Pride of Britain - behind the scenes
It’s a night of glitz and glamour, where celebrities rub shoulders on the red carpet with people who make a real difference in their communities. The 14th annual Pride of Britain Awards were held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London last night. But while tonight's ITV programme will look polished and effortless, a huge amount goes into making the show a success. So here we tell you how it's really done.
The Pride of Britain is made up of 17 awards, with one in particular being important to each ITV region - The Local Hero Award. Viewers of ITV’s regional news programmes each have a winner, that winner is invited to London to attend the awards show in the hope of becoming the winner of the Local Hero Award at the Pride of Britain awards. The hopefuls include John Burkhill, the Calendar nominee. John is a fundraiser from Sheffield who has raised over £160,000 by running a staggering 800 charity races including 22 London marathons.
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**Timeline of events:
1300: The Local Hero nominees’ day of five star treatment starts with a plush lunch meeting at the Cumberland Hotel in central London. The regional winners are briefed on the night ahead by the ITV team, and reminded they’re the most important people of the night. The finalists then have the next few hours to iron their shirts and polish their shoes in preparation to walk the famous red carpet.
16:15 – The red carpet is rolled out, signaling the start of what promises to be a glamorous night. Within the next hour, stars of stage and screen will walk down it while fans and paparazzi shout their name. The regional stars will be rubbing shoulders with big names such as X Factor Judge Tulisa, Louis Spence and the stars of Downtown Abbey.
17:00 – Heather Small prepares for a royal performance, as she will be singing in front of Prince Charles later in the evening. Her sound check enables her to make sure that her song ‘Proud’ is pitch perfect and ready for the royal stamp of approval.
17:30 – The venue comes alive once the stars start to arrive. Camera bulbs flash and television crews fight for interviews with the nation’s top celebrities. This year it includes X Factor Star and Grimsby’s own Ella Henderson, Nicola Scherzinger, Holly Willoughby, Dermot O’Leary, and local Olympians Nicola Adams and Rebecca Adlington. The list is endless, as celebrities turn out to honour the normally unrecognised people who make a difference.
18:45 – The stars are seated and tuck in to their five star meal, the room comes alive with the sounds of wine glasses toasting, and conversation between the stars of Strictly Come Dancing, Loose Women and some of the nation’s Olympians. While the A-List guests enjoy their meal the press room is being set up to accommodate journalists from the Daily Mirror, Daybreak, ITV Regions and ITN News.
2015 – 2315 The recording is in session. After a speech from Adam Crozier the chief executive of ITV, Carol Vorderman hosts the event - something which she has done since the programme first aired in 1999, then held at The Dorchester Hotel. Once the winners are announced they come into the press room to be interview by the news crews, including this year's winner of the Daybreak Emergency Service award, presented by the cast of ITV1’s Downtown Abbey.
2330 –The winners of the ITV Local hero award are interviewed. This category was judged by Spice Girl Emma Bunton and medal winner Dame Kelly Holmes.
0100 – The night's A-Listers, winners and nominees head to the after show party where they dance the night away and sip champagne celebrating the Pride of Britain. Behind the scenes, the news team head to the London studios to send the recorded interviews around the country whilst the hotel team clear the tables of purple orchid table displays.
Enjoy the show!