TV presenter Richard Madeley has won an impressive £17,400 for Cornwall Air Ambulance after appearing on ITV’s popular game show Celebrity Catchphrase.

The Good Morning Britain presenter went up against entertainment reporter Sian Welby and Britain’s Got Talent winning comedian Axel Blake in the ITV gameshow, which is presented by Stephen Mulhern.

In the latest episode, Madeley climbed the prize ladder, correctly guessing the animated catchphrases that flashed on screen to reach the final round, where he banked an additional £10,000 to that of the £7,400 he won in the qualifying rounds.

The seasoned broadcaster - who lives for much of the year here in Cornwall with his wife Judy Finnigan at their home at Talland Bay, near Looe - took on the challenge in aid of the lifesaving charity, showcasing his quick wit and puzzle-solving skills to secure the generous donation.

Known for his long-standing support of Cornwall Air Ambulance, Madeley has been a patron for the charity for several years and his latest fundraising effort through national television has been met with great appreciation from the organisation.

In a statement, Cornwall Air Ambulance said: “A massive well done and a huge thank you to our ambassador Richard Madeley, who won £17,400 for Cornwall Air Ambulance on ITV’s Celebrity Catchphrase. Your donation will help us to continue our lifesaving work.”

Cornwall Air Ambulance relies entirely on charitable donations to keep its helicopter and critical care crews flying, providing rapid response to emergencies across the county and beyond. The funds raised by Madeley will go directly towards maintaining the service, training specialist staff, and helping to save more lives.

Speaking after the show, Madeley said he was thrilled to be able to support a cause so close to his heart.

“Anyone who has ever been to Cornwall or knows Cornwall, they realise that where accidents happen or where people get taken ill suddenly, you can’t always get an ambulance down a single track road or a rocky path, so you need a chopper.

“There are all sorts of inaccessible places, so you need a helicopter. For quite some years now, Judy and I have been patrons of the Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust. In that time, we’ve helped fundraise to get them a new, bigger, better, faster air ambulance, but all of that costs!

“It’s a very expensive charity to run. You have to have a crew, the fuel to put in the chopper, you have the maintenance of the helicopter, so it’s high cost. Cornwall Air Ambulance does such vital work and is a real lifeline for the region. I’m absolutely delighted to have raised this amount for them.”

The presenter’s appearance not only helped boost the charity’s funds, but also raised awareness of the important work it carries out every day.

Recently, Cornwall Air Ambulance pilots collected the new AW169 helicopter from a production line in Italy.

The move comes as the charity announced it was into the final stage of its bid to raise £2.85m from the Heli2 Appeal, which was launched in 2023.

The new aircraft is currently in Gloucestershire having arrived from the Leonardo’s Helicopters’ production facility in Milan, where teams of specialists are to give it a medical fit out. The work is due to take several months, but bosses expect the helicopter to be fully operational by the summer.

The medical fit, which takes around two months to complete is being carried out by Gama Aviation. All the fit and framework must undergo resilience testing to make sure it can take the force generated in the unlikely event of a crash, and it must be certified by the Civil Aviation Authority.

It also includes a digital communications system which allows the crew to speak to the HEMS desk and crews on scene whilst they’re in flight.

The fit is the final stage to bring your second helicopter to life, and once complete G-CNLL will be fully mission ready.

Paul Westaway, Consultant in Operations Projects at Cornwall Air Ambulance, said: “This has been an incredibly complex process involving every element of the aircraft from the build, to configurations, test flights, and the transfer back to the UK whilst making sure all aviation authority rules and regulations are met. It has been a pleasure to work with Leonardo, to be able to provide the very best possible AW169 helicopter for the people we serve, and we are incredibly grateful to the team for their hard work on delivering the aircraft.”

Last year, the charity attended 1,064 missions, including 327 medical emergencies.

The new helicopter will be able to carry larger fuel loads meaning the team can carry out back-to-back missions with additional equipment on board. The aircraft will also be equipped with a vision system, powerful searchlights and advanced mapping systems that enable it to fly at night when its other helicopter was being maintained.

Tim Bunting, Chief Executive, said: “This is a landmark moment for Cornwall Air Ambulance, as for the first time in the charity’s history we now own two state-of-the-art helicopters. This will boost the resilience and capability of our service, enabling the crew to attend more missions by air each year. Ultimately this will mean we’ll be able to save even more lives for many years to come.

“I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to the people of Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and beyond, who are helping us fund this second lifesaving helicopter.

“This is the final stage in bringing your second helicopter to life and making it mission ready, before it can come home to Cornwall. Having a second state-of-the-art AW169 at our disposal will boost the resilience, capability and versatility of our 19-hour-a-day service, all year round.”