A nine-year-old Crowthorne school boy, who raised £11,500 for Stand Up to Cancer, made a special appearance during Channel 4’s ‘Crufts’ last weekend.

The UK’s most famous dog show aired from Thursday, March 7 to Sunday, March 10 and showcased the best and most talented dogs across the UK.

Charlie Woodhouse raised the money during the ‘Walkies Challenge’ despite not having a dog himself. To help his dad’s best friend who had been diagnosed with a brain tumour, he started walking friends and families dogs and seen the donations flood in.

Walking two miles every day, Charlie was determined to complete the 60 miles in a month to help fund research into cutting-edge cancer treatments.

Despite being the youngest participant, he became the biggest fundraiser and topped the leaderboard last year.

During the airing of Crufts 2024, he spoke to presenter Clare Balding about his efforts and his hopes to encourage people to follow in his footsteps.

Charlie said: “I walked loads of dogs, but my favourites are Digby and Bertie- Uncle Ben’s labradors. Even if you don’t have a dog, you can still get involved. I borrowed other people’s dogs and got friends to sponsor me. Every day we took the dogs for a walk and it felt like we were doing it for Ben.   

“It was amazing to see the money on the web page going up and up! My favourite walk was the last one we did, because it was Uncle Ben’s favourite. It was very long and there were lots of hills but I liked it because at the end I got a medal and I got to run through the finish line with the dogs.”  

Speaking about his son’s incredible fundraising achievement Charlie’s dad, Daniel, said: “I know that Charlie absolutely adores dogs, and we worked out that it was two miles a day, for 30 days. Two weeks into doing the challenge, that’s when Ben passed, so suddenly the challenge took a different focus.  

 “As a parent to see your child enthusiastic about something, it certainly drives you on and it’s a massive inspiration because his focus and dedication for a nine-year-old was just awe-inspiring.”  

The Stand Up To Cancer Walkies Challenge, supported by Crufts, encourages owners and their four-legged friends to step up to the challenge of walking 60 miles, or whatever distance represents a personal challenge, across April, to raise money for life-saving research.