tombola and Breast Cancer Now Push Regular Checks With Olivia's House

With nearly half of UK women (45%) still not checking their breasts regularly2, tombola, the UK’s largest online bingo site, has partnered with Breast Cancer Now, the UK’s leading breast cancer charity, to issue a nationwide call to action: check in with a friend and remind them to check their breasts today.

Community has always been at the heart of tombola, where players chat, connect and support each other every day. After discovering that over 50% of its players have been affected by breast cancer3, tombola teamed up with Breast Cancer Now to harness the power of this network of thousands, creating millions of small but meaningful nudges to help save lives through regular breast checks.

Tombola and Breast Cancer Now are taking their life-saving message to the airwaves to spark more open and honest conversations among friends. This June, they will take over Olivia’s House, the popular podcast hosted by Olivia Attwood, which has reached over 97 million listeners across both long- and short-form content since its launch last year.

The special takeover episode, released today, features a candid and powerful conversation between Olivia and Girls Aloud star Nadine Coyle. Together, they explore the strength of friendship and how a simple nudge from a friend can be a powerful reminder to prioritise your health. To watch and listen to the Olivia’s House episode featuring Nadine Coyle, click here.

This powerful call to action, rooted in friendship and community, comes at a critical time. Brand new consumer research from tombola4 reveals the life-saving impact of friends checking in, as busy lifestyles and putting others first mean millions of women neglect their health checks:

The Power of a Nudge: A reminder from a friend is one of the most powerful prompts for a woman to check her breasts (42%), second only to advice from a GP or health professional (50%), and beating out hearing someone else’s story (33%), seeing an ad (31%), or spotting a poster (20%).

Friends Make the Difference: Over half of women (53%) say they are more likely to check if a friend reminds them. This influence is even stronger among younger generations, jumping to 68% for Gen Z and 63% for Millennials.

Too Busy to Check: Nearly 4 in 10 women (38%) admit they neglect their own health, while 37% forget to book appointments or keep up with regular health checks.

Putting Family First: Around 4 in 10 women would sort health appointments for their children (39%) or partner (38%) before themselves, with many doing the same for their parents (28%) and others they care for (25%).

Daniel Copley, Community Expert at tombola, comments: “At tombola, everything we do is about bringing people together, so our work with That Lot - part of the Weber Shandwick Collective - is focused on putting us right at the heart of culture and conversation. From day one of our partnership with Breast Cancer Now, That Lot has helped us build something truly meaningful, rooted in a powerful truth: half of the tombola community has been impacted by breast cancer.

"Together, we’ve created campaigns that feel relevant and in culture. This summer, we’re shining a light on the power of friendship, encouraging women to check in with each other to check their breasts. It’s why collaborating with Olivia’s House and Nadine Coyle, who bring real, lived experiences, has been so important in telling this story in an honest and relatable way.

"Everything we do is to reach people where they are, blending earned PR and social to spark conversations and connect communities. That sense of community is what tombola is all about, and you’ll see our latest campaign with Breast Cancer Now coming to life across all channels in the coming days!"

Hannah Brotherton, Head of Brand at tombola, commented: “We partnered with Breast Cancer Now after learning that breast cancer has affected half of our players. Community is at the heart of everything we do, and we knew we could use the strength of our platform and thousands of players to make a difference. tombola’s community is built on people chatting and checking in with each other every day, making it the perfect place to start these conversations. Having raised over £500k already, we’re going even further this year with a simple but powerful message: check in with your friends and encourage regular breast checks, because together we can save lives. Olivia’s House and Nadine Coyle give us an incredible opportunity to reach millions of women across the nation with this message.”

Claire Rowney, Chief Executive at Breast Cancer Now said: "With 1 in 7 women in the UK developing breast cancer in their lifetime5, it’s alarming that almost half (45%) of UK women still don’t check their breasts regularly. Our partnership with tombola, including our joint takeover of the Olivia's House podcast, are playing an incredible part in getting our ‘Touch Look Check’ breast health messaging out there far and wide. This is so important as we know that almost two thirds of breast cancers are found by breast checking, and when it’s found early treatment is much more likely to be successful. Checking your breasts can save your life. It's as simple as: touch your breasts or chest, look for changes and check anything new or unusual with a GP. So, it’s vital that everyone gets into the habit of checking their breasts regularly and encourages their friends to check today too. At Breast Cancer Now, we have a bold vision, that by 2050, everyone with breast cancer will live and live well and thanks to the incredible support of tombola and the tombola community, we are driving progress to make change happen now."

The tombola and Breast Cancer Now partnership launched in 2025 with the ambitious goal of sharing life-saving information with 1,000,000 people and raising £1,000,000. Kickstarted by a £250,000 donation from tombola, the partnership has already passed the £500,000 milestone. Funds are raised through various initiatives such as live tombola bingo games where the community comes together, with at least £30,000 donated per game. tombola’s next fundraising games will take place on 29th June.

For guidance from Breast Cancer Now on checking breasts and to take part in tombola’s Breast Cancer Now live fundraising games, please visit: https://www.tombola.co.uk/breast-cancer-now