Holly Willoughby and Royal Family unite for charity fundraiser

TV presenter Holly Willoughby, former England manager Gareth Southgate, and Princess Beatrice are among the celebrities participating in the trading floor charity event. 

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

The 43-year-old has kept a low profile since July when a security guard was sentenced to life imprisonment for plotting to kidnap and murder her.

Earlier this year, she co-hosted ITV’s Dancing On Ice with Stephen Mulhern, and the duo is set to present the revamped game show You Bet! on the same channel.

At the annual BGC Partners event, Willoughby was seen in a blue suit and wearing a badge for Together For Short Lives, which supports children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, as well as their families. 

A patron of the charity since its inception in 2011, Willoughby has previously supported the BGC event to promote the organization.

On Instagram, she shared her experience meeting parents Tony and Talitha and their daughter Stephanie, whose twin brother Alex passed away 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 noted that Together For Short Lives provided financial assistance when Alex passed away, helping his family with day-to-day living expenses. The funds raised from the event will support other families in similar situations.

The event is held to honour the memory of 658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees and 61 EuroBrokers staff who perished in the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. Celebrities take to the trading floor, where they, guided by brokers, make calls to clients to raise millions for various charitable causes.

On Wednesday at Canary Wharf in London, Homeland star Damian Lewis, former Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp, ex-Chelsea and England footballer John Terry, and TV presenter Davina McCall were also seen making calls for the charity.

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.”