The Pride of Britain Awards

Meet Dame Elizabeth Anionwu, a trailblazer who turned a childhood marked by hardship and prejudice into a lifetime of compassion, transforming care for people with sickle cell disease.

Her early years were shaped by racism and the stigma of illegitimacy. Family shame led to her being placed in a home run by Catholic nuns. Yet it was there, at just four years old, that a nurse’s kindness in treating her eczema sparked her dream of becoming a nurse.