TONY HUDGELL
GOOD MORNING BRITAIN YOUNG FUNDRAISER Inspired by Captain Tom, Tony, then five, raised more than £1.5 million in a lockdown walking challenge
HIS sheer determination won hearts up and down the country, with thousands nominating the youngster for a Pride of Britain award.
And he received it in a wonderful surprise moment at top toy store Hamleys, starring his favourite celebrities Ant and Dec. The duo donned outsized Nutcracker soldier costumes and hid amid piles of toys as Tony and his family browsed the shelves.
Adoptive mum Paula said: “Tony is a massive fan of Ant and Dec, he is obsessed with them. We were looking at the toys and these two life-sized nutcrackers suddenly started talking. Tony looked at me, then he blurted out, ‘that’s Ant and Dec!’. They took off their disguise and Tony was so excited.”
Tony, six, said: “I am feeling really proud I have won this award. I was really happy when the nutcrackers took their heads off and I saw it was Ant and Dec – I’ve always wanted to meet them! I would have liked to have given them a high five!”
Diplomatically he added: “I like them both the same, I don’t have a favourite.”
Tony, known as Bear, started his walking challenge on June 1, and his efforts captured the imagination of millions of people. By the time he completed his final walk, supporters had donated £1,073,121, with the total still rising.
He was inspired after seeing Captain Tom on TV, and he asked his parents if he could take on his own challenge to raise money for the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, his second home.
He had recently learnt to walk with crutches on his new prosthetic legs, so he set out to raise £500 by walking 10km in 30 days in June.
The Kent schoolboy had already overcome huge odds in life. He was 41 days old when he suffered a horrific assault at the hands of his biological parents that left him on life support and close to death. The injuries to his legs were so extreme, they had to be amputated. But the big-hearted youngster refuses to let anything hold him back.
Brave: Tony shortly after having his first leg amputation
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
IN March, Captain Tom set off to walk 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday the following month.
He hoped to raise £1,000 in tribute to the hospital staff who had cared for him during treatment for cancer.
Within days, his efforts had caught the imagination of people from every corner of the country and beyond.
By the time he completed his walk, he had raised more than £32million – with the total still rising – and created a movement of people determined to follow his mantra that “tomorrow will be a good day”.
He was also knighted by the Queen in July, in her first public engagement since lockdown began, in a special ceremony at Windsor Castle.
We surprised Captain Tom with the news he is a Pride of Britain winner on Good Morning Britain. He was being interviewed by hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid about his 100th birthday when
Pride of Britain host Carol Vorderman joined the video call to share the news.
Stars also lined up to pay tribute to his efforts in a special film, including actors Dame
Julie Walters and Michael
Sheen and sporting heroes
Katherine Jenkins
Anthony Joshua, Harry
Kane and Joe Root.
In Sunday’s show, you can see the magical moment Captain Tom received his trophy from some of the children he inspired to raise money, and singing icon Katherine Jenkins.
He said afterwards: “It feels absolutely amazing. I am totally in awe of this award, it is such a prestigious one.
“The children are marvellous, I think they are all absolutely brilliant. It is great to see the children raising money for their chosen charities and they are all such wonderful characters, it is a delight to see.”
He added: “I certainly have no plans to stop anytime soon, I’m not done yet, not by a long chalk. The compassion and love that I have been shown from far and wide has given me renewed purpose and re-energised me.
“Through The Captain Tom Foundation my family and I have a mission to inspire hope where it is needed most. I do hope we can continue to inspire others as together we have a real chance to ensure that tomorrow will be a good day.”