Every Pride of Britain Awards is packed with unforgettable and moving moments and Thursday night’s TV show serves up more magic.
The show on ITV is filled with some of the most memorable TV of the year, promising lots of tears and laughter. From the fundraiser for eight-year-old Florrie Bark’s charity, and the reunion between amputee Hari Budha Magar and his Gurkha comrades, to the hilarious moment King’s Trust winner Molly Leonard met James Corden, don’t miss any of it.
If you find the stories an emotional roller coaster, spare a thought for hosts Carol Vorderman and Ashley Banjo, who were moved to tears on stage. Carol says the winners remind us of everything that is good about Britain. She says: “We have to remember the majority are kind and welcoming people, and we always have been.”
Diversity star Ashley agrees: “If you want to hear extraordinary stories and be reminded of all the love, light and positivity that is still out there among all the heaviness in the world, tune in.”
Tomorrow night's Pride of Britain, in partnership with TSB, is even more special on the 25th anniversary, with Carol at the helm since the beginning. She says her most amusing moment was seeing 87-year-old Agnes Nisbett, the former midwife who founded a comfort room for women who have stillbirths, flirting with EastEnders actor Rudolf Walker.
“I was, like, ‘I want to be you, Agnes!’” she says. Ashley remembers another moment that also had the audience laughing. As Pete Wicks and Sam Thompson were asking for donations for Florrie Bark’s charity, BeMoreFab, the Child of Courage winner shouted for them to find former Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne “before he hides”.
Ashley told Florrie, who inspires thousands with her TikTok videos charting her battle with a rare form of leukaemia, that Diversity would be her backing dancers for her next video. Both hosts were also moved by Child of Courage Aiyla Mota, five, who lost her limbs to sepsis.
Carol says: “It was the first award and I actually started to cry. I thought she was so brave.” Aiyla was joined on stage by Simon Cowell and Paralympian Hannah Cockroft, which left her stunned. “But when Paddington Bear appeared on stage, she was really excited,” Carol recalls.
The Pride Of Britain awards will air tonight, October 24 at 8pm on ITV1.
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