Martin Lewis gives away £100k of own money live on GMB

Everyone knows Martin Lewis as the Money Saving Expert, but this morning he became a money-giving expert by handing out £100,000 of his own cash.

The financial journalist made the generous donation on Good Morning Britain today (14 September), following an interview with deputy chief executive Salam Shafi from financial advice charity Money Buddies.

While sitting alongside host Susanna Reid, Lewis asked Shafi how much money would be needed to help others amid the cost of living crisis, with energy prices in the UK set to increase again in October.

Shafi replied: "It's interesting. I had a meeting yesterday and I think £975,000 would make a big difference to our charity in terms of how many people we can help."

To Reid's surprise, Lewis casually responded to say: "I've given to you before. I'll give you ten percent of that."

The figure equates to £97,500 and will go to the charity which offers 'free impartial independent debt advice, budgeting support, letter writing, energy bill saving, income maximisation services and much more', according to its website.

"Money Buddies don’t judge, tell or charge," the website adds.

Reid responded to Lewis' offer by thanking him for his generosity, adding: "I think we'll all pitch in."

Lewis then used the opportunity to urge others to give what they could, saying: "If anybody else can help, if you can afford it and have the money to give away... If you're going to get that £400 [energy rebate] and you don't need it..." He then pointed towards Shafi, indicating the money should be donated to Money Buddies.

"Thank you, Martin," Shafi responded.

Remarkable moment on #GMB just now where host Martin Lewis just immediately pledged to donate £90,000 to a debt advice charity and you could see him then writing the note down to remind him about it.

— Joey 🥐 (@JoeyKnock) September 14, 2022

Lewis was widely praised for his actions, with one viewer taking to Twitter after the segment this morning aired to write: "Remarkable moment on #GMB just now where host Martin Lewis just immediately pledged to donate £90,000 to a debt advice charity and you could see him then writing the note down to remind him about it."

Another viewer commented: "Did @MartinSLewis just give 97k of his own money to a debt help agency? omg.. what a legend."

Lewis expressed concern he might have 'broken Ofcom rules' by offering the donation to the charity live in front of millions of viewers, but Reid noted there are other debt advice charities that people can turn to other than Money Buddies. Shafi has also urged members of the public worrying about paying their bills to seek help.