Ideal weep-athon for heroes of NHS
HOW refreshing to see an awards ceremony where the stars were not celebrities but unsung heroes. There were no egos or gushy acceptance speeches at The NHS Heroes Awards. All diva demands were left at the door.
This emotional and uplifting ITV show marked the NHS’S 70th birthday and did a marvellous job recognising the extraordinary people who keep us alive.
It is rare and humbling to see soap stars, sporting heroes and royalty upstaged. And host Paul O’grady managed to keep the mood chipper with his banter with an audience full of doctors, nurses, porters and cleaners.
“If anybody tonight needs CPR or their lino swilling down with disinfectant, then we’re in the right place,” he quipped.
Paul, 62, is fairly well acquainted with the NHS, having suffered three heart attacks. Not surprising that his cardiologist, Professor Simon Redwood, received an invite to the bash. Prince William sent a message. And Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, was there to tell NHS staff: “What would we do without you?”
She makes an excellent point at a time when the NHS is stretched to the limit and kept running by the good will and tireless work of its staff.
Emotional
And yes, there were celebrities. One does need a few famous faces at these things, dahling.
And the winners were thrilled to mingle with the glam bunch.
Dame Shirley Bassey, Hollywood star Michael Sheen, rapper Tinie Tempah, Richard Hammond, Dame Kelly Holmes, Sue Johnston, Myleene Klass and the cast of Corrie were among the invited guests.
Some were left wishing they had used waterproof mascara by the end.
My favourite part was when 15-year-old Freya Lewis collected her fundraising award from her idol, One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson. I wasn’t sure she’d let him go.
Manchester bombing victim Freya was injured and lost her best friend Nell Jones, 14, in the tragedy.
In one of the most emotional moments of the night, Freya told the audience: “I’d like to dedicate this award to Nell. I miss you every single day but I continue to look up to you – and I love you.”
We also heard about trauma surgeon Martin Griffiths, who saved the life of Richard Livett, the first London Bridge terror attack victim to reach hospital.
And sexual health worker Sara Rowbotham received a gong for her care of the victims of the Rochdale grooming scandal – her story was told in the drama Three Girls.
I cried from about three minutes in and all the way through. But this was a wonderful tribute to NHS staff. There are no better heroes on the telly.