Last updated at 16:32, Wednesday, 24 October 2012

TOP comedian David Walliams surprised an Ulverston girl by personally presenting her with a Pride of Britain award.

The Little Britain star posed as a penguin keeper at London Zoo, where inspirational teen Alice Pyne was spending time with her family.

The 16-year-old spotted Mr Walliams feeding penguins and said afterwards that meeting her hero left her “totally speechless”.

Mr Walliams presented her with a Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Award and invited her to the star-studded award show.

The pair later took to Twitter to continue their conversation, where Mr Walliams posted pictures of the two of them, as well as a penguin that reportedly bit him.

Alice told the star: “I was so surprised. It was lovely to meet you.”

According to the Daily Mirror, Walliams told her she was “incredibly brave” and said everyone was “amazingly proud” of her.

Posting on her personal blog, Alice said she was honoured to win the award and looking forward to the ceremony.

She added: “To be honest, I have worried about it because I just don't think that I'm like the other winners that they've had.

“So I'm a bit nervous about it and worried about what people will think, but really excited too.”

Despite being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma four years ago, Alice has campaigned tirelessly, encouraging people to donate bone marrow and recently founded her own charity, Alice’s Escapes.

Her work has earned her national media coverage and she was named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list this year.

She was presented with the British Empire Medal, as was her sister Millie, for services to charity.

Alice has said she hopes to be able to buy a static caravan soon for the charity, which provides short breaks to seriously ill children and their families.

Her mother, Vicky, recently returned from Africa where a group of volunteers climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for Alice’s Escapes.

Alice recently completed all the “doable” things on her well-publicised bucket list but is still pushing to get more people to sign the bone marrow register.

First published at 16:26, Wednesday, 24 October 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk