#PantsToLeukaemia: Stars and public put pants on their heads for boy with cancer

Hannah Peckham, children’s author and sister of DJ Zoe Ball, asks people to say #PantsToLeukaemia as her son receives a diagnosis.

Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield have shared snaps of them with their pants on their head (Ian West/PA) (PA Archive)

Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield have shared pictures of themselves with pants on their heads to support leukaemia charities after Zoe Ball’s four-year-old nephew was diagnosed with the disease.

The initiative was set up by BBC Radio 2 presenter Ball’s sister Hannah Peckham, a school friend of ITV This Morning’s Willoughby, whose son Bodhi has been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

It calls on social media users to don underwear as a hat and share images with the hashtag #PantsToLeukaemia, inspired by a photograph Peckham shared with her friends.

After Bodhi’s diagnosis in November, Peckham “set up a little group chat to keep our friends updated”.

“It was Bodhi’s fourth birthday on Thursday and he was admitted to the hospital again on Friday, so we had to cancel his superhero birthday party on Sunday,” she told the PA news agency.

“I was updating the group and snapped a picture of Bodhi, and like a typical four-year-old he was wearing his socks, and vest and then had his pants on his head.

“All of the group replied in solidarity, with their pictures, and no one in there really knows each other so it was really nice.

“We thought this could be a good way to raise some money and take our minds off of it, and it is wonderful to see people getting involved.”

She added that those wanting to get involved should take a picture of themselves or someone else with pants or a “brief bonnet” on their head, donate to a leukaemia charity such as Leukaemia UK, Young Lives or Rocking Horse, then make a post explaining what they are doing and tagging friends asking them to get involved.

Peckham has asked Instagram users to tag her handle, @h.j.peckham, and use the hashtags #PantsToLeukaemia, #postyourpants, #leukaemiaispants, or #teambodhi.

Willoughby donned a pair of white briefs and pouted for her post and nominated Emma Bunton, Gok Wan, Alison Hammond, Dermot O’Leary and Schofield.

Joining the trend, Schofield shared an Instagram story adorned by a pair of white Calvin Klein boxers, which he added made him “look like a chef”, tagging and nominating fellow celebrities Oti Mabuse, Josie Gibson and Rochelle Humes to do the same.

Dozens of fellow social media users have also followed suit after Ball shared a description of the initiative on her breakfast show on BBC Radio 2.