The Pride of Britain audience was captivated by best friends Hughie Higginson and Freddie Xavi, who together have raised more than £220,000 for the Manchester Children’s Hospital.
The incredible feat began after Hughie, ten, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia last September and began three years of treatment at the hospital.
To say thank you he signed up for the hospital’s charity’s fundraising walk, but on the day was too ill to take part, so pal Freddie, 11, devised his own fundraising challenge, running 2km every day in the 50 days before Christmas.
The two boys, both from Manchester, were joined on stage by Good Morning Britain’s Ben Shephard and Susanna Reid, who asked Freddie if it was hard to keep going with his running challenge.
“I knew that Hughie was going through a harder time. What I was doing was nowhere near as hard,” he replied.
“The bond between us is unbreakable, we’ll be friends forever,” said Hughie.
The pair shared another unforgettable moment when Ben, knowing how Hughie loves singing and is a fan of YouTube star KSI, asked the youngster to sing one of his songs in front of Simon Cowell and Alesha Dixon.
As he started singing, KSI himself sneaked up behind and surprised him.
“I just want to say how proud I am of both of you. You are both strong-minded, strong willed and all you have been through, it’s so inspiring,” said SKI, who was joined by his own pal, Olympian Mo Farah, to hand over the award.
Speaking after leaving the stage, the excited boys - who KSI had just invited to play a game of FIFA with him - said they would be taking their Pride of Britain award into school on Monday.
Hughie said: “It amazing, it’s an honour to even be here never mind to get the award, it’s so good.”
Mo said: “It’s incredible to see how much running, the courage and the commitment they have at that age. To do it for one of his best friends, theres no words to really describe it. I’m just so proud of them.”
