THE last time she was in England Marisa Wayne was on a film set with her father.

She was just nine when John Wayne was filming Brannigan in London, in 1975.

More recently the daughter of one of Hollywood’s enduring icons returned to the UK – this time to show a little true grit of her own in the wilds near Craven Arms.

Marisa was taking part in Mac 4x4 Challenge for Macmillan Cancer Support, raising cash for a cause close to her heart.

John Wayne died of cancer at 72.

“Anything for the cause,”

she told the Advertiser.

“I’m really looking forward to getting to grips with the course and seeing a bit of the scenery – it’s been a long time since I was here and I didn’t see much of the country back then.”

More than 70 4x4 vehicles, most of them Land Rovers, took part in the event at Britpart Holdings and among them was the movie star’s youngest daughter.

She’d flown all the way in from California, at the behest of the charity.

“I do a lot for Team Duke, our own John Wayne Cancer Foundation, I figured it was all going towards the same aim,” she said.

Her 16-year-old Defender TDI has 174,000 miles on the clock which means that it was just about run-in for the event which she tackled with her co-driver Russ Brown.

Marisa’s participation helped raise awareness of the event and boosted sponsorship opportunities, all of which go directly to Macmillan. The Mac 4x4 currently raises over £100,000 per year for Macmillan Cancer Support, with a grand total of approximately £600,000 to date.

John Wayne survived lung cancer in 1964, but died 15 years later after a battle with cancer of the stomach.

During this difficult period, he became passionate about helping others fight this terrible disease.

To honour his memory, his family created the foundation (JWCF) to bring “courage, strength and grit”

to the fight against cancer.

Since its founding in 1985, the JWCF has supported awareness and education programmes and support groups, and is aligned with like-minded groups and nonprofit organisations that advance the fight against cancer. JWCF has also been committed to groundbreaking cancer research and education at the John Wayne Cancer Institute (JWCI).

To support the event visit justgiving.com/mac4x4teamduke