Our team

Aaron is a British goalkeeper currently playing for Southampton and England. He won Goalkeeper of the year at the London Football Awards in 2023. Aaron has represented England at all levels from under-18 to the senior team and won the UEFA European Under-19 Championship in 2017, and was in the England squad that finished as runners-up at the UEFA Euro 2020.

Alex’s wife, Nicky, had a Willow Special Day in 2021. Nicky had stage 4 breast cancer and publicly documented her cancer journey on social media amassing a huge following and becoming somewhat of an influencer. Nicky sadly passed away in 2023 and Alex has continued to fundraise in her memory taking over her social channels and using them to raise much needed funds for Nicky’s chosen charities, one of which is Willow Foundation.

Alfie Boe is one of the UK’s finest tenors, acclaimed in his operatic roles and as Jean Valjean in the stage version of Les Misérables. As a young boy, he dreamed of a career as a singer. He studied at the Royal College of Music, the National Opera Studio and then the Royal Opera House Young Artists Programme. Having conquered the world’s most prestigious opera stages, Alfie led the cast of Les Misérables for nearly a year.

Daniel has been a professional golfer since 1998 and the Head Professional at East Herts Golf Club since 2006. Since turning Professional Daniel has played on the Euro Pro, Challenge Tour, the ANZ tour and regularly plays in tournaments his PGA region. He has won various Pro-Ams and tournaments including the Head Professional Championship in 2007, which was played at The Grove where he shot an impressive 67! Dan is sponsored at East Herts by Willow supporters Weston Homes. As part of his role provides individual and group tuition, playing lessons, as well as providing golf instruction at Corporate Golf Days.

Gary is a physiotherapist who has worked with Arsenal, West Ham United, and the England national team. He was the head physiotherapist at Arsenal for a total of 22 years and held a similar position from 1996 with England. Between 2008 to 2017, Gary assumed the post of England’s Senior Head of Physiotherapy and was Head of Medical Services for West Ham between May 2017 and May 2018. Gary is currently Head of Performance at Arsenal Women alongside his clinical role which he started in 2021.

Gary is a former professional footballer with over 750 appearances including 11 years captaining Tottenham Hotspur and gaining 16 caps for England, despite being told at the age of 17 that he would never be able to pursue a career in football after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Gary’s proudest moment came when he lifted The FA Cup at Wembley in 1991.

Ian is a professional golfer who plays in the LIV Golf League. The highlights of Ian’s career to date have been his two World Golf Championship wins at the 2010 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and the 2012 WGC-HSBC Champions, as well as being part of five Ryder Cup winning European teams. Ian is the touring professional for Woburn Golf and Country Club.

Ian is an Arsenal football legend who always found a way to find the net whether it require a 30-yard chip or a toe-poke from two yards. Ian’s repertoire of goals made him one of the finest strikers to grace the English game. He was a force of nature on and off the pitch, scoring a fantastic185 goals for Arsenal. Ian is now well regarded for his football punditry and television work.

Jim is a renowned sports presenter who has covered every major sport that has been aired on British Television. His sharp wit and visible penchant for sports has made him one of the most popular sports presenters in the country, leaving very few households that have not had his voice heard in their living rooms. Jim has covered a total of eight FIFA World Cups, three Rugby World Cups, two Olympic Games and 150 Formula One Races in his career.

Katie is a professional tennis player, having started playing tennis at seven. She quickly progressed, becoming the top-ranked British 14U player in 2012 . Katie began her International tennis career in 2013, competing in tournaments in the Caribbean, South America and the USA. Katie now lives in the US with her family and when she’s not on the tennis court, she loves playing with her 4 dogs.

Leah joined Arsenal’s Centre of excellence programme when she was only eight years old and has remained with the club ever since. She is one of the finest ball-playing defenders in world of football and has an outstanding passing range and can influence the ball like the most cultured of midfielders, all while loving the dark arts of the game and having the knack of being in the right place at the right time. Leah captained the lionesses to their first UEFA European Championships Victory in July 2022. 

