Tigers fan Marcus Skeet has been honoured with a Special Recognition award
A teenager known to millions as The Hull Boy has been honoured at the Pride of Britain Awards. Marcus Skeet, who is a huge fan of Hull City FC, was recognised with a Special Recognition title at the prestigious event, held on Monday night and being televised on ITV1 on Thursday, October 23.
Pride of Britain honours and celebrates the nation’s unsung heroes. Stars of stage, screen, sport