Why is soap star set to have us in a lather..?
THE GLAMOROUS SOAP STAR WHO WILL HOST OUR PRIDE OF NORTH EAST AWARDS
CORONATION Street favourite Kym Marsh is to host our prestigious Pride of North East Awards evening.
The star, best known for playing the Street’s Michelle Connor, will be joining us to present the awards at our glamorous ceremony at Newcastle’s Civic Centre on March 27.
It is the second year Kym has been asked to host the event that recognises the most inspirational and impressive people in our region and she is delighted to take up the role.
“Last year I came up there and met the most fantastic and inspirational people. It is a night I haven’t forgotten and I’m looking forward to another night at the North East Pride Awards,” said Kym, 41.
Our winners are our unsung heroes whose actions are awe-inspiring and make us proud to be from the region.
Ordinary people who have made an extraordinary impact on the region are being recognised for their brilliant contributions.
And our champions for our Pride of North East Awards, in partnership with TSB, have now been whittled down to a shortlist – after going before a prestigious panel of judges.
Former Hear’Say singer Kym, whose best friend lives in Newcastle and says she loves a night out on the Toon, added: “There are some awesome and inspirational people in the North East who do wonderful work who will be honoured on the night. Sometimes they don’t get the recognition they should have but these awards allows them to get the praise they deserve.”
She added: “I’m still in the process of finding the right dress to wear. It’s a nightmare getting the right one, my fear is the one I chose is see-through.”
We opened our competition at the turn of the year asking if you knew someone who makes you proud to be from the North East?
Whether that was someone who has quietly transformed their community to improve the lives of those around them, or someone who has put themselves in danger to save someone else, or a tireless campaigner.
They could be six or 106 – we said heroism has no age barrier – and they could have changed one life, or changed the world.
And we are delighted to say we received dozens of entrants who left our judges pondering over who they should choose as they congregated at the Assembly Rooms in Newcastle in February.
The judging panel was made up of: Helen Dalby, Editor of ChronicleLive and Regional Head of Digital for Trinity Mirror North East, TSB’s Bev Gibson, actress Denise Welch, Paralympian Stephen Miller MBE, ITV regional news presenter Pam Royle, previous winner Lynn Lucas, Pride of Britain Content Director, Shiraz Lalani, Strategic Head of Operations for North East Ambulance Service Douglas McDou- gall and former Newcastle United footballer Steve Howey.
Our North East winners will also go forward to the judging process for the Daily Mirror’s Pride of Britain Awards, also in partnership with TSB, which are screened on ITV in the Autumn.
Since the first Pride of Britain in 1999, royalty, prime ministers, and hundreds of leading figures from showbusiness, sport, politics and the arts have all taken part.
Among last year’s winners was Child of Courage, Bradley Lowery, the young Sunderland mascot whose cheeky smile captured the region’s hearts as he fought cancer.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as Bradley was handed his award by his hero, striker Jermain Defoe, whose touching friendship with the Blackhall boy became well known.