THE reason why Gregg Wallace was seen out filming on the streets of Oswestry last month have been confirmed after the TV star released a short film to highlight a hike in food bills.

Gregg has released a short film, to support a campaign from McCain and the charity Family Fund, to show how the current price hike in food bills is affecting UK families raising a disabled, or a seriously ill, child.

Set around the kitchen dinner table, the short film sees Gregg meet the White family – mum Daisy and children Molly, Sapphire and Rhys, who has a life-limiting condition, and from Oswestry.

The short film launches after research revealed 90 per cent of families raising disabled children are struggling to pay, or are falling behind on, their household bills, with a typical family seeing increasing debts of £5,592,on average, with over three quarters of parents having to pay more for food and groceries to meet the needs of their child, compared to families without disabled children.

A spokesman for the project said: "Gregg, who has a three-year old son who is non-verbal, learns more about the realities of life for families raising disabled children and the essential grants and support services that Family Fund provides.

"The work they offer to families like Daisy’s across the UK, in partnership with McCain, aims to enable more enjoyment together as a family at mealtimes.

"The film sees Gregg and the family prepare a low-cost meal that suits the family’s wide-ranging needs, including meals appropriate to Rhys’s condition.

"Born with imperforate anus and one kidney, Rhys has had more than 38 operations since then and now has chronic kidney disease that could limit his life to around 25 years.

"Gregg and the White family chatted through pressing issues, including how to creatively manage household budgets given the stark price-rises facing the nation, the impact of single parenting three children with varied care needs and how Family Fund with the help of McCain is supporting families in coming together to enjoy mealtimes while navigating the current climate."

With costs of living rising since early this year, April 2022 saw inflation reach its highest recorded level since 1982 according to ONS, affecting the affordability of goods and services for households.

For many families like Daisy’s, who must maintain equipment like feeding pumps against the rising cost of electricity, these difficult times are even more pronounced.

Families raising disabled, or seriously ill, children are having to make stark choices on household expenditure, such as whether to heat or eat, with 46 per cent of adults admitting to cutting back on food for themselves, and 39 per cent saying they have to cut back on their energy usage.

Gregg had been spotted filming around the town and eating at the White Horse Cafe in English Walls on Tuesday, May 31 and posed for pictures with fans.