Holly Willoughby posts emotional tribute to her friend on Instagram

Holly Willoughby took to Instagram to post an emotional tribute to her friend, Emma, who is donating her hair to the Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity, so they can create wigs for children with cancer.

Sharing a photograph of herself styling Emma's hair on her wedding day, Holly captioned it: 'In 2010 I did my best friend Emma's hair for her wedding day...today she has decided to cut off 12 inches of that beautiful hair to help her sisters baby girl Alice... sisters and friends will always stand side by side and help where they can ... love you Ems, one of this worlds special people!'

In a bid to touch as many hearts as possible and raise money for the cause, Holly tells Emma's story, explaining who the charity are and why her friend is cutting off a huge chunk of her own hair.

'We are raising money for the Rainbow Trust Children's Charity - a lovely charity close to our hearts, as they support our little 1 year old niece Alice, who has Bilateral Retinoblastoma.

'We are doing this by cutting our hair & donating it to the Little Princess Trust - they provide real hair wigs for children who have sadly lost their own hair due to cancer treatment and other illnesses.'

The post goes on to explain that Emma is 'aiming to donate at least 12 inches' of hair to the charity, to 'provide a very brave little person somewhere with some hair and hopefully make their day a little brighter'.

So far Holly's post has received over 73,000 likes and nearly 600 comments of support for the cause, while others who have done the same tell their stories.

'My daughter did this a few years ago (she was 7 at the time) her 12 inches of hair went to Little Princess Trust and she raised £2000 which she donated to 3 charities of her choice for personal reasons. Good luck to your friend and her family', said one.

'Incredibly sad but what an inspiration your friend is by cutting off 12inches to donate to children with Cancer. Thoughts and love to you all', commented another.

Holly explained that the Rainbow Trust have been so great and continue to support Emma's niece, Alice, and her family through her journey, making the difficult time a little more manageable.

The star also gave her fans the option to donate to the cause by heading to Emma's fundraising page via the link on her Instagram page. With over £1500 donated to her cause so far, Emma has almost reached her target of £2000.