Fitness coach Joe Wicks has said he is donating “every single penny” of the money made by his online PE sessions to the NHS.

Wicks’s YouTube channel, The Body Coach TV, has live fitness sessions every day at 9am, aimed at children in a bid to help them stay active while the UK is in lockdown and schools are closed.

In a post shared on Instagram, Wicks said the popularity of his videos had increased his advertising revenue “unlike anything I’ve seen or experienced on my channel before”.

He said: “So I’ve decided that as long as I’m the nation’s PE teacher, every single penny of the money generated on these videos is going to the place where we need it the most right now. All of it is going straight to the NHS, to support the real heroes right now.

“Thank you for watching, joining in and sharing … I’m loving being your PE Teacher and now you can watch again, knowing you’re not only staying fit, you’re also helping raise money for the NHS.”

In the first two days alone, Wicks’s YouTube channel had notched up more than 5m views.

He said: “It’s about giving people that 30 minutes in the morning to get up off the sofa, move your body and get your heart pumping. This isn’t about getting people lean, it’s about saying: ‘Do this today to feel good.’ Then, when your kids sit down to do some academic work, they’re energised and mentally prepared for a lesson at home.”

The fitness coach trained to be a PE teacher at St Mary’s University and planned to move into the profession before he found fame on YouTube. Since then, he has visited thousands of schools around the UK, putting children through their paces in playgrounds and sports halls with his enthusiasm for physical education.