A BBC Breakfast guest hailed as “the best of British” was left fighting back tears live on air as he opened up about the heartbreaking reason behind his charity work.
Toymaker Bill Houghton appeared on Monday’s edition of BBC Breakfast, where presenters Ben Thompson and Nina Warhurst spoke to him about his remarkable mission to create handmade toys for underprivileged children.
During the emotional interview, Bill explained that one story in particular has stayed with him. Recalling what he had been told by a worker at a charity shop, he said a woman had come in with her three-year-old son on his birthday, but they had no money to buy him any toys.
Bill said: “There was a little lad that came into the charity shop. Maureen told me we had a referral in. They don’t sell these, they give them to kids as referrals. This lady came in for stuff, clothes, what they normally get. She had a little lad with her, he was three years old, and it was his birthday. They had no money or anything to buy him toys. So they gave him some of mine. I was made up. That’s why I do it.”
As the weight of the moment hit him, Bill became visibly emotional and apologised through tears. Nina gently reassured him, telling him it was an emotional story, before asking how he felt when he heard what had happened.
Bill admitted: “I was in floods. How many kids are there in Wigan that don’t have anything? I made these. I have three boxes of these in my living room. I can’t put them in my garage, because that is where all my wood is.”
His moving work has become so widely recognised that even Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has personally reached out to praise him.
Still stunned by the message, Bill said: “Would you believe that? Sir Keir Starmer took time out of his day to send me a message. He said I was the best of British. He said, ‘Thank you very much Bill, you’re the best of British.’ It’s absolutely blown my mind.”
But the most powerful moment came near the end of the interview, when Bill again struggled to hold back his emotions as he reflected on what that recognition meant to him.
“I can’t tell him how much that means to me,” he said, before apologising once more.
Ben placed a comforting hand on Bill’s shoulder and told him there was no need to say sorry, as the touching moment left the studio full of emotion.
Fighting back tears, Bill simply replied: “It is though, it’s fantastic.”
