This Morning viewers branded Harry a “legend” after becoming the oldest wing-walker.
Appearing on the latest episode of ITV’s This Morning, 98-year-old Harry Heasman left presenters Sian Welby and Craig Doyle, as well as viewers at home, impressed with his astonishing bravery.
Just days before his 99th birthday, Harry took to the skies on Saturday (May 23) above the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, Cambridgeshire, while standing on a 1940s biplane to raise money for children with cancer.
Harry remained in the air for roughly six minutes, climbing to an altitude of 1,000 metres. But the new Guinness World Record holder admitted he couldn’t walk up the stairs a year ago.
Emphasising how big a deal wing-walking is, presenter Craig said: “Let’s bear in mind that a year ago you couldn’t walk up stairs, now you have the power and the core in order to do that.”
View 3 ImagesHarry and Reefa appeared on the ITV show(Image: ITV)
Harry, who was sitting alongside his physiotherapist, Reef, said: “Reef, with his exercises, has done it and the other people. There are other people behind it.”
Fans of This Morning shared their thoughts on Harry on X (formerly Twitter). One viewer said, “Harry is quite possibly the greatest guest they’ve ever had on this show. Thank you and God bless, sir!”
Another said: “What a lovely soul, Harry is, bless him.” A third added: “Raising money for kids who have cancer, well done Harry, total legend.”
As of Sunday, more than £3,700 had been donated to Lennox Children’s Cancer Fund, which helps families navigating the challenges of childhood cancer.
View 3 ImagesHarry raised money for charity(Image: ITV)
For Harry, the charity’s work is especially meaningful. He was widowed in 2013 after losing his wife of 60 years to cancer, and decades earlier, in 1982, his 32-year-old stepson died from testicular cancer.
He said: “When you see old people, you think, well, they’ve had a life. But when young people die for no reason, there are children, babies being born with this terrible thing. They need all the help they can get.”
Care home manager Karolyn Sisto previously told news outlets: “We did everything we could to support Harry to do this in a safe kind of way.
“Every day we’ve been focusing on his nutrition, his fluid intake. I’ve been taking his blood pressure every day. We’ve been encouraging him to go up and down the stairs, which is something he couldn’t do a year ago.”
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This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1.