Singing superstar Peter Andre was top of the pops with older people in Burgess Hill after helping to transform a sitting room at Age UK West Sussex.

The celebrity led an ITV ‘60 Minute Makeover’ team who arrived under a veil of secrecy at Age UK’s Cherry Trees Centre in Fairfield Road.

Peter, the programme’s guest star, was taking part in the ITV’s annual charity appeal, Text Santa, for six UK charities – Age UK, Banardo’s, BeatBullying, British Heart Foundation, CLIC Sargent and Help the Hospices.

Regular members of the Cherry Trees Centre were unaware anything was about to happen at their day and activities building and only found out about the makeover when they returned from an outing.

When they walked through the doors they saw a sitting room that had been completely redecorated and transformed with new furniture and fittings.

Diane Henderson, for Age UK West Sussex, said: “The very contemporary “retro” look is a style familiar to many members from first time around!

“The chairs are very comfortable and practical; everyone is so pleased with their new-look lounge and we now plan to revamp the dining room in the same style.”

Money raised for Age UK by Text Santa will be used by the nationwide scharity to ensure vital services are available to help keep vulnerable older people warm this winter.

Diane said the Cherry Tree staff, volunteers and members were all very grateful to Peter Andre, the production team and the film crew.

She said: “We were really excited to be part of Text Santa and our big moment on national television on Friday December 20 encourage everyone to dig deep in their pockets and donate to Text Santa.”

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “Winter can be a difficult time for many older people and Text Santa is incredibly important as it raises funds for the vital services Age UK’s national and local partners deliver that help to keep older people warm and well in the winter. It is great to see the services at Age UK West Sussex featured on 60 Minute Makeover.”

Age UK West Sussex also runs the Redwood Activity centre next to Clair Hall in Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath.

Both the Cherry Trees Centre and the Redwood Centre rely heavily on volunteers and donations to the charity to keep going.