A WEDDING planner has been chosen to take on a triathlon challenge alongside the outspoken celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.

Zoe Strong, of Golding Thoroughfare, Chelmsford, will be joining Ramsay’s GR100 team to swim 1.2 miles in open water, run a half marathon and cycle 56 miles as part of the Stafford Ironman 70.3 challenge, on June 14, Mrs Strong’s 30th birthday.

Mrs Strong, is hoping to raise £2,500 for the Gordon Ramsay Foundation, which supports Cancer Research UK, Scottish Spina Bifida Association, Meningitis Now, Lois Centre for Palliative Care in Great Ormond Street and Action Against Hunger.

She said: “I saw it advertised on Twitter and saw the event fell on my 30th birthday, so I thought I’d apply, though I never thought I’d get picked!”

Mrs Strong, who has not completed a full triathlon before, met Ramsey and the rest of the team for the first time at a launch party in London.

She said: “He was so nice and so supportive. I got a bit starstruck, really! He asked me how the training was going and I just gave him a thumbs-up and ran away!

“He was really lovely and said he was so thankful we were helping him raise money for the foundation. It’s quiteabig event, Gordon was talking about it on the Jonathan Ross show, which was exciting.”

Mrs Strong is also holding a fundraising quiz night at the Essex County Cricket Ground, in Chelmsford, on April 15.

For more information follow her on Twitter @GR100strong or visit justgiving.com/Zoe-strong