TELEVISION stars will attend a ceremony to mark the beginning construction of a multi-million-pound care centre for young adults in east Oxford.

Graham Norton, dubbed the king of camp comedy, will join hospice founder Sister Frances Dominica in cutting the first sod of earth for the planned Douglas House respite care centre in Magdalen Road.

The ceremony on April 15 -- to be attended by other celebrity guests including Jeremy Clarkson and a Thames Valley Police mascot horse called Douglas -- comes after a successful fundraising appeal.

Sister Frances set up Helen House, a hospice for children, 20 years ago but always hoped to found a centre for young adults too.

Following donations from across Oxfordshire, funds are now just £500,000 short of the £4m target and building work is due to start after Easter.

Sister Frances said: "It is the start of our dream coming true. We're all really excited."

Graham Norton and Jeremy Clarkson are keen supporters of Sister Frances' work. Last year, they raced powerboats around the Isle of Wight to boost funds.

Other well-wishers include former US president Bill Clinton, who was guest speaker at a fundraising dinner for Douglas House last July.

For young people such as Alaistair Craig, 16, who suffers from congenital muscular dystrophy, the care centre will bring a new lease of life.

Talented guitarist Alaistair, a pupil at King Alfred's School, Wantage, already enjoys breaks away from home at Helen House but is looking forward to staying at Douglas House as it will be geared towards people aged from 16 to 40.

He said: "Helen House has been like a home from home for me. But it's really for younger people. I'm very excited about Douglas House. I'll probably stay there for four or five days at a time, about four times a year."

His mother, June Craig, of Mayfield Avenue, Grove, near Wantage, said Alaistair was looking forward to the adult-oriented regime of Douglas House and feeling freer to have friends to stay.

She added: "It will give us valuable time to refresh and not have to get up two or three times in the night. We'll know Alaistair is being looked after well."

Douglas House, named after Douglas Bell who died following a serious illness at Helen House, is to be built within the grounds of Helen House, off Magdalen Road. It will have seven bedrooms for young adults and three flats where guests can stay.

Helen House itself has 150 families on its books and provides respite care to eight children at a time.

Public relations manager Catherine Wilson said the planned expansion was needed to relieve pressure on places.

She said: "When Douglas House is finished, we will be able to offer more days per family at Helen House. At the moment, it's a case of little and often rather than longer stays.

"It's always exciting when surprise donations are made. I have been here 11 years and it never ceases to amaze me how people raise money."

Project manager Roger Wilson said additional money would be needed to cover all the construction costs and equip Douglas House once it is built.

Work will begin in earnest after the turf-cutting and is due to be finished next spring. Disruption will be minimised by site traffic using an area set aside for Douglas House's car park.