TV star Sarah Parish MBE and her husband, actor James Murray MBE visited Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice in Barnet on the 13 January 2025. The pair toured the facility with Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice’s CEO, Sophie Andrews OBE, Philip Roethenbaugh – Fundraising & Communications Director and Gary Taylor – Senior Philanthropy Manager to learn more about the charity, The Ark and children’s palliative care.
The couple are funding 300 drama therapy sessions for children at Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice through their foundation – The Murray Parish Trust. They founded The Murray Parish Trust in 2014 after their daughter Ella-Jayne died from a congenital heart defect in 2009 when she was eight months old. Since 2014, The Murray Parish Trust have directed over £4 million to innovative projects which transform the future of children’s healthcare and are committed to supporting the mental health of children that are seriously unwell – and their families.
Sarah says on her motivation to start the trust:
‘When our darling little Ella-Jayne was in Intensive Care for four months, we witnessed first-hand the unmet need for emotional and psychological support for both children and their loved ones. If the mounting trauma of having or being a seriously ill child isn’t properly processed with professional help, it can have devastating consequences in the long term. The Murray Parish Trust exists because it is vital there is help at hand for these families in their darkest hours.’
Pasha Wild is Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice’s Drama and Movement Therapist and works with children, assessing and addressing their specific needs and issues and working through them using drama, play and movement. Pasha goes on to explain some of the theory behind her work, saying:
‘Drama therapy is a rehearsal space for life, it’s an opportunity for a young person to have a safe secure place where they can get things wrong, where they can struggle, they can practice their lines if they want to and rehearse difficult situations. They can say things to people in a therapeutic space that they wouldn’t necessarily feel safe saying to someone in the real world. I often talk about the difference parts of
ourself because we all play characters. We all hold our sadness, our fear, our anger and our joy and all of those parts of ourself will look different for different people. Drama therapy is a place where a child can step outside of their life, explore different parts of themselves and where they can untangle and unpick things in a way that’s helpful for them.’
During the visit the couple also met Christina Lucas-Dodsworth and her two sons, Arthur Lucas, aged 1, and Joseph Dodsworth, aged 9, from Northwood. When Arthur was born he was quickly transferred to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and his parents, Christina and Jack, were told that Arthur had severe Hypoxic Ischemic 
Encephalopathy (HIE) and that it would be unlikely that he would survive coming off his ventilator. In March 2023 the family were referred to Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice and thankfully Arthur’s condition became less critical and in May 2023 his clinicians re-evaluated his pathway and his do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order was reversed. Arthur attends the drama and music group for young children – ‘Tunes and Tales’ and Joseph has had extensive drama therapy with Pasha to address some of the issues that siblings of children who are seriously unwell often face. Christina goes on to describe the difference in Joseph’s behaviour after drama therapy and says:
‘His school noticed that after the sessions with Pasha that he was actually able to start opening up to his teachers and to verbalise what was on his mind, saying things like Arthur’s in hospital today or I’m feeling a bit worried. When we told Joseph his little brother might not be here that long, it was a very difficult conversation to have, the doctors were very supportive in trying to explain the situation to him but he knew where the conversation was heading and he’d redirect it. Now, after the session with Pasha he’s much more comfortable talking about these things. I think drama therapy is good at tackling the prospect of loss and it’s definitely helpful for a child that doesn’t want to do the talking and at that age it is probably just far too much.’
Sarah and James also took the time to hear of some of the challenges that the children’s palliative care sector is facing with uncertainty over the future of The Children’s Hospice Grant and a steep rise in National Insurance contributions. Only 17% of our income comes from the grant, the rest is raised through voluntary donations to meet current running costs of the hospice which currently stand at approximately £18k per day.
Sarah Parish MBE said:
‘Visiting The Ark was an incredibly moving experience. Seeing firsthand the difference dramatherapy makes to children and families facing unimaginable challenges only reinforces why this work is so important. At The Murray Parish Trust, we are proud to fund 300 sessions at Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice, knowing that these moments of connection, expression, and healing can bring light to even the darkest days.’
Christina Lucas-Dodsworth said:
‘It was a real pleasure to meet Sarah and James and for them to meet Arthur and Joseph. Joseph has really benefitted from dramatherapy and their kind gift will help so many other children and families that Noah’s Ark support.’
Sophie Andrews OBE, CEO of Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice said:
‘We were delighted to welcome Sarah Parish MBE and James Murray MBE to The Ark and are incredibly grateful for their gift of 300 dramatherapy sessions for our children and families. Dramatherapy is an often undervalued but vital resource to help children and families come to terms with the dramatic changes that having a child who is seriously unwell can bring. It’s especially helpful for siblings of children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions to help sort through emotions that children can often find overwhelming.’