Global TikTok star Sophie Liard, also known as ‘The Folding Lady’, is training hard for the upcoming London Marathon in aid of a Haslemere care home and charity close to her heart.

The Guildford-based social media sensation has strong family ties to both Redcot care home in Three Gates Lane and the charity that operated it, Friends of the Elderly.

Her mother Gaynor used to be one of its regional managers, her aunt Cheryl Rothschild is the director of care homes, and her gran Ann Essam is the activity co-ordinator at Redcot.

Sophie’s videos, sharing useful tips on how to fold clothes and save space in the home, have been viewed more than 67 million times online on TikTok.

And she recently took time out of her busy training schedule to visit Redcot, where she joined the residents in playing a game of ‘parachute ball’ followed by afternoon tea. No prizes for guessing who got to fold up the parachute afterwards!

“Not wanting to let anyone down, I got to grips and folded it into a neat parcel,” she said. “I was quite chuffed as I got a lovely round of applause for my folding endeavours. It was a fantastic end to a fantastic day.”

Sophie ran the Surrey Half Marathon on March 11 with a time of 2:52:20, and has been working hard with her trainer, Sophie Bankes from Stable Fit in Guildford, before tackling the full 26.2 miles in London on April 23.

With the marathon only weeks away, Sophie is getting excited. She added: “I’m absolutely buzzing to do this – scared to death, but buzzing. I’m so excited to be able to do this for a charity that does wonderful things for older people every day.”

The Folding Lady’s marathon journey can be followed on Instagram and TikTok, and if you would like to donate to Sophie’s marathon effort and raise vital funds for Friends of the Elderly, you can do so at JustGiving here.

Her book The Folding Lady: Tools & Tricks to Make the Most of Your Space is available in most good bookstores or from Amazon.