holly phillip this morning itv© Photo: Rex

Holly Willoughby welcomes childhood friend on This Morning for emotional interview

Holly's school friend joined her on the sofa

TV and film writer
January 30, 2023

Holly Willoughby welcomed her childhood friend Hannah Peckham onto This Morning on Monday for an emotional interview about Hannah's son Bodhi, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in November last year. 

Holly's school friend joined her and Phillip Schofield on the show to share her story and raise awareness about her campaign, Pants to Leukaemia, which encourages people to donate to a cancer charity while also posing with a pair of underwear on their heads in a picture posted to social media. 

WATCH: Holly Willoughby puts pants on her head after welcoming childhood friend onto sofa

Hannah, who is the sister of Zoe Ball, explained that she noticed something wasn't right with her son's health after Bodhi stopped wanting to play with his friends and started to complain about his legs hurting and being "out of breath". 

Recalling the time, Holly added: "I remember, we were talking at that time and you said, 'It's just one thing after another,' he keeps getting one virus and then another one."

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Following a blood test, Bodhi was diagnosed with leukaemia. Describing the heartbreaking moment, Hannah detailed: "I literally just wanted to leave my body. It's like I'm looking down on myself and I can see myself in the room with the two doctors there and I just wanted to escape but I knew that I just had to for Bodhi. That was the only thing, otherwise I would have been out of there."

© Photo: Rex

Hannah was joined by her son Bodhi on the sofa

Towards the end of the interview, Holly and Phillip welcomed Bodhi onto the sofa and each placed a pair of underwear on their heads to raise awareness for the campaign. 

Holly also spoke about the campaign on her Instagram page, sharing a post which read: "My dear old school friend @h.j.peckham wants to say 'Pants to leukaemia'… Her son, the bravest of boys, has been fighting like a lion… we love you Bodhi… and we stand in our pant-clad heads in solidarity!!!."

© Photo: ITV

Holly and Phillip wore pairs of underwear on their heads

She went on to say: "If you want to join in, raise some money for charity and make a little boy smile the details are below… Thank you [praying hands emoji] @h.j.peckham. Your challenge if you choose to accept."

Holly shared a post about the campaign on her Instagram page

Hannah previously opened up about how the campaign started while speaking to PA. "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 said. 

"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."

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