Mayday, our national fundraising event, really seemed to capture the hearts of RNLI supporters – including some household names. Here’s why they pulled on yellow wellies to show their RNLI support …

TV and Radio Presenter Dermot O’Leary: ‘RNLI lifeboat crews are an outstanding group of people. The fact that they are volunteers, all specially trained to carry out that rescue service, is incredible. They also provide an absolutely sterling service on the River Thames. So, given everything they do to keep us safe, I’m proud to put on a pair of yellow wellies to show my support.’

Dermot is a BBC Radio 2 broadcaster and presented ITV’s The X Factor for 8 years. A keen fisherman, he owns a seafood brasserie in Brighton. Dermot, who has family roots in Co Wexford, first supported the RNLI’s Mayday campaign during its second year in Ireland. In 2013 he lent his time and talents to record a radio advertisement encouraging people to raise funds and donate to the campaign.

HEART AND SOLE

When Dermot and his wife Dee married in 2012, they decided against selling wedding photos to a glossy celebrity magazine. Instead, they asked anyone using them to make a donation to the RNLI’s Ramsgate Lifeboat Station.

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Entrepreneur and Virgin Founder Sir Richard Branson: ‘I have a huge amount of respect for their volunteer lifeboat crews. Whatever the weather, they’re prepared to head out to sea and put their own lives in danger to save others.’

Sir Richard is best known as the founder of the Virgin Group, which is made up of more than 400 companies. His first business venture was at the age of 16 when he set up a magazine called Student. In 1970, he set up a mail-order record business and, 2 years later, opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records. The Virgin brand grew rapidly and now includes everything from air travel and telecommunications to credit cards and gyms.

SUPPORT RECORD

Sir Richard was guest speaker at the RNLI Annual Presentation of Awards in 2002.

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Author and TV Presenter Fern Britton: ‘I love the RNLI. I spend a lot of time near the coast and I’m always in awe of the sheer bravery of these wonderful people. You never know when you might need them!’

As well as enjoying a successful career presenting TV programmes – including This Morning and Ready Steady Cook – Fern is an author too. ‘Reading is a bit like a holiday from your own life, and where else would I rather go on holiday than to the Cornish coast?’ she says. ‘I took great pleasure in imagining up my latest books, A Seaside Affair and A Good Catch and spent too many hours at my desk tinkering with the stories until I felt they reflected a tiny piece of the magic that Cornwall holds for me.’

BRAVE MEMORIES

While working for ITV’s Spotlight in 1981, Fern reported on the Penlee lifeboat disaster.

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Sir Ben Ainslie, Competitive Sailor: ‘I love being on the water but I know how quickly the sea can catch you out. The RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crews provide such an important service around our coastline, putting their own lives at risk – regardless of weather conditions, or time of day or night.’

At his first ever Olympic Games Ben won a Silver Medal. He then established himself as the world’s best after going on to win consecutive Gold Medals at the next four Olympic Games. Now he has set his sights on the America’s Cup: he believes he and his Great Britain crew can win the ‘Auld Mug’ at their first attempt in 2017. ‘We have never won it. We have an amazing maritime history. The Cup has to come home,’ he says.

LIFE FOUNDATION

Ben laid the foundation stone of the RNLI College, when work started on the crew training facility in 2003.