The National Lottery and Claudia Winkleman Deliver Love Letter to Britain with Feel-Good Tour

This autumn, the public will get to see a whole new side of Claudia Winkleman – as ambassor-in-chief for the The National Lottery, she stars in their new campaign ‘Because of You’, created by The Gate Films. 

The pitch-winning idea was born from the strategy that wherever you are in the UK, you’re connected to the many Good Causes that The National Lottery support. In fact, thanks to the British public, The National Lottery donates an incredible £30 million a week to over 660,000 unique projects.

Crafted by The Gate Films and directed by Emmy award-winning director Leo McCrea, ‘Because of You’ is a series of short films designed to bring to life the inspiring stories behind the projects that change lives every day. Each film is complemented by a suite of social first assets, including a peek into some of Claudia’s highlights whilst filming.  The content will live across social channels including YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. The campaign runs as a seven-part 360 series across Cinema, OLV, YouTube and all social channels from Thursday 16th October.

Throughout the series, we’ll see Claudia Winkleman travelling upanddown the UK, meeting players of The National Lottery and showing them exactly how their Good Causes are supported by National Lottery funding -from farms,to the arts, to epic community projects that help local areas thrive. 

This feel-good campaign raises brand awareness for The National Lottery all whilst providing some much needed entertainment from the queen of British television, Claudia Winkleman. 

Leo McCrea, director, said, “Working closely with fantastic Creative Director Danielle Allison Melia and Rhiannon Lewis at The Gate, we created a series that harnessed emotive storytelling in a short form series format. This was only possible because of the great causes the National Lottery team gave us to work with and weeks of prep and research to make sure we told the stories in the right way. Our host Claudia Winkleman has the ability to connect with anyone she meets. I feel like these aren’t charity stories, they are a celebration of people who look out for and support each other.”

Rhiannon Lewis, executive producer at The Gate Films said, “Pulling this campaign together was a huge but joyful challenge. Filming across six days, in every corner of the UK, with multiple crews, contributors and locations. It was a true logistical feat that only works when you’ve got the very best team behind you, and I couldn’t be prouder of ours. Every department, from production to post, brought extraordinary commitment, care and creativity to ensure each Good Cause’s story was told with authenticity and warmth. Projects of this scale remind me why I love what we do. It’s about people, collaboration and telling stories that matter.”

Claudia’s journey starts at Bloom, a community flower garden for women and non-binary people in Sheffield. The project, which has received £269k in funding over the past four years, allows hundreds of individuals each week to escape the daily grind for mental and physical wellbeing, as well as company, at a special allotment.  A new project on Claudia’s tour will be revealed each month, from a wheelchair rugby club in Wales to a farm supporting disabled people in Northern Ireland.