unveiled at a local show and were judged on size, presentation and taste. The size they were aiming for was that of a small car. Charitable work Dawson is the 2013 President of children's medical research charity Sparks, whose mission is to ensure that all babies are born healthy and stay healthy. Matt attended their 2012 Winter Ball along with other supporters of the charity such as Lady Gabriella Windsor, who was in attendance in place of her mother, Sparks Royal Patron, Princess Michael of Kent. In 2015, he fronted a cycle ride for the charity from the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff to Twickenham in London, 150 mile in one day. He is an Honorary President of the rugby charity Wooden Spoon improving the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in Britain and Ireland. He posed nude in the women's magazine Cosmopolitan in support of the testicular and prostate cancer charity Everyman. Dawson has been supporting the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) since 2004, and became a UNICEF UK ambassador in 2009. In June 2009, he took time out while broadcasting for the Lions tour in South Africa to visit UNICEF programmes focusing on education, shelter and HIV/AIDS. He completed the 2007 London Marathon for charity, in 4 hours 35 minutes and 39 seconds. Patron of The National Hospital Development Foundation (NHDF) Patron of Beating Bowel Cancer – a leading UK charity for bowel cancer patients, working to raise awareness of symptoms, promote early diagnosis and encourage open access to treatment choice for those affected by bowel cancer. Personal life Born in Birkenhead, Dawson was raised in Buckinghamshire and attended the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe after passing the 12-plus (Buckinghamshire students at the time took the exam a year later). While in school he excelled in cricket and football before deciding to concentrate on rugby. He was married to German-born former model, Carolin Hauskeller, and the couple have two sons. Dawson announced their separation via social media on 21 September 2020. Dawson is a supporter of Everton F.C. Dawson published his autobiography, Nine Lives, in 2004. In 2012, on the CBBC series 12 Again Dawson revealed at age twelve he played an extra in the video to Culture Club's song The War Song in 1984 dressed up as a skeleton. In 2016, Dawson revealed how his family went through "two weeks of hell" as his two-year-old son battled