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Lucy Ryan

@lucyryan_acts_up

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🇬🇧 WORLD TRANSPLANT GAMES 2027 - Here I come! 🇧🇪

After a real week - THIS is very welcome news 😁

Absolutely honoured to be selected for a Third time in a row to represent Team GB at the World Transplant Games in Belgium next August 🙌🏻

I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to compete alongside my incredible teammates meeting inspiring competitors, supporters, and volunteers from across the world! 🌎

Three years on I still find it absolutely bonkers 🤯 that I can compete at an international level with hundreds of other transplantees from across the globe and it's ALL thanks to our donors 🫶❤️

On that note, but a different type of donor...If any businesses are interested in sponsorship this time around - feel free to DM me.

Now it's time to get training 🏃🏻‍♀️🏋‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️

Lucy ❤️

P.s. Check out today's story on how I'm approaching the start line next August 😂

#worldtransplantgames2027 #teamgb🇬🇧 #thankyou #leuven2027 taken in Leuven, Belgium by @lucyryan_acts_up

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8 days ago

📸 LAST OFFICIAL UoS GRAD 2026 PHOTOS 📸

These are the last few of Nick's brilliant photos from Ceremony 2 where I was lucky enough to speak to the @salforduni Performance Graduates of 2026 👨🏽‍🎓👩🏻‍🎓🥳

I tried to include them before but I chopped too many people out as I fried insta trying to accommodate the mix of portrait and landscape shots.

Bonus points if you can spot yourself in the birds eye shots grads...it's like playing "Where's Wally?!" 👀😂 taken in The Lowry by @lucyryan_acts_up

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2 months ago

🎓 U o S G R A D U A T I O N 2 0 2 6 👩🏻‍🎓

Fashionably late with this post because as ever life humble me before I get too big for my boots. This time it was my body flooring me with the lurge, but thankfully I'm back up and running ☺️

Monday 13th July was one of those surreal, full circle moments. When almost a year to the day in was back on the same stage & outfit that I had graduated from @salforduni in last year (minus the blue bruised 👃 😂).

However, this time I was honoured to be invited back as the ALUMNI SPEAKER for my ceremony but for the AMAZING 2026 Grads! 👨🏽‍🎓🥳

One Strange moment was acting as the unofficial warm up act for @wongrel the headliner! It was a delight to watch him bring joy to so many grads and impart his pearls of wisdom.

One kernel I'm taking on board is "Accept or change."

I was privileged to be included in Bennie's official doctorate ceremony, where the real icing on the cake was chatting to the magic @betteblavatsky

Thank You to my official support act @damonspillane @kaceyg_acting who accompanied me on the day and helped me get where I am today with the best medicine laughter! You are simply the BEST 😍

Another highlight was seeing my bros @escapism_musicuk & @thomas_charnock_ walk across the stage 👏🏼

Now as ever with any performance there were notes...

📝 Note to self: when entering as part of the official procession, consider whether sticking your tongue at your friend is really how you'd like to appear on the big screen?! 😋

📝 There's a reason people wear gloves on one of the hottest days of the year. About 10 minutes into graduation, you'll understand why! 👏🏼

📝 Think twice before eating THE crunchiest canapé just as the speeches begin. If you do... consider how long you can discreetly hold it in your mouth for 🙃📸

✅️ And always choose your footwear wisely... you never know when it'll have its moment in the spotlight! 👠✨

Last but not least, Thank You to everyone who has sent such kind messages about my speech 😇

I'll pop a 🔗 in today's stories for anyone who fancies a gander 👀

Finally, congratulations to the incredible Class of 2026! 🎉

Or, as Bennie would say...

"On your marks...Ready taken in The Lowry Theatre, Salford Quays by @lucyryan_acts_up

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3 months ago

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3 days ago

🎓 OFFICIAL UoS GRADUATION SPEECH PHOTOS 📸

Sorry not sorry, to spam you with the Official 2026 Summer Graduation Photos for the University ofSalford 😍 Where I was honoured to be part of the Performance graduants Big Day by giving an alumni speech! And treated like a Queen by @salforduni 👑

Acting as the unofficial support act for the amazing @wongrel as he received his much deserved honorary doctorate accompanied by his very own wonderfully talented support act including the incredible @betteblavatsky 🤩

None of this would've been possible without my truly phenomenal support act @kaceyg_acting & @damonspillane who you'll see kept everyone giggling throughout the day 🫶

Swipe through to see Nick Harrison's gorgeous photos!

