'There are more deserving charities'

Coronation Street star Catherine Tyldesley has come under attack for donating her £10,000 prize from All Star Family Fortunes to a charity for prisoners' families.
Miss Tyldesley, 29, who plays barmaid Eva Price in the ITV soap, and her family beat Loose Women presenter Andrea McLean and her relatives to win the money on the show, broadcast on Sunday evening.
But some viewers on the social networking site criticised Miss Tyldesley's choice of charity - Out There, in Manchester.

Catherine Tyldesley joined forces with her family to win £10,000 on All Star Family Fortunes

Miss Tyldesley appeared on the show with host Vernon Kay and her family

Catherine Tyldesley plays barmaid Eva Price in the ITV soap, pictured alongside Marc Baylis as Rob Donovan

The charity, which is staffed by Catholic volunteers from the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, gives emotional and practical support to the families of those behind bars.
One viewer, Chris Deighan, wrote: 'What about a victims charity? You are a disgrace.'
Another, Jade Conway, said: 'Bit tasteless u chose that charity considering it just been James Bulgers anniversary, his charity is a more worthy 1.'
Viewer Amy Jones tweeted: 'Did you really choose prisoners' families as your chosen charity when there is the NSPC or cancer charities - what a waste!'
The husband of James Bulger's mother tweeted Miss Tyldesley to say that the donation was ill-advised.
Stuart Fergus, 37, who is married to James's mother Denise, 45, wrote: 'There are so many more deserving charities. What about the victims' families?'

 

Miss Tyldesley, who has 92,000 followers on the site, took to Twitter to defend her choice.
She wrote: 'Getting a lot of stick about my chosen charity.
'The children/families of prisoners are innocent and often left with nothing.
'Children living with constant bullying and in poverty. It's NOT their fault. Have a heart.'
Most of the tweets responding to Miss Tyldesley were overwhelmingly supportive.
Annie Parker wrote: 'The families of prisoners carry out a hidden sentence that no one sees, the statistics for their children is sad - let's help.'
Claire Greenwood said: 'Its not fair for children to pay for the mistakes made by their parents/guardians! I think you chose a good charity!'
Another user, Pat Hendry, wrote: 'Bang right. Charity is about helping the helpless, not just the popular cuddly ones. Well played Cath.'
David Diley tweeted: 'Ignore all the grief junkies and small minded people giving you stick. It's a brave choice and a deserving cause.'
A spokesman for Out There said: 'We want to thank Catherine for nominating ‘Out There Supporting Families of Prisoners’ as her charity for All Stars Family Fortunes.
'The charity offers telephone support, home visits and information for families of prisoners. We liaise with the local prisons on behalf of families in the Greater Manchester Area.

The actress used her Twitter account to defend her choice of charity

Miss Tyldesley responded to her critics on her Twitter profile after the show's broadcast

'The families are often considered guilty by association. This stigma has far reaching effects. The children and young people suffer the impact of shame, fear and bullying and this has outcomes for their emotional welfare and educational progress.
'It is important to break the cycle of offending and it has been proven that that having stable family relationships reduces re-offending rates and helps with rehabilitation on release.
'To enable this to happen it is important that families have the information and emotional support they need when a family member is in prison.'
The ITV press office said there would be no further statements on the matter, beyond Miss Tyldesley's tweets, and her personal publicist said he did not wish to comment.