The Daily Mirror's Pride of Britain Awards celebrated its annual night for quiet heroes, honouring individuals who have shown extraordinary bravery and kindness. The ceremony, held at the Grosvenor House hotel, brought together celebrities and everyday heroes, with Prime Minister Andy Burnham calling it 'the antidote to the algorithms.'
Heroes of Bravery and Compassion
Among the honourees was Andrew Franks, a chef who tackled a knife-wielding attacker outside Heaton Park synagogue on Yom Kippur last year. Franks, a 53-year-old widower, was stabbed three times during the incident. He recounted, "I went to grab him and he stabbed me three times, yelling he was going to kill me. I managed to trip him up.. I got up somehow and shouted, 'Lock the doors, lock the doors!'". Still recovering from his injuries, he wakes in the night screaming with an image of the attacker's face.
Dr Eleanor Prior, an off-duty GP from Bedford, was honoured for saving fellow passengers' lives after the Bedford train crash. Despite being thrown forward three carriages onto her face and badly injured, she went "into doctor mode". She said, "I remember coming to on the carpet, looking under the seat in front of me, wondering how I got there. I went to the door to get off, but saw a woman lying on the floor and thought – I can't get off, look at these people. I was in tears and trying to manage things for about three hours. It was like a war zone." Dr Prior celebrated her wedding anniversary at the awards ceremony.
Surgeons and Young Fundraisers
World-leading cardiac doctor Asif Hasan, head of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital, was reunited on stage with 19 of his former patients. Hasan has carried out over 400 transplants and 4,000 open heart operations during his career.
Young Fundraiser of the Year Gregor Corse, aged five, from Orkney, defied a neurological condition to raise £80,000 by walking laps of his 'hoose' and nursery. His parents were told he might never walk, but he set himself a fundraising challenge to walk "30 loops o' the hoose" every day for 30 days. When snooker legend Stephen Hendry came onto the stage, Gregor's face lit up.
Kirsty Waugh, 12, from Tunbridge Wells, has raised a quarter of a million pounds for brain tumour research after naming her own tumour 'Terry'. She told Davina McCall, "I do try to live in the moment." Musician Danny Jones told her: "The world is so much better with you in it."
Campaigners and Community Heroes
Esther Ghey, Ian Russell and Ellen Roome were recognised for their campaigns for online child safety following the tragic losses of their children. Ian's 14-year-old daughter Molly died in 2017, with the inquest finding that 'unsafe' algorithmic social media content played a role in her death. Brianna Ghey was murdered in 2023 at the age of 16, stabbed 28 times in a premeditated attack. Esther runs the Brianna Ghey Legacy Project, saying, "As soon as Brianna was connected to her phone, I felt like I lost her. So I feel like I lost Brianna twice. But I do believe that we can empower people to make change." Ellen said: "I'm just a mum who stood up and said 'This is wrong'."
Elaine Roberts and Luke Ambler, founders of ANDYSMANCLUB, were honoured for their work in men's mental health. The club, which started as "a little coffee club in Halifax", now sees 7,000 men regularly meet for a brew and a chat. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said, "I am in no doubt that the work they do saves lives each week."
Florence Coke, 71, known as 'Mama Flo', from Stockport, won the This Morning Local Hero award for feeding struggling families from her Caribbean takeaway. She sets her alarm at 4am every morning to prepare food, saying, "My cooking comes from pure love."
Other honourees included Elaine Oakey, 53, from Blackpool, who won the P&O Cruises Inspiration Award for transforming the lives of young amputees; Brandon Hulcoop, 23, a blind entrepreneur from Plymouth, who won the 'King's Trust' award for creating accessible products; and Barry Walden, 85, from Hull, who won the ITV Fundraiser of the Year for raising hundreds of thousands of pounds through the Society of M.I.C.E.
The ceremony, hosted by Carol Vorderman and Ashley Banjo, featured celebrities including Anna Friel, Jack Grealish, Jerry Hall, Alan Carr, Sue Johnston, and Tim Peake. The event will air on ITV on Thursday night.
