‘I wanted to bring Xmas magic to hospital wards’, says choirmaster Gareth

HE’S turned everyone from sulky teenagers to military wives into singing superstars.

But this year, choirmaster Gareth Malone is bringing Christmas magic to a hospital over the festive period.

Gareth knows first-hand how tough Christmas can be for those with loved ones in hospital after his grandmother was taken in at 11pm on Christmas Eve in 2003.

So he put together a 200-strong Christmas choir made up from patients, relatives and hardworking nurses, doctors and NHS support staff at Watford

General Hospital.

The BBC star said: “We wanted the concert to represent the whole hospital. It was amazing – the place is full of talent. It’s tough working in the NHS, especially at Christmas time. We all need a bit of magic and time out.”

One of the stars of the choir was six-year-old Betsy, whose inoperable brain tumour means she’s been a regular visitor to the hospital since the age of two.

She was left visually impaired by 18 months of chemotherapy but boldly took to the stage with her mum and younger sister Ava for a rendition of Rocking Around The Christmas Tree. Gareth praised the staff who care for children like her.

He said: “Children’s wards are so magical. The kids form these incredible bonds with the staff, especially with long-term patients like Betsy.”

Some elderly patients were too ill to attend the concert so Gareth recorded them singing in their wards.

“I was there for hours talking to them,” he said. “There was one guy who was a World War II pilot of the Lancaster bomber, which is what my grandfather flew in. We sat and talked about the war. It was so lovely.”

And when overstretched anaesthetist Malthi was left in tears after being called out of rehearsals to attend to emergencies, Gareth helped her train for her show-opening solo at home.

For the finale, 150 extra carollers who had been born or treated in the hospital joined in.

And as family and friends watched the show unfold in the hospital canteen, there was not a dry eye in the house.

Gareth said: “We had a fantastic reaction. I wanted it to be a celebration of the staff and the families and have a little Christmas moment.”

Gareth Malone’s Christmas Concert is on BBC2 tonight,

9pm, and Christmas Day, 1.30pm.

Charlotte Twigdon-williams, 25, is a nurse on the Fox Ward at London’s Great Ormond Street which cares for kids with conditions including blood disorders, cancer, leukaemia and immune issues. DEDICATED Jenifer and Charlotte ON WARD Gareth with a patient IN TUNE With NHS trust boss

VOICE OF AN ANGEL Choir members enjoy rehearsing at hospital