Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard shared some heartwarming news (Image: ITV)
The presenters of This Morning made a special announcement just minutes into the latest live broadcast, leaving viewers emotional. At the start of Tuesday’s (April 14) programme, Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard shared some “wonderful news” about nine-year-old child cancer campaigner Florrie Bark, who won the Child of Courage award at the 2024 Pride of Britain Awards.
At the age of five in 2022, Florrie was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, a rare and aggressive form of cancer. She subsequently underwent intensive chemotherapy and a life-saving bone-marrow transplant. This Morning favourite Florrie was later given the all-clear, but has since been on and off the waiting list for a lung transplant. Florrie’s father, Andrew, appeared on today’s programme to confirm that the youngster has now undergone a successful lung transplant.
“We have some wonderful news that we’ve all been waiting for,” Ben began, before introducing Andrew via a live link from Central London, reports the Daily Star.
Florrie Bark has had a lung transplant (Image: ITV)
Andrew then revealed: “We can share the great news. A couple of weeks ago, we got a phone call in the middle of the night to say that some lungs were ready and we needed to get ourselves to Great Ormond Street. Florrie had a successful lung transplant a couple of weeks ago. She’s doing fantastic. She’s blown our minds with how amazing she’s doing. Her optimism, the enthusiasm she’s put in towards everything – honestly, she’s doing incredible. It’s just the best.”
Speaking about the moment he discovered the news of the transplant, Andrew said: “I don’t think my heart stopped pounding really, everything was a bit of a mad rush. We went in to tell Florence, we had to wait a little bit because we knew we were going to be getting picked up a couple of hours later. So, we had a bit of time to get things ready before we needed to get to the hospital.
“We were a bit worried about maybe telling Florence and Freddie [her brother], it’s like a big thing. But Florence woke up with the biggest smile on her face, she was more worried about making sure she had a tiara to wear when she got to the ward… She was more than ready.”
Andrew then disclosed that “everything is going to plan for the first time ever”, with Florrie reaching all her recovery milestones. Just last week, she was already walking around the physiotherapy room and kicking a ball.
Florrie’s dad Andrew shared the heartwarming news (Image: ITV)
Andrew continued: “Her lungs are doing fantastically, but she now needs strength in the rest of her body because she’s not used to walking [or] doing much for the last couple of years… There’s a world where we could be out of hospital in a couple of weeks, which is crazy.”
Andrew also took a moment to honour the donor family whose generosity saved his daughter’s life, with the youngster eventually set to return to school after enduring years of hardship. This Morning viewers were quickly moved to tears, with one person posting on X (formerly Twitter): “We’re 2 minutes in and they’re already cutting onions in the kitchen. Florrie you absolute star!”
Another commented: “That’s great news,” while a third remarked: “Wonderful news to start the day for lovely little Florrie.” A fourth fan mirrored the sentiment, stating: “That little lass is a trooper, everything she’s gone and continues to go through and she always has a smile. Get well soon Florrie.”
