Telegraph Christmas Charity appeal reaches £241,000 as stars take readers' calls
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Sir Jackie Stewart and Anneka Rice were among the celebrities manning the phone lines for The Telegraph’s Christmas Charity appeal on Sunday, as the total raised reached £241,000.
The stars and Telegraph columnists took over 1,000 calls as readers on the phone gave £96,000, in addition to gifts online and earlier donations.
Richard Madeley joined fellow TV personality Ms Rice and three-time F1 champion Sir Jackie on the phones.
Telegraph writers Allison Pearson, Camilla Tominey and cartoonist Matt Pritchett also took calls from readers over the eight hours the lines were open.
The four charities benefiting from this year’s Christmas Charity appeal were Marie Curie, Britain’s leading end-of-life charity; the RAF Benevolent Fund, which supports personnel, veterans and their families; Go Beyond, who gives vulnerable children a break in the British countryside and Race Against Dementia, set up by Sir Jackie after his wife Helen was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.
Overall, £241,231 has been donated so far, which includes online donations.
The total sum raised yesterday alone by readers who called in was just over £96,005 - £6,255 more than was donated by callers last year.
The average donation given by each caller to The Telegraph’s offices in Victoria, London, was just under £95.
Speaking in between calls, Richard Madeley, said: “It’s non-stop, you know, there’s no break.”
The newspaper’s Agony Uncle said readers were keen to give their views on Abu Dhabi-backed fund Redbird IMI’s bid to take over The Telegraph.
Mr Madeley said: “Almost all of them want to talk about the takeover. They are expressing their concern, their interest and all the rest of it.
“Everyone’s got an opinion on the takeover and I keep telling them, ‘It’s above my paygrade, you know.’“
Meanwhile, Anneka Rice was quizzed on her time as the face of the TV series Challenge Anneka.
She said: “This has been utterly joyful, I haven’t done this before for The Telegraph, but it’s lovely.
“The first lady [who called] had lost her husband and Marie Curie had supported the family with End of Life care, which is literally what it is all about.”
Sir Jackie said: “It’s very touching talking to people on the phone who are also affected by dementia.
“I want someone to find a cure for dementia in my lifetime, so we need to fund young people to do PhDs and research for that to happen.”
Readers can continue to donate by phone or online.
To make a donation, please visit http://telegraph.co.uk/2023appeal or call 0151 284 1927.
