donation to Ardgowan Hospice.

Club marketing manager Tommy MacFarlane from Wemyss Bay went on the wagon for almost three months as part of the hospice ‘Aff It for Ardgowan’ campaign.

The 25-year-old, who stars in Glow, the online show about the lives of a group of people from in and around Glasgow, was inspired to give something back to thank the hospice for caring for his beloved mum and grandmother.

Tommy said: “It was good to raise money for the hospice. It’s a charity close to my heart, as my mum and gran were both cared for here.

“It was also to prove something to myself and it also helped me.

“After two weeks, I was physically feeling brilliant.

“I’ve been back to the gym and getting myself in shape. I was only drinking water and you have more energy. The difference you feel is amazing.”

Tommy’s mum Kay sadly passed away in 2009, aged only 50, and he lost his grandmother Margaret Sloan, a few years later.

He said: “I’ve seen first hand what they do at the hospice.”
Tommy, a defender for Greenock High School Former Pupils, has been praised by hospice bosses for his generosity.

Staff nurse Nicky Campbell said: “I think it’s amazing for Tommy being so young and the industry he is working in, working in a club, I think it would be a difficult thing to do.”

Lorna McCluskey, an auxiliary nurse who helped to care for Tommy’s mother, said: “I knew Tommy’s mum — it must be hard for him coming back to the hospice, thinking of when his mum was here.

“I think it makes it extra special that he wants to give something back.”