Points if you spot when I thought I got away with swallowing a canope whole to avoid awkward crunching: only to discover there's no sneaking anything past Nick 😅

Oh and you might even spy Nick himself after we convinced him to let someone else behind the camera for a moment 👀📸

Last but not least - HUGE Congrats Class of 2026 🎉 I hope you had a fantastic day and summer celebrating your achievements 👏🏻🥰

#alumnispeech #uniofsalfordalumni #graduation2026 #thankyou

When you realise this is why no one claps whilst giving a speech using a microphone 👏🏻😂

Always fun catching up with Alan 😁

Swapping the T with Al 🫢

The look of someone completing a speech to a few hundred people without falling over 😏 taken in The University of Salford by @lucyryan_acts_up

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2 months ago

🇬🇧 B T G 2 0 2 6: H A T R I C K 🥇🥈🥉

Officially have the full set 💪🏼

🥇 3K Racewalk

🥈 Ball Throw

🥉 60m Indoor Sprint

✅️ 4th Relay (with the Best team 😍)

🏆 5th Fastest Female Transplantee Racewalker in Britain & Fastest Cardiothoracic Transplantee 👊🏼

FYI this is my first attempt at multiple captions and it's taken over an hour, so please swipe through at least 3 so I can convince myself this was time well spent 😜

🥈 Bling 🥉

Walking away with not 1 but 3 medals was an unexpected delight as I entered the comp with significantly less training under my belt than previous years and off the back of three weeks of virus after infection. I hadn't had painkiller free day in as many weeks. Therefore although the antibiotics helped see off a chest infection they had their own side effects. Meaning I felt pretty depleted and just had to pray my muscles remembered what to do. Thankfully they did! 🎉

💁🏻‍♀️ Poster Gal @keeleigh_john 😍 outside the Winter Gardens welcoming us to Sheffield 😁

🏃🏼‍♂️🏃🏻‍♀️ 4 x 100m Relay 🏃🏾‍♂️🏃🏼‍♀️

After getting some paracetamol plus fuel on board aka ice-cream I was back up to 4/10 spoons of energy 🥄

Then as usual the relay was my proudest moment, working with such an astounding team! Only one of us was a pro sprinter and it was everyone's first time running a 4 x 100m on an indoor track.

I was Leg 2 and as we were lane 4 there was no avoiding that bank, but Thanks to David's stellar start, managed to stay upright and even attempt the break!

Passing to our hidden talent Unis, before @_.sarahcox._ bossed it on the final leg finishing with a time of 62 seconds 🏃🏼‍♂️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏾‍♂️🏃🏼‍♀️

We might've come 4th overall but we were the first Cardiothoracic Transplant team 🎉

🏃🏻‍♀️ 60m Indoor Sprint

I was down to about 3/10 🥄🥄🥄 for this race and have never competed indoors. However I figured as it was only 60m, plus I'd get to compete with these two babes again 😍

⚾️ Ball Throw

I had to hot foot it from the 60 Sprint Final to Ball Throw as the events clashed, the organisers had agreed to let me throw a little late. I was just in time to throw with these lovely Women, however, there was no time for a taken in Sheffield, United Kingdom by @lucyryan_acts_up

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2 months ago

🥇 G O L D I N R A C E W A L K I N G🥇

Despite not being to train as much as I would've liked I won gold in the Female 3K Racewalk 🫢

It wasn't as speedy as usual edging further away from the 7-min km towards the 8-min km with a time of 23 mins 16 secs. Until the full results are released I don't know if I'll still be the fastest femake heart transplantee racewalker, but here's hoping 🤞🏻🚶🏼‍♀️

