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Magician Ben Hanlin is latest star to join the Global Tantrum

Magician Ben Hanlin takes part in our Global Tantrum outside the Tower of London

A new Theirworld film shows the British TV performer protesting outside the Tower of London at the lack of action on the global early years crisis.


Ben Hanlin knows a trick or two – he’s performed magic for stars including Kim Kardashian, Jamie Foxx and Quentin Tarantino.

But in a new video, the TV magician falls to the ground and screams at onlookers when a card trick goes wrong. Ben behaves like a frustrated toddler for Theirworld’s Global Tantrum – a protest over millions of children missing out on early years care and education.

Ben, who hosted British TV show Tricked! and has 1.3 million fans on TikTok, is the latest celebrity to join the Global Tantrum. Our films have already featured British comedian Matt Lucas, former Pussycat Dolls singer Kimberly Watt, Kenyan TV star Jacky Vike and parenting influencer Jyoti Chand.

Watch Ben’s tantrum

The Global Tantrum is part of Theirworld’s Act for Early Years campaign, which calls for a revolution in early years provision. We want to send a strong message to world leaders that they are ignoring the world’s youngest children through lack of investment and political action.

Father-of-two Ben shot to fame performing magic to unsuspecting celebrities on YouTube. He said: “As a parent, our most challenging time was definitely in those first few years. That is when we needed help the most.

“So many young families are struggling to balance work and increasing childcare costs. I really hope we can make a change and improve the lives of the future of young families.”

More than half of the world’s children – about 350 million – have no access to childcare and 175 million are not enrolled in pre-primary education. Without the right early years support, children fall behind even before they have started school.

Theirworld will take the Global Tantrum to the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September to raise awareness among world leaders.

More high-profile figures will join the campaign in the coming weeks.

Join the Global Tantrum