Celebrities who promote charities are "cynically trying to improve their own public image" according to 46 per cent of respondents to a YouGov survey released yesterday.

A slice of 2,810 British citizens were asked their opinion on whether celebrities promoting charities are "genuinely trying to use their position to do something good for others", or "cynically trying to improve their own public image". Some 46 per cent believed the latter, 36 per cent the former, and 18 per cent were either not sure or thought neither statement was true. 

According to YouGov three quarters of the largest charities in the UK, excluding care and housing trusts, have a full-time employee to handle celebrity relationships.

While celebrity endorsements can reap huge rewards for charities, they can also bring unwanted negative attention. In the past Beatbullying came under fire when one of their patrons, Dappy from pop band N-Dubz, issued violent threats. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals also faced embarassment when supermodel Naomi Campbell, who was the face of a high-profile anti-fur campaign for the charity, later featured in an advertisement for a luxury New York furrier. 

John Hilary, chief executive of War on Want warned: "Celebrities have a powerful voice... It is imperative that the power of that voice is directed in the right direction, that it's not taken into a different dimension which isn't helping the cause, and in fact can sometimes harm the cause that they are representing."