By the time we began at 11am it was already 25C 🥵 and we had no shelter from the blazing sun ☀️ Consequently I wouldn't have done this well without the brilliant supporters stationed all around the track cheering me on, so Thank You 😘

My body did me proud, despite a twingey leg and still being on antibiotics, it fell back into it - like riding a bike 🚴‍♀️

And I was delighted to be racing against the lurverly Marie Davis again, who smashed it with 🥈👏🏼

Plus, you know what they say it's First the worst, followed by Second the best 🥇🥈😂

P.s. And a competition wouldn't be complete for me without my traditional wonky race numbers right!? taken in Herringthorpe Stadium by @lucyryan_acts_up

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2 months ago

🏃🏻‍♀️ And somehow it's BTG 2026! 🫢

Thursday marked the Opening of the 48th British Transplant Games in Sheffield 2026! 🇬🇧

I swear the games come round quicker every year. I thought having finished studying last year that I'd be able to devote more time to training. In fact it's been the opposite.

I knew I was burnt out after four year's juggling study, work, health conditions, and life still life-ing hard. However, I hadn't realised quite how rundown I was.

Last year's games in Oxford were ace, but I felt pretty terrible, and genuinely thought my legs might give way in the 100m sprint. I already knew, but I came away from that race vowing to make big changes (which I'm v. fortunate to have the opportunity to do). Taking a much overdue break and catch up on things that had fallen by the wayside, esp. catching up with loved ones!

Despite taking life down a few gears, my body has had it's own ideas and has been grinding my gears with a year peppered by illness.

Yet my body never ceases to amaze me by what a leg-end it is. Simultaneously baffling me as to where it's caught yet another mystery virus from to start with.

In the past three weeks alone dealing with two viruses & two infections, one of which I'll still be on antibiotics for my races this weekend🚶🏼‍♂️

Therefore, although I've been looking after myself and keeping fit, I've also been listening to my body, and as a result I'm not as comp fit as I'd usually be.

Yes it's frustrating but it's an honour to be competing at all. And this is where it all comes back to the whole point of the British Transplant Games.

It genuinely is the taking part that counts. The fact no one would be there competing without their donor is just incredible. The fact someone can run 100m when they couldn't walk 10m this time last year is a much bigger win than any medal. (Although no one in their right mind turns down a bit of bling 🥇🥈🥉!

So if I don't perform as well as usual I'll be taking inspiration from teammates who've been going through something similar and simply finding joy in the experience irrespective of the results 🥰

Good Luck & have fun Everyone competing taken in Sheffield by @lucyryan_acts_up

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2 months ago

33 years ago today a total stranger saved my life. There aren't enough words to express my gratitude ❤️❤️

Thanks to my miraculous Heart Transplant I'm still here alive & kicking thirty-three years on ✍️🏼 Of course, there have been hiccups along the way as transplants are a treatment not a cure. Despite this I've been able to live life to the full.

My past few Transplant anniversaries are testament to this (the corresponding photos are numbered in brackets).

2026 (Photos 1-3): 33 Years TODAY - I visited where my radical Transplant took place all those years ago 'Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children' @greatormondst 🥰

Lovely having the opportunity reminiscence. Funny seeing sights through an adult instead of a child's eyes. Sadly I am now too old for the local play park 😂 yet never too old to indulge in some Peter Pan 😝

2025 (Photo 4): 32 Years - I was under the gaze of the camera 📽 instead of a live audience acting in 'SCREAM QUEEN' 😱🎬

2024 (Photo 5): 31 Years - I was on stage in a public performance at my uni, giving matriarch vibes 🎭

2023 (Photo 6): 30 Years - I celebrated 30th ❤️ Transplant Anniversary, halfway across the world in Aus, competing in my 1st ever World Transplant Games 😍 Even bringing home a medal for Team GB 🇬🇧🥈🇦🇺

I'm forever grateful to the incredible medical teams who performed magic all those years ago & to my adult hospital @royalpapworth who keeping me tick tocking along and not forgetting my family and friends 😇

As you might know the current organ donation system is the Opt Out (deemed consent) where your next of kin are consulted about your wishes. However, did you know you can still 'Opt In'?

This is actually incredibly helpful, especially for family's where they never had that chat about donation. As let's be honest, it's not exactly the most cheerful topic, yet still important.

So if you haven't yet, this might be a good excuse as any to share your wishes.

I've popped a 🔗 in my bio & today's story to a bit more information about becoming a donor & how to talk to your loved ones about it.

Thank You!

Lucy ❤️❤️

#transplantssavelives #shareyourwishes #gratefulheart #becomeadonorsav by @lucyryan_acts_up

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6 months ago

💫 SALISBURY ROTARY CLUB 💫

Last month, between medical appointments, I managed 48 hrs in Wiltshire 🎉

Where amongst other things I had the absolute joy of speaking at SALISBURY ROTARY CLUB about my World Transplant Games journey 🇬🇧🌎

And what a delightful distinguished bunch of people! Thank you for your hospitality and being so welcoming & encouraging 🥰

The cherry on the top was bumping into one of my former @studio_theatre board treaders: Peter!

...Last time we saw each other Peter was a Bishop & I was trying not to get my knickers in a Twist as a Vicar 😜

Here's a snapshot of my 2 days in Wiltshire 📸

1. Salisbury Rotary Club chair: Alan Corkhill and I!

2. @salisburyrotaryclub (who were one of my lovely sponsors at last year's WTG!) 😇

3. More of the lovely SRC & I 🫶

4. Peter & I ☺️

5. Throwback to 11 years ago to your local Bishop...

6. ...And Vicar ⛪️

7. Medical appts with a view 🌸

8. Voice Acting 🎙

9. Meetings 📝

10. Refreshments at one of my fave independent cafes in Salisbury ☕️

11. Viewing the magnificent spire! 🌙

Lucy ❤️

#iykyk
#actorslife🎬
#worldtransplantgames #teamgb🇬🇧 #wiltshirewanderings taken in Salisbury, Wiltshire by @lucyryan_acts_up

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6 months ago

🌊 A F T E R T H E F L O O D 🌊

It was pure joy working on series 2 of ITVs 'After the Flood' last April during my Easter hols.

Blink and you literally miss me in my foxy groundworker gear, but I don't mind one jot!
As it was such a joy to work with such a lurverly cast & crew, in such a gorgeous location (thankfully the graffiti did come off 😉). The icing on the cake was enjoying beautiful windswept walks across the moors on my way home 🌄

Check out my fellow SAs brave enough to keep still on that🪜 take after take!

And Thank You to one of the loveliest women on and off screen @stephdewhalley for coming out of your trailer to check in as I grabbed a ☕️ every morning 😘

I cannot recommend this programme enough if you love a gritty, crime, thriller! 🕵‍♀️ Excellent acting, superb script writing, and fantastic filming 🎥

So go check it out on ITVX or Prime Video. 🔗 in my bio 💜 taken in Clitheroe by @lucyryan_acts_up

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7 months ago

📽 FORTY-TWO 🎬

This alternate WWII sci-fi, thrillesque feature film is out now on Amazon Prime to rent or buy, and I'm in it! 👀

They are small and fleeting roles, but see if you can spot me as an alt-nurse and a patient?!

It wouldn't have happened without the Director, Writer, and Producer @eric.i.steele whose imagination, resourcefulness, work ethic, and ability to surprise never cease to amaze me!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for allowing me to be a part of your vision that's now a magnificent reality!

Huge Congratulations to @vamooseproductions & @fortytwofilm for producing such a thrilling independent film on a minute budget. Well worth the three years of gritty determination that went into it 👏

Congrats to the wonderfully talented Cast & Crew 🤩 Especially a few I trained with, including but not limited to

@damonspillane 🌟
@laurenjadeacting 💫
@sebastian__derby ⭐️
@mattykidelis 🌟

And Editor extradinaire @laurapetrie_96 🎞

Now it's down to you, the viewer, to see what could've happened if the Nazis won the war....

Link in my bio 🔗

Lucy x

#indiefilm #featurefilm2025 #FORTY-TWO #britishfilm #lowbudgethighquality taken in Hack Oldham by @lucyryan_acts_up

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9 months ago