This image was taken (but not used) for a story that ran in The Manawatu Evening Standard on Monday 29th June 1981.
Julie Goodyear, the actress who played Bet Lynch in the iconic British drama Coronation Street, is seen here on the panel (with local radio personality Audrey Green beside her), encouraging donations for the 1981 telethon. She had become ill while travelling to New Zealand after being bitten by a mosquito in Fiji, but still took to the stage.
Telethon 1981 was for the International Year of Disabled Persons. Telethon was a 24-hour live television spectacular designed to raise money for charitable causes. It originated in the United States, but New Zealand put a typically Kiwi spin on the event. Local performers, amateur and professional were joined by international stars, who entertained New Zealand to raise money for charity. Groups of people from schools, clubs, and pubs, contributed cash and cheques, often in an oversized format, to add to the pledged totals on the day of the event.