The countdown to the Daily Record Pride of Scotland Awards with P&O Cruises is over – and today we reveal the unsung heroes to be honoured at tonight’s red-carpet spectacular. Our glittering People’s Oscars will see awe-inspiring Scots recognised for their acts of courage and kindness.
A young man who jumped railway tracks to pull a stranger to safety, an aspiring amputee footballer, brothers who sailed across the Pacific Ocean to raise £1million for charity and a schoolboy who overcame trolls to raise funds for other sick kids are among those being honoured. There will also be awards for three police hostage negotiators who saved a baby, a trio of friends who give terminally ill patients their dream wedding day and a schoolgirl who designed a solar-powered blanket for the homeless.
The star-studded show, in partnership with P&O Cruises, is being hosted by actress Elaine C Smith and comedian Sanjeev Kohli. It is gearing up to be the most spectacular night of the year with First Minister John Swinney joining a host of stars to celebrate the best of Scotland.
View 13 ImagesSuzanne Stevenson, Lauren Roy-Sutherland and Lee Anne Gentles
Suzanne Stevenson, Lauren Roy-Sutherland and Lee Anne Gentles are real life fairy godmothers who help terminally ill patients have their dream wedding day.
The neighbours and friends, from Renfrew, devote their time to organising fairytale weddings for bride and grooms whose dying wish is to marry the love of their life before it is too late.
Through online fundraising and donations from across the wedding industry the group have given couples a day to remember – providing everything from celebrants and cakes to dresses, flowers and pipers.
You can catch all the red carpet action on the Pride of Scotland Facebook and Instagram pages, and on the Pride of Britain YouTube channel from 5.30pm tonight.
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View 13 ImagesNoah Connell, eight, who suffers from Pierre Robin Sequence and was born with part of his spine missing, an underdeveloped jaw, cleft palate, a small neck and a floppy airway, took his first ever unassisted steps just hours after meeting his idol, Spider-Man.(Image: Daily Record)
The schoolboy, who was mocked by cruel bullies for rare genetic condition, has overcome trolls to raise funds for other sick kids.
Noah, who has Pierre Robin syndrome – an extremely rare condition that causes facial abnormalities, has raised thousands for Glasgow Children’s Hospital.
Last August, Noah achieved a major breakthrough by walking unassisted for the first time, inspired by a meeting with his idol, Spider-Man, during a film set visit in Glasgow.
View 13 ImagesConnor Elliot
The aspiring young footballer who lost his leg to cancer, has battled back to health and is now a rising star playing for Scotland’s amputee team.
At 15 Connor was diagnosed with and had to make the agonising choice between an operation that would save his leg, but prevent him playing football, or amputation – he made the call to amputate.
He is now fulfilling his sporting dreams, competing in the Champions League with Cork City and winning caps for Scotland while competing in the Euros in June 2024.
View 13 ImagesRebecca Young
The big-hearted schoolgirl Rebecca landed on the cover of Time Magazine after inventing a solar-powered heated blanket to help the homeless.
When she was just 11, moved by the sight of rough sleepers in Glasgow in sub-zero temperatures, Rebecca designed a portable, eco-friendly solution at her school engineering club.
An engineering firm turned Rebecca’s idea into a working prototype, with 35 units given to Homeless Project Scotland to use in Glasgow, with 120 more in the pipeline.
View 13 ImagesTracey Howe
The retired professor walked 5,000 miles around the coast of Britain in memory of her wife, raising more than £70,000 for charity.
Tracey’s wife Angela died of blood cancer in 2023, aged 58. Determined to find a way to not only deal with her grief after 37 years together, but also create something positive out of tragedy, she began Tracey’s Trek.
The year-long expedition saw her walking an average of 17 miles a day, taking more than 11 million steps, through all weathers and terrain and sleeping each night in a van she named Priscilla.
View 13 ImagesMitchell Rowan
The printer was on a pub crawl with his friends when he jumped onto railway tracks to pull a man to safety, seconds before the train arrived.
The group were waiting for a train at Glasgow’s Kelvinhall Station, when they spotted a man fall onto the tracks and knock himself unconscious.
Mitchell jumped down and lifted the man back onto the platform with the help of his pals. Once the emergency services arrived, they continued with their pub crawl around the city.
View 13 ImagesConnie Hutton
The inspirational mum has broken world records and raised more than £5 million through her own charity after losing all four limbs to sepsis.
In 2014 she set up Finding Your Feet, which helps more than 2,000 amputees in Scotland, running 140 clubs a month.
Corinne, who in 2019 became the first Scot to receive a double hand transplant, has set world records including becoming the first female quadruple amputee to reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro and Ben Nevis.
View 13 ImagesJamie, 32, Ewan, 34 & Lachlan, 28,
The brothers broke the world record for rowing non-stop and unsupported across the Pacific, raising £1 million for clean water projects.
The trio spent almost 140 days at sea, covering 9,750 miles from Peru to Australia in their carbon fibre boat, called Rose Emily, in memory of their sister who died in 1996, six-and-a- half months into their mother’s pregnancy.
Apart from the gruelling physical challenge, the brothers faced violent tropical storms, and at one point Lachlan was swept overboard by a giant wave and had to be rescued by his siblings.
View 13 ImagesMusa Musa
The young asylum seeker from Sudan has overcome huge obstacles to make a new life in Scotland, where he devotes his time as a volunteer to help others.
Musa was 17 when he made the difficult decision to leave his home and family to escape the unrest and ended up in Glasgow alone and depressed.
He joined The King’s Trust Explore programme who helped him secure a job with a construction and landscaping company. He now spends his spare time volunteering with charitable projects.
View 13 ImagesJack Blaik
Jack and his late wife Nancy helped create Scotland’s children’s hospices after their son Daniel was left profoundly disabled by the rare condition Leigh’s Encephalopathy. With no hospice care available in Scotland, the family had to travel to Yorkshire for support.
Determined to help others, they joined a campaign that became CHAS in 1992, raising millions to open Rachel House in Kinross in 1996. Robin House in Balloch followed in 2005, with a Daily Record appeal raising £4 million.
Nancy died last year aged 88 but Jack continues their life’s work.
View 13 ImagesPC Alana Whitby, DC Ashleigh Bosch, DS Isla Craigie & Inspector Becky Lister
The four police negotiators helped save a nine-week-old baby after a knifeman barricaded himself inside an Edinburgh flat and threatened to kill her.
After four tense hours, the officers persuaded the 47-year-old man, who was hurling bottles and chairs and claimed he had a gun and crossbow, to release the infant safely.
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The situation was especially critical as the baby urgently needed medication which they managed to administer with minutes to spare.
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