Lee played as right-back for Arsenal for an impressive 15 years, encapsulating 619 appearances. During his career, he won numerous trophies including the League title four times, the League Cup, the FA Cup three times and the European Cup Winners Cup. Lee gained 22 international caps for England. He was also a crisp striker of the ball, scoring 28 times during his Highbury career.  Lee now works as a football pundit and columnist and enjoys cycling.

Linda became a model at 18 and went on to become an actress starring in numerous TV shows such as The Bill, Hollyoaks and Emmerdale. Linda has appeared in over 25 pantomines, many with her husband Sam, who is also a Willow ambassador.

Martin is a retired professional footballer who played as a forward, beginning his career with his hometown club Southampton, before being sold to Tottenham Hotspur. He also played for the England national team. After retiring, Martin managed clubs in England and Norway and has commentated for BBC Radio and has remained a popular matchday host at White Hart Lane. In April 2007, he was inducted into the Tottenham Hotspur Hall of Fame.

Mary started her journalism career at TV Tokyo, working on World Business Satellite and then worked as a presenter and writer for BBC World Service Television’s World Business Report, covering economic and corporate news. Mary’s professionalism has seen her achieve the Newscaster of the Year award from the Television and Radio Industries Club in 2002 and 2004. Mary now presents the ITV Evening News and has been involved in some of the UK’s biggest stories.

Mica is one of the UK’s finest and most respected singers with an extensive career of hit singles and albums. Mica is multi-talented, having also presented shows and acted in Eastenders.

Natasha Kaplinsky is one of the UK’s leading broadcasters and one of the most familiar faces of TV news having worked for Sky News, BBC News, channel Five and ITV News. In 2004 Natasha became the inaugural winner of Strictly Come Dancing and went on to host a variety of entertainment programmes, including Children in Need, Born to Shine, The Proms and New Year Live for the BBC. In 2022 Natasha was appointed President pf the British Board of Film classification.

Ossie Ardies is a former skilled midfielder who won the 1978 FIFA World Cup as part of the Argentina national team. Ossie moved to England to play for Tottenham Hotspur where he spent ten seasons, helping them win the FA Cup. Ossie began his management career in England, coaching Swindon Town, Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion, before returning to Tottenham to become the first Premier League manager from Argentina. He has also coached in Mexico, Croatia, Japan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Israel, Paraguay, and his native Argentina.

Pat Jennings OBE is a legendary former goalkeeper who played for Northern Ireland, Tottenham, Arsenal and Watford. Pat played 119 times for Northern Ireland and won the the FA Cup with both Tottenham and Arsenal, and the UEFA Cup with Spurs in 1972. He became a CBE in the New Year Honours in 2022 for his contribution to football and charity having become an MBE in 1976. Jennings is widely recognised as one of the greatest goalkeepers in history.

Petr Cech is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for some of the biggest Premiere League Clubs in the UK. Since ending his career in football Petr can now be found in goal on the ice rink as Goaltender for Oxford City Stars ice hockey team. He has been described as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time and, by some, as one of the greatest goalkeeper in Premier League history.

Sam Kane is an English actor, singer, and talent agent. He is best known for his appearances on British soap operas such as Brookside, Coronation Street, and Emmerdale. Sam has appeared in a variety of Panto’s across the UK and is now a talent agent.

Simon McCoy is a British journalist and former newsreader for BBC News, Sky News, and presenter at GB News. Simon started his journalism career at the Fleet Street News Agency in London before joining TV as a researcher for Thames News. In 2003 Simon co-anchored Sky’s coverage of the Iraq War on location in Kuwait and Basra.

Theo is a former professional footballer. With electrifying pace, he played for Arsenal F.C for 12 years and scored a number of important goals, including the opening goal of the 2015 FA Cup final. He represented England at the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2012 , gaining 47 caps and scoring eight goals. On 30 May 2006, Walcott became England’s youngest-ever senior football player, aged 17 years and 75 days. In 2023 Theo hung up his boots retiring from the game. He is now a regular TV/Radio Pundit.  

Tom is an actor and stand-up comedian and starred in ‘Friday Night Dinner, ‘Plebs’ and‘Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes’. Son of Jim Rosenthal, long standing Ambassador of the charity, Tom has written three stand up comedy shows and received a critical acclaim at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.