Nicola Coughlan, Paapa Essiedu Join Auction for Students in Gaza

“Bridgerton” star Nicola Coughlan and “Harry Potter” series actor Paapa Essiedu are among more than 20 celebrities who are auctioning off meaningful items to raise money for students in Gaza.

The auction, coordinated by charity Phoenix Space, will begin on July 27 and also features items from Brian Cox, Gary Lineker, Paloma Faith, Maxine Peake, Juliet Stevenson, Charlotte Church, Harriet Walter, Vanessa Redgrave and Janet Suzman. It was spurred by the U.K. government’s announcement that it will help students in Gaza travel to and study in the U.K., but they must have fully-funded scholarships.

Coughlan and her “Derry Girls” co-star Siobhán McSweeney have donated a signed behind-the-scenes photo, while Essiedu is auctioning his own personal “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” book. “I can’t imagine almost all universities being destroyed and the immense talent in every discipline wasted: no opportunities and no choice at all,” he said in a statement. “What a beautiful thing if this book in some way can unlock the futures of these brilliant students, too.”

Other donated items include a signed Japan football shirt from Lineker; an “I Swear” production hoodie from Peake; the first poetry book Stevenson ever owned; a spot in Church’s next wellness retreat; Walter’s personal script from Donmar Warehouse’s all-female production of “Julius Caesar” and a signed copy of her book; a necklace Redgrave wore in the play “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”; and a vintage Christian Lacroix brooch from Suzman.

According to Phoenix Space, hundreds of students in Gaza have been offered places at U.K. universities but do not have the funding to attend. This year, the students have offers from University College London, Imperial and Edinburgh in subjects like artificial intelligence and cognitive neuroscience.

Bidding begins July 27 and will run for 10 days on the Scholarships for Gaza auction website.