Esther Ghey, the mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey, is to be honoured at this year's Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards. Her daughter Brianna was murdered in Warrington in February 2023, and since then Esther has campaigned for change to protect young lives across the country.
Esther will receive a special recognition award alongside Ellen Roome MBE and Ian Russell, other bereaved parents who have fought to tackle online harm after losing their children.
Campaigning after tragedy
Brianna, 16, was killed in a transphobic attack by teenagers who had consumed extreme online violence. Since her daughter's death, Esther has campaigned through the Brianna Ghey Legacy Project, which helps children and families build habits to improve mental health and digital safety.
Her work has pioneered smartphone restrictions in schools, rebuilding healthier environments for young people.
What Esther said
Esther said: "As soon as Brianna was connected to her phone, I felt like I lost her. So I feel like I lost Brianna twice. I really do think that we should ban social media for under 16s and have a smartphone-free childhood. I do have hope that we can change things. I believe that we can empower people to make change."
The judges described the three parents as united "Not just (by) their loss, but their determination to save other families suffering similar tragedies."
Awards details
Since 1999, Pride of Britain has celebrated extraordinary achievements of people of all ages, and this year will be co-hosted by Carol Vorderman and Ashley Banjo.
Carol said: "Presenting Pride of Britain is one of the greatest privileges of my life. No matter how many years I've been lucky enough to do it, I'm still completely humbled by our winners and their extraordinary stories. They've shown incredible courage, kindness and determination, often in circumstances most of us can barely imagine. This night belongs to them. We might have the famous faces, the glamour and the big celebration, but our winners are the real stars, and giving them the recognition and the night they deserve is what Pride of Britain is all about."
The Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards with P&O Cruises will air on Thursday, October 22, on ITV1 and ITVX at 8pm. A red carpet live stream, hosted by Sam Thompson and Pete Wicks, will take place on Monday, October 19, at 5pm on @prideofbritain across Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok and @prideofbritainawards on YouTube.
