Dragons’ Den star Duncan Bannatyne has shown his generous and philanthropic spirit, after making a huge donation to an incredibly inspiring child’s fundraiser.
The 2024 Pride of Britain Awards had viewers in floods of tears when it aired on Thursday night, as it showed eight-year-old girl Florence Bark honoured with a Child of Courage award.
The exceptionally brave little girl has battled acute myeloid leukaemia from a young age and is currently waiting for a lung transplant.
But even while coping with her own health issues, Florence – who goes by Florrie – has set up her own charity to help other children with cancer, called Be More Fab.
And her family has set up a secret GoFundMe page to raise money for the charity, which can be found here.
Dragons’ Den star Duncan Bannatyne has shown his generous and philanthropic spirit, after making a huge donation to an incredibly inspiring child’s fundraiser (pictured Monday)
The 2024 Pride of Britain Awards had viewers in floods of tears when it aired on Thursday night, as it showed eight-year-old girl Florence Bark honoured with a Child of Courage award (pictured)
The exceptionally brave little girl has battled acute myeloid leukaemia from a young age and is currently waiting for a lung transplant, while setting up her own charity to help other children with cancer, called Be More Fab
Writing on the fundraiser page, Florrie’s dad Andrew said: ‘So please donate if you can, like and share with your friends, we can’t wait to show you the look on her face, when she finds out how much we’ve raised.’
And entrepreneur Duncan, 75, dug deep after being touched by Florrie’s story when he attended the Pride of Britain Awards on Monday.
The businessman benevolently gave a whopping £30,000 to Florrie’s fund on Thursday, becoming the top donation of the almost £75,000 raised so far.
Florence, who goes by the nickname Florrie, was first was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in May 2022, after her parents noticed she’d contracted a bout of infections.
At the time, her family told she was awaiting a bone marrow transplant but a rare gene mutation that affects 10 per cent of cases meant the transplant was likely to fail.
After a two-year battle with the illness which saw Florrie win hundreds of thousands of fans on TikTok, she shared in July that she was cancer-free.
Viewers got to see Florrie given the news she would be receiving the Child of Courage Award by her favourite pop star Perrie Edwards in a sweet film shown at the start of the Pride of Britain Awards broadcast.
And entrepreneur Duncan, 75, dug deep after being touched by Florrie’s story when he attended the Pride of Britain Awards on Monday (pictured)
The businessman benevolently gave a whopping £30,000 to Florrie’s fund on Thursday, becoming the top donation of the almost £75,000 raised so far
Florence, who goes by the nickname Florrie, was first was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in May 2022, after her parents noticed she’d contracted a bout of infections (pictured with parents this week)
The clip saw her being treated to a day out in London with her parents Stacey, 34 and Andrew, 36, where she thought she was watching the Little Mix star’s new music video,
However, the singer then popped out to surprise them, delighting Florrie and giving her a huge hug before telling her she would be honoured with the prestigious award.
Viewers at home were left in tears at the heartwarming clip as they penned on X: ‘Watching pride of Britain awards and how emotional!! Florrie is an amazing little girl..so brave and inspirational
‘Less than 10 minutes into Pride of Britain and #Florrie has not only lit up my life, but made me shed a tear or two. What an inspirational, brave young lady.’,
‘This wee girl Florrie on Pride of Britain what a brave wee girl and such a character love her and she’s also raised so much money.’
The annual Pride Of Britain Awards returned for its 25th year on Monday night with Ashley Banjo and Carol Vorderman back as co-hosts.
Sam Thompson and Pete Wicks were on hand to host the red carpet, while GK Barry was presenting online content at her very own bar during the event.
Taking place since 1999, the ceremony honours the achievements of truly remarkable people from across the UK and all walks of life – nominated by members of the public.
Viewers got to see Florrie given the news she would be receiving the Child of Courage Award by her favourite pop star Perrie Edwards in a sweet film shown at the start of the Pride of Britain Awards broadcast
However, the singer then popped out to surprise them, delighting Florrie and giving her a huge hug before telling her she would be honoured with the prestigious award
After a shortlist was produced from the thousands of entries, winners were chosen by the Pride of Britain judging panel.
Ahead of the ceremony, The King and the Prime Minister Keir Starmer led tributes to the nation’s unsung heroes.
The King called them ‘the very best’ of us, while Sir Keir said, ‘They embody everything that is great about Britain’.
King Charles’ words were included in a letter to King’s Trust Young Achiever winner Molly Leonard, whose grandmother shed tears of pride as she read it to her.
In addition to praising Molly, he wrote: ‘On this 25th anniversary of the Pride of Britain Awards, I send my warmest admiration to all of this year’s winners. You each represent the very best in our society.’
The Prime Minister told the winners: ‘Britain is proud of you’. For a quarter of a century, the Pride of Britain awards have celebrated the people who embody everything that is great about Britain.
‘These are people from all walks of life, but they all have one thing in common. They’re heroes.
‘They may not be the cape-wearing superheroes we normally think of – in fact, they look just like the rest of us.
‘But they do have something that makes them very special indeed. Bravery, determination, generosity, empathy and huge spirit.
‘They have the power to touch our hearts, to make us hopeful, to make us proud. They’re a testament to the incredible things people can achieve even in the face of hardship.’
The annual Pride Of Britain Awards returned for its 25th year on Monday night with Ashley Banjo and Carol Vorderman back as co-hosts (pictured)
After a shortlist was produced from the thousands of entries, winners were chosen by the Pride of Britain judging panel