We should all give to charity this Christmas
Anthea backs Mirror kids campaign
ANTHEA Turner knows how lucky she is to be able to spend a cosy Christmas at home with fiance Mark Armstrong – while many others are less fortunate.
So the TV veteran is backing the Mirror’s campaign to raise money for Action for Children to make sure every child can have a cracking yuletide.
Anthea told how she cannot wait for her special day with Mark, their first Christmas together.
But the 59-year-old added: “I’d encourage everyone to give a donation to a charity.
“Action for Children is a charity where your money is well spent and you know that your money is going to the right place.”
And Anthea believes people are “reining back” the spending at Christmas, because they are seeing the “gluttony” of the festive period while many are going without.
She added: “Gifting needs to be a little more circumspect. It’s all getting a bit silly.”
Anthea and Mark got engaged in September, five months after they met at a private members’ club in March. She said: “Mark and I are spending Christmas together on our own, which will be really nice.
“It’s our first Christmas together, so that makes it extra special. The tree is up and decorated. But of course, Soho, Mark’s six-year-old French bulldog will also be there with a bone from my butcher to chew on.”
Anthea and Mark are set to tie the knot in 2020. She said: “It’s very exciting. There’s no date set.” It will be the third time the ex-Blue Peter host has married. She wed Radio 1 DJ Peter Powell in 1990 and businessman Grant Bovey 10 years later. The pair split in 2015 after he cheated. She says: “Young people need the support of their family, which many don’t have for a gazillion reasons. That’s where Action for Children can help.” Anthea has raised money for Action for Children by sleeping on the street on their annual Byte Night. She also launch the charity’s first 1869 Shop to mark its 150th anniversary.
Pet bulldog
ENGAGED With Mark, who she will marry soon