The Made in Chelsea star who could save a 133-year-old Welsh miners' club

Reality show Made in Chelsea is a world away from a small mining community in the Welsh countryside, but one of its stars could soon be the answer to its prayers.

A working men's club in the village of Tumble, Carmarthenshire, faces closure after 133 years because of spiralling costs.

Nestled between Llanelli and Cross Hands, Tumble, with its population of a little more than 4,000 people, does not appear to have much in common with London's SW3 socialites.

But thanks to a local connection, TV star Sam Thompson has added a sprinkling of celebrity in an attempt to save Tumble Workies.

"I'm not even Welsh, I'm English, but, for me, it's a bit of heritage. You never want to get rid of heritage," Thompson, 34, said in the video.

He said he would "love" to save the Workies and even pledged to donate money himself.

Thompson, a previous winner of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, starred in Made in Chelsea alongside his sister, Louise.

And it was through Louise that he met Welsh businessman Scott Flear, who is from Tumble.

"I grew up in that village, my grandfather worked down the mines," said Flear, 33.

"My mother's a cleaner at the club, my family still go there.

"When we think about long-term memories, it's important to keep it."

Since 2000, a hard-working committee of members had tried to increase revenue, but the challenges were too great.

Flear hopes his plan for it to be run by a community benefit society will be successful.

"It would be disastrous if it goes," he said.

"Everyone's got a big link to that place."

To give the Workies its full name, the Great Mountain Workingmen's Club has been part of village life since 1893.

Opposite the Mynydd Mawr Colliery - Great Mountain Colliery - the club provided educational and recreational activities for miners and their families.

But the pit shutdown in the 1970s, and the cost of living what has hit hard for a place that was once a haven for the community.

In 2023, its energy bill quadrupled from £500 a month to £2,500.

The club even had its energy cut off by the supplier because of outstanding debt, and had to run off a diesel generator.

Thrilled that Thompson wanted to back the campaign, Flear said: "He told me he would love to help but didn't think Welsh people would know who he was.

"We're just building momentum every day," he said.