The full list of winners for the Pride of Britain Awards 2026 has been revealed, with Andrew Franks, a volunteer security guard who confronted a terrorist during the Heaton Park synagogue attack, set to be honoured. The ceremony will air on ITV1 and ITVX later in the week.
Andrew Franks Honoured for Outstanding Bravery
Andrew Franks, 43, is recognised for his actions during the attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester on October 2, 2025. The attack, launched by Jihad Al-Shamie, occurred on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, and resulted in two men being killed. The terrorist drove a car into people standing outside before attempting to enter the building with a knife.
Franks confronted Al-Shamie before he could reach the entrance, pushing him over and running towards the synagogue to warn them to shut the doors, despite being stabbed several times in the face and neck. His 80-year-old father, Ellis, held his wounds until paramedics arrived. Franks, a chef for NHS Greater Manchester mental health unit, was rushed to hospital, where he died three times on the operating table during life-saving surgery.
Recalling the incident, Franks said: "I noticed the man at the gate and had a strange feeling. Something wasn't quite right. Suddenly I heard a bang and he had rammed his car into the gates. He was shouting and I didn't know at this point he had already killed someone."
"I went to grab him and he stabbed me three times, yelling he was going to kill me. I managed to trip him up as he was running towards the synagogue. I got up somehow and shouted, 'Lock the doors, lock the doors!' Then I ran and said 'Let me in, quick, I'm hurt'. I thought he was going to chase me," he added.
Other Winners Across Categories
Asif Hasan, a world-leading cardiac surgeon, receives the Lifetime Achievement award. Retiring this year after 30 years as head of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, he estimates he has performed around 400 transplants during his career. He said: "There have been big highs and big lows. My heart swells when I hear about a survivor doing so well, but I do remember all the traumatic cases where someone died."
Brandon Hulcoop, 23, a blind man from Plymouth, wins the King's Trust Young Achiever award. After being unemployed for 16 months and applying for more than 1,000 jobs without success, he founded All Things Dotty, a business creating accessible products for visually impaired people, including braille menus, greetings cards, and board games.
Dr Eleanor Prior, known as Eli, receives Special Recognition. The GP was in the front carriage of a train that ploughed into a stationary train near Bedford in June, killing the driver and leaving 162 injured. Despite her own injuries, she helped assess those around her and stayed to care for them until emergency services arrived.
Community Heroes and Campaigners
Elaine Oakey is recognised for her work with young amputees through football. Her son Jamie, 23, was born without a foot and missing the lower part of his right leg. After lobbying to develop a junior team, she is now Head of EAFA Juniors and Head of Safeguarding, providing a lifeline to children who believed they would never play again.
Elaine Roberts and Luke Ambler receive Special Recognition for setting up Andy's Man Club, a male suicide prevention charity, after Luke's brother-in-law took his own life. Starting with nine men in Halifax, it now has over 360 community groups across England, Scotland and Wales, with roughly 7,000 men attending every Monday night.
Ellen Roome MBE, Esther Ghey and Ian Russell MBE are also honoured for their campaigning. Russell's daughter Molly died in November 2017, with the inquest finding that 'unsafe' algorithmic social media content played a role. Through the Molly Rose Foundation, he helped pass the Online Safety Act. Roome campaigns for 'Jools' Law' after her son Julian died in April 2022, while Ghey campaigns through the Brianna Ghey Legacy Project after her daughter was murdered in February 2023.
Florence Coke, 71, wins the This Morning Local Hero award for her Caribbean takeaway restaurant in Stockport, where she provides free meals to those in need. Gregor Corse, a four-year-old with a neurological condition, is named Good Morning Britain Young Fundraiser Of The Year after raising £80,000 for charity. Kirsty Waugh and Zac Howells both receive Child Of Courage awards, with Waugh raising over £120,000 for Children With Cancer UK through her 'Crochet for Cancer' campaign, and Howells steering his mum's car to safety after she collapsed at the wheel.
The ceremony, held every year since 1999, is organised in partnership with the Daily Mirror and P&O Cruises, and will be presented by Carol Vorderman alongside Diversity's Ashley Banjo.
