Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Strides of Britain
HUDDLED around the telly with his mum, dad, brothers and sisters, little Tony Hudgell could barely contain his excitement.
When the Pride of Britain winner saw himself on TV for the first time, his name up in lights on the BT Tower, his legs started shaking. “He had a big smile on his face and his little legs were going, that’s what he does when he’s excited,” proud mum Paula says. “Yesterday he just kept asking ‘How long now?’ over and over until 9pm!”
Six-year-old Tony was crowned the Pride of Britain Good Morning Britain Young Fundraiser after raising over £1.5million for the hospital that saved his life. Tony was 41 days old when he was admitted with multiple fractures, sepsis and organ failure.
Abused by his birth parents, every one of his tiny limbs had been broken and he had been without medical attention for up to 10 days.
But foster carer Paula gave him a home with her husband and eight older children, and Tony thrived.
And last night his parents let him stay up late as a treat so he could see himself in front of millions of viewers at the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards, in partnership with TSB.
Siblings Kyle, 18, Jessica, 14, Jaden, 13, and Lacey, eight, were with their little brother at their home in King’s Hill, Kent, to cheer as they watched.
Paula says: “Tony’s normal bedtime is 7pm but luckily for him he’s quite good at staying awake. If he could, he’d stay up all night. He’s a little monkey. All the children were in their pyjamas, we had popcorn for the kids and prosecco for me and Mark. It was so lovely to have a feel-good night.
“Everyone really needed something uplifting, especially after Saturday’s announcement. This is something the nation really needed at a critical time.”
Tony met Ant & Dec, who surprised him with the award last week.
“He was just so over the moon to see his two idols,” says Paula. “He was beaming the whole way through. I pity the teachers, a lot of school friends are staying up to watch. They ’re either going to have very hyper or very tired children in class.”
Paula, 53, has told Tony ’s story many times but admits seeing his achievement on TV made her feel overwhelmed with pride at how far Tony has come.
“You almost become detached from it but it still hurts,” she says. “So to see it again on TV, w i t h mi l l i o n s watching, was emotional. We had a few tears.”
Before l ockdown Tony had been learning to walk on prosthetic legs.
When he saw
100-year-old Captain Sir Tom
Moore’s incredible charity walking challenge on TV, Tony immediately said: “I can do that.”
The family came up with a 10km challenge for Tony as a way of making sure they did daily walking practice.
His determinat ion captured the U K ’s h e a r t and he raised more than £1.5million for Evelina London Children’s Hospital where he is treated.
Since last night, Tony’s fund has been climbing even higher.
“We are so thankful to everybody who has donated,” Paula says. “If they can keep donating we will be hugely grateful. It’s not going to stop here. We are massively proud of him and all the money raised for the wonderful hospital. He already has a huge legacy and he is only six.”
Also honoured last night were the NHS heroes who have made personal sacrifices and worked tirelessly through the pandemic.
Boris Johnson nominated the two nurses, Jenny Mcgee and Luis Pitarma, who saved his life when he was in intensive care with coronavirus.
The PM said: “I want to pay thanks to the utterly brilliant team at St Thomas’ Hospital who saved my life.
“There were many, but I want
to nominate two nurses particular, Luis and Jenny.”
Luis, 29, from Porto, Portugal, was by Johnson’s side for three nights as he lay in ICU. “I felt extremely proud for someone like him to recognise the quality of the job I’d done,” he said at the time.
And New Zealander Jenny, 36, described the PM as “just another patient we were trying to do our best for”.
TSB Community Hero Dena Murphy was moved to tears by her Pride of Britain Award. Dena, 92, from Manchester, has helped hundreds of young offenders get their lives back on track thanks to her community allotment.
She said: “I never expected this. It’s the first time in 30 years I’ve actually cried.”
And Major Chris Brannigan, winner of the ITV Fundraiser award, was surprised with a special message from his daughter’s favourite pop star Taylor
Swift. He set out to raise funds when eight-year-old Hasti was diagnosed with a rare disorder – Cornelia de Lange Syndrome – which has no cure or treatment.
You can watch The
Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Award s, in partnership with TSB on ITV Hub now and on ITV1 at 10.45pm.
Tony was over the moon to see his two idols Ant and Dec PAULA HUDGELL MUM OF WINNER TONY