Chorley girl performs at star-studded gala with Rays of Sunshine Children's Choir

A Chorley girl performed with Lancashire tenor Alfie Boe as part of a charity choir.
The Global Gift Gala London 2018 held at Rosewood London: Victoria Beckham,Holly Branson and Princess Beatrice of York. Charlie Catterall, of Chorley, is pictured front row wearing a gold bow headband and blue jumper
Justin Goff/Goff PhotosThe Global Gift Gala London 2018 held at Rosewood London: Victoria Beckham,Holly Branson and Princess Beatrice of York. Charlie Catterall, of Chorley, is pictured front row wearing a gold bow headband and blue jumper
Justin Goff/Goff Photos
The Global Gift Gala London 2018 held at Rosewood London: Victoria Beckham,Holly Branson and Princess Beatrice of York. Charlie Catterall, of Chorley, is pictured front row wearing a gold bow headband and blue jumper Justin Goff/Goff Photos

Charlie Catterall performed with 12 other young members of the Rays of Sunshine Children’s Choir at the Global Gift Gala in London.

The 15-year-old sang with a celebrity audience including Eva Longoria, Victoria Beckham, and Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice of York.

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Charlie is currently living with renal failure and has undergone a kidney transplant. She has spent most of the first eight years of her life in hospital and she continues to receive regular treatment. Described as a positive person, she has a passion for drama, music and singing and in 2017, Rays of Sunshine granted her wish to meet her idol Shawn Mendes.

Charlie Catterall (with gold bow headband) with the rest of the Rays of Sunshine Childrens ChoirCharlie Catterall (with gold bow headband) with the rest of the Rays of Sunshine Childrens Choir
Charlie Catterall (with gold bow headband) with the rest of the Rays of Sunshine Childrens Choir

The 9th annual Global Gift Gala, organised by Maria Bravo and Eva Longoria, took place at the Rosewood Hotel in London. This year, Rays of Sunshine Children’s Charity was selected as one of the beneficiaries.

Charlie, who is home-schooled, said: “I thought it was amazing. I can’t thank Rays of Sunshine enough for how amazing it was. I felt so inspired and it was a magical event. I never thought I’d be able to sing in front of so many celebrities and I was shaking because I was so excited.”

Alfie Boe added: “I absolutely loved performing Bring Me Sunshine with Charlie and the Rays of Sunshine Children’s Choir at the Global Gift Gala. They are all complete superstars and it was the absolute highlight of my evening. Rays of Sunshine is a charity which is very close to my heart and I plan to do as much as I can to continue helping them to brighten lives of seriously ill children and young people.”

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Read other stories: Rock Choir in Chorley, Wigan, St Helens, Preston dazzle with flash mob at BBC Proms in the ParkRays of Sunshine CEO, Jane Sharpe commented: “We were so honoured to have been chosen as the local charity beneficiary for this year’s Global Gift Gala in London, enabling us to continue to bring joy and hope to seriously ill children across the UK. The highlight of the night was definitely watching Charlie and our Children’s Wish Choir perform Bring Me Sunshine with our ambassador Alfie Boe for such an incredible audience filled with superstars and royalty! They are all incredibly brave and inspiring young children and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”