PRIDE OF MANCHESTER AWARDS: All the winners
The ceremony last night took place virtually for the first time ever.
Last updated 2nd Oct 2020
Some of Manchester's most extraordinary people have been recognised in the Pride of Manchester Awards 2020.
The usually glitzy ceremony looked a little different this year, with it taking place virtually because of coronavirus.
Kym Marsh said: I love Pride of Manchester, and as soon as we realised our amazing winners could not come to an award show we knew we had to take the awards to them. It was such a privilege to meet them and their families where they live. We had so many special moments, and I just know viewers are going to love it."
This year’s inspirational winners include a trailblazing campaigner for LGBT and women’s rights who is still fighting for the rights of others after 60 years, a whistleblower who exposed catastrophic failures to protect child victims of grooming gangs, a 5 year old who dialed 999 in the middle of the night after finding her mum unconscious on the kitchen floor, a biker who leads a group of lifesaving volunteers on two wheels who deliver vital blood supplies where they are most urgently needed and a Manchester GP who has opened his surgery doors to treat the increasing number of homeless people in the region.
Special Recognition - Marcus Rashford
An award to honour the footballer’s remarkable campaign during the pandemic for free school meals on behalf of the nation’s poorest children, resulting in £20m raised, and an unprecedented government u-turn.
Pride of Manchester Salute - NHS
A special thank you to the NHS in Manchester, for their incredible efforts on the frontline in the battle against Covid.
Lifetime Achievement – Luchia Fitzgerald, 72, Chorlton
Trailblazing campaigner for LGBT and women’s rights in Manchester who is still fighting for the rights of others after 60 years.
Luchia arrived in the city from her native Ireland as a teenager in 1961 after she fled an abusive and oppressive upbringing with her grandmother. In Manchester, Luchia found herself living on the streets and after a run in with the police was sent for a lobotomy to ‘cure’ her sexuality.
After managing to escape she took refuge in the New Union Hotel, where older lesbians took her under her wing. Around this time, she met Angela Cooper and after a brief relationship, the pair formed a friendship and campaigning partnership that thrives to this day.
Their early activism involved painting ‘lesbians are everywhere’ in giant yellow letters across town, but in 1971 they moved into The Manchester Women’s Liberation Centre on Upper Brook Street, where they helped provide pregnancy testing and helplines for women who had suffered domestic violence or rape.
After five years, Luchia and Angela took over an empty property next door and opened the first women’s refuge outside of London. They also established a radical printing press, played in a rock band called the Northern Women’s Liberation Band and led protests against clause 28 by organising a 20,000 strong march through Manchester.
Today Luchia shows no signs of slowing down. As chair of Irwell Valley Homes residents’ group, she advocates for the LGBT community and in particular for older LGBT people.
Special Recognition – Maggie Oliver, 64, Altrincham, Cheshire
Whistleblower who exposed catastrophic failures to protect child victims of grooming gangs.
In 2004, Maggie was a detective constable with the Greater Manchester Police working on Operation Augusta, a widespread investigation into a suspected grooming network of older Pakistani-heritage men in the Rusholme area. Maggie gained the trust of the girls involved, many of whom were in care and helped to identify 97 potential suspects and 26 victims.
In March 2005, she took compassionate leave to care for her terminally ill husband Norman. While away, the investigation was dropped due to concerns from senior officers over costs. Eight of the suspects went on to commit further serious sexual offences, including rape.
In 2011, Maggie left the police in protest at the handling of the Rochdale grooming trial and what she saw was the betrayal of a key witness whose trust she had gained. She became an outspoken critic of the authorities and insisted they had covered up the full extent of grooming and abuse and failed to protect children.
In January this year, she was vindicated by a damning independent review which found police and social services knew girls were being abused but failed to protect them
Special Recognition – Dr Gerry O’Shea, 56, Ancoats, Manchester
Manchester GP has opened his surgery doors to treat the increasing numbers of homeless people in the region.
Dr Gerry O’Shea works alongside his colleague Dr Shaun Jackson and six other doctors at the busy Urban Village medical practice in Ancoats, providing care for the homeless as well as their usual patients. The surgery offers services to around 750 homeless patients throughout the week, which includes a weekly drop-in clinic every Wednesday.
Homeless people do not usually have access to a GP or medical care because they do not have a fixed address. But here, homeless patients are able to register for healthcare using the address of the practice. National research shows that homeless patients attend A&E around five times more than the general population and are almost four times more likely to be admitted.
As well as day to day health problems, the practice also helps patients with addiction, social problems and even housing-related paperwork.
Child of Courage – Isabella Hibbert, 7, Oldham, Manchester
Youngster from Oldham who dialed 999 after finding mum unconscious on the kitchen floor.
Isabella, who was 4 at the time, managed to find and unlock her mum Chelsea’s mobile phone before ringing for an ambulance. She was then able to give the call handler her address so they could send help and clearly answered questions from the call handler including “is your mummy breathing?” and “is your mummy awake?”
She then dragged her little chair from the living room to the front door so she could reach the keys to unlock the door for the paramedics before ringing her nana – again on Chelsea’s phone – to tell her what happened.
Chelsea, 27, was taken to hospital and has since made a full recovery. She credits her daughter’s love of ambulance programmes for her rapid response as they had never had a conversation about what to do in an emergency.
Young Fundraiser – Joseph Hibbert, 10, Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire
Youngster who has been fundraising for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital ever since he was three, despite never having been a patient there.
Jospeh is on a mission to make the world a nicer place. To date, he has raised more than £32,000 for the hospital’s charity and hopes to add another £10,000 when he and his friends clim Kinder Scout, the highest point in the Peak District, later this year.
Joseph’s fundraising journey started when he was three, after he saw a video about the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. He took part in a mini run in Heaton Park where he ran 1500m. He then decided to run 5k before he was five and managed to raise more than £3,000 for the hospital charity.
In 2017 he swapped his running shoes for hiking boots when he decided he wanted to up the ante and climb Ben Nevis despite 80mph winds and hail and talk of turning back. Joseph has since gone on to scale Snowdon in 2017 and in 2018 he completed the Three Peaks by climbing Scafell Pike, the tallest mountain in England.
Teenager of Courage – Katie Holmes, 14, Dane Bank, Stockport
Teen with cerebral palsy who inspires others, raises money, and refuses to let her condition define her.
Katie’s cerebral palsy was caused by a bleed on the brain when she was born prematurely at 28 weeks. Since then she has had to undergo five major operations to help her walk. She has metal rods in her legs and uses sticks for support.
But the teenager is determined not to let the condition define her and has taken on several challenges including the Great Manchester Run to help pay for her ongoing physiotherapy. This year she is running 2K to raise funds for the Stockport cerebral Palsy Society.
Last year Katie decided to write a blog about her life with cerebral palsy and created an Instagram account. As a result, a designer got in touch and asked her to take part in a fashion show. She hit the catwalk with bright glittery sticks and was such a hit, that she took part in more shows in London and photos of her have appeared in Times Square in New York.
TSB Community Spirit Award - Paul Redfern, 50, Hyde, Cheshire
Biker who leads a group of lifesaving volunteers on two wheels who deliver vital blood supplied where are most urgently needed.
Paul is the founder of Blood Bikes Manchester, a volunteer-led organization that helps save thousands of lives across the North West by transporting blood, plasma, platelets, vaccines and breast milk to nearly every hospital in the region.
They operate mostly at night, at weekends and through the holidays. The service is provided completely free of charge by the volunteers who all offer their time for no pay or reward, allowing the NHS to divert funds where they are most needed.
Last year, Blood Bikes Manchester estimated they saved local NHS and hospice services over £340,000 after completing 18 emergency runs, 564 urgent runs and 680 non urgent and routine sample runs. They also link up with fellow blood bike groups across nearby counties.
Paul knows only too well how an urgent delivery of blood can mean the difference between life and death. When he was 18 he was involved in a serious motorbike accident and lost his right leg. His life was saved by an emergency blood transfusion.
Fundraiser of the Year – Jim Nicholas, 73, Salford
DJ and Elvis impersonator who has raised more than £200,000 for Francis House Children’s Hospice.
Pensioner Jim, who worked as head gardener for the Bishop of Salford, has been performing in pubs and clubs for more than half a century.
Over the past 25 years he has put out a collection box during his shows at hundreds of venues across Manchester and beyond. In that time, delighted audiences have donated more than £200,000. At one of his shows he performed for a Cliff Richard fan club in Birmingham. Fans threw teddy bears wrapped in cash donations onto the stage.
Francis House supports more than 500 families of children and young people with life-limiting conditions from across Greater Manchester.
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