Holly Willoughby raises funds for children’s charity on trading floor

She joined other celebrities including Gareth Southgate, Princess Beatrice, Davina McCall and Damian Lewis at the BGC Charity Day.

Holly Willoughby at BGC Charity Day 2024 in London. (James Manning/PA) (PA Wire)

TV presenter Holly Willoughby, former England manager Gareth Southgate and Princess Beatrice are among the famous faces taking to the trading floor for charity.

Willoughby, who left ITV’s This Morning last October, joined the BGC Charity Day to fundraise for the children’s charity Together For Short Lives.

The 43-year-old has made few public appearances since a security guard was jailed for life in July over a plot to kidnap and murder her.

Earlier this year, she hosted ITV’s Dancing On Ice along with Stephen Mulhern, and the pair are set to present the rebooted game show You Bet! on the same channel.

At the annual event organised by BGC Partners, she greeted children while dressed in a blue suit and wearing a badge promoting Together For Short Lives, which supports children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions and their families.

Willoughby has been a patron of the charity since it was founded in 2011, and has previously appeared at the BGC event to advocate for the organisation.

On Instagram, she wrote about meeting parents Tony and Talitha and their daughter Stephanie, whose twin brother Alex died in September last year.

Willoughby said: “Many of you may know by now that I am a patron of @togetherforshortlives, which supports seriously ill children and their families, like Alex’s, across the UK.”

She explained that Together for Short Lives provided funds for when Alex died to “help them with their day-to-day living costs”, and the money raised from the event will help other families like them.

The event is held to commemorate 658 Cantor Fitzgerald staff and 61 EuroBrokers employees who died in the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York on September 11, 2001.

It sees celebrities take to the trading floor where, under the guidance of brokers, they speak to clients over the phone in a bid to raise millions for charitable causes.

At Canary Wharf in London on Wednesday, Homeland star Damian Lewis was also in action talking on the phone along with former Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp, ex-Chelsea and England footballer John Terry and TV presenter Davina McCall.

McCall, who was promoting children’s charity Action Medical Research, told the PA news agency: “A day like today, raising the kind of money that these guys raise for these charities today, makes an enormous difference.

“And I know it’s a hard day for a lot of these guys, some of them… all of them will have known someone that knew someone in the Twin Towers on 911 so it’s a very special day for all of us.”

During the event, Southgate, who departed as England manager this year after the Three Lions were defeated in the Euro 2024 final, posed with young fans.

He was raising money for Help for Heroes, which supports the British Armed Forces community, along with cyclist Sir Mark Cavendish.

Beatrice said: “I am thrilled to be here today celebrating the incredible work that charities do on a daily basis.

“The 30 charities represented here today support a wide range of important causes, from children in care to those in medical need, and have a positive impact on many different parts of the community.

“I am so pleased to be part of charity day and support these grassroots organisations.”