Past heroes celebrated as Pride of Britain announces exciting new partnership
As P&O Cruises comes on board as Pride of Britain's new partner for 2025, we catch up with some of the extraordinary past winners and hear about their journeys since winning
by George Gaston · The MirrorCourage, determination and exceptional stories of hope...
Since 1999, the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards has celebrated inspirational people living all around the country. And as long as there are Brits who defy the odds in the face of overwhelming adversity, we’ll be telling their stories.
Our search for these unsung heroes is already underway as we look forward to next year’s event. And while we’ll once again be showcasing the very best of Britain, we’re thrilled to announce that P&O Cruises will be Pride of Britain’s new partner for 2025.
As a proud British brand committed to celebrating extraordinary moments and remarkable experiences, this makes for a natural partnership. And as Pride of Britain begins a new adventure with P&O Cruises, we catch up with extraordinary winners from the past 25 years to find out what happened next.
‘I focus on the things that I can do’
Sohana Collins has spent every day of her young life in pain.
The 22-year-old was born with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a rare condition that makes her skin so fragile that even the slightest knock can cause horrific blisters and burns. It affects her entire body – even her mouth, throat and eyes.
“It’s mind boggling, the pain she has to deal with on a daily basis,” says her mum, Sharmila.
But Sohana has defied the odds and is now fulfilling her dream of going to university. She is in the final year of a film degree at Royal Holloway, University of London, and hopes to become a director like her favourite filmmaker Guillermo del Toro.
“It’s sad when people with a disability are only told what they can’t do, without focusing on what they can,” says Sohana. “I’m lucky I’ve always been encouraged to explore what is possible by my family.”
Sohana is supported at university by a full-time carer who helps prepare her meals and dress her wounds, which can take between 90 minutes and two and a half hours every day.
The support she receives means she has been able to move out of home and into shared accommodation with two friends.
“I’ve wanted to be as independent as possible, and university was always an ambition,” she says.
Sohana and Sharmila have also devoted much time and energy to raising £12million through the charity Cure EB.
This has helped fund gene editing work at King’s College London, as well as a treatment trial in which 10 children received bone marrow cells at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Sohana’s efforts led to her being honoured with a Pride of Britain Teenager of Courage award in 2015.
Sohana and her mother have recently launched a new campaign called Coffee to Cure EB, which asks people to donate the cost of a coffee to help fund further research. It has been backed by actors Damian Lewis and Tom Holland.
“I’ve always wanted to give Sohana a more normal life,” says Sharmila. “I’ll feel so proud when she graduates, and want her to have as much fun with the rest of her life as possible.
“I expect her to do amazing things because she is so talented. What could she show the world if we can get rid of EB?”
‘Our baby boy is still saving lives’
Jess and Mike Houlston received a Special Recognition Award in 2015
When Jess and Mike Houlston were told they were expecting twin boys, they were thrilled. However, just 12 weeks into the pregnancy the couple received devastating news. One of them, Teddy, was fatally ill with anencephaly – a rare condition that prevents the brain and skull from developing. Doctors explained he would only survive for a day or two at the very most.
It was expected that the parents would have a selective abortion, ending Teddy’s life but saving that of his brother, Noah.
But, says Jess, 38, “It never even entered into my mind that’s what we’d do. The minute you become pregnant, that’s when you become a mother. I already felt connected to the babies.”
Teddy and Noah were born on 22 April 2014 at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. Teddy survived for just 100 minutes.
The couple had hoped he would be able to donate organs to help save another life. After weeks of discussion, doctors told the couple it could be done just before he died, making Teddy the youngest-ever organ donor at the time. His kidneys saved the life of an adult patient with renal failure.
After Teddy’s story was revealed, there was a 378% rise in the number of people signing the Organ Donor Register. Jess and Mike were presented with a Pride of Britain Special Recognition award in 2015, and Teddy’s legacy continues to save lives.
“Since Teddy’s donation, there have been two other babies with anencephaly who have become organ donors,” says Mike, 40, who works as a technical manager for Cardiff Council.
“Teddy’s donation opened doors for other babies to donate, and for other parents to get something positive out of something so cruel and sad. Still to this day, we hear about lives that have been transformed by other people’s donations.”
Mike is now a trustee of the Believe Organ Donor Support charity, which was set up by a friend whose husband and son were killed in a car accident. Seeing Mike and Jess on Pride of Britain made her think about her wishes, and she signed up to be an organ donor as a result.
Earlier this year, Jess gave birth to the couple’s daughter, Bodhi, and now plans to make a big career change and go into midwifery.
Teddy would have been 10 this year. “Noah was at Cubs recently and they were having a discussion about organ donation,” Mike adds.
“He spoke to everybody about his brother and was so proud. The wallpaper on his phone is the picture of him and Teddy lying next to each other. He chose that picture himself.”
‘I got a second chance, now I’m getting married’
Jake Peach was diagnosed with leukaemia on Mother’s Day in 2008, when he was just 11. After his first dose of chemo left him gravely ill, doctors put him into a coma on a ventilator in intensive care.
When Jake woke up a month later, he couldn’t move. He could only communicate by blinking, and had to teach himself to walk, speak, and even swallow again.
During his six months in hospital, Jake made a video diary of his treatment, which is now used by Great Ormond Street Hospital to support other young cancer patients.
After he went into remission, Jake became one of the hospital’s most active fundraising speakers. He has helped to raise more than £1.5million, and fronted a campaign that saw GOSH – Great Ormond Street’s charity – become Arsenal FC’s charity of the season, generating £500,000.
His efforts have funded a new lung function centre and two operating theatres, helping many more children win their own fight to survive. In 2009, at the age of 12, he was named a Pride of Britain Child of Courage.
Now 27, Jake, who lives in Halstead, Essex, is a freelance radio presenter and producer and works for Radio 1 and BBC Essex.
He says: “When I was in Great Ormond Street, I visited the station there, Radio Lollipop. Something just clicked and I’ve loved it ever since. My goal was to work at Radio 1.”
“I just want to be normal,” he adds. “That’s what I craved more than anything after being in hospital for six months.
“I’m getting married next May. That’s going to be a very emotional day; I feel very blessed. I’d love to have kids in the next few years.
“If I hadn’t gone through what I did, and been very open to things, I don’t think I’d be where I am. I used it as a real motivator and feel like I’ve had a second chance. I’m so dogged and determined to do what I want to do in life and just go for it.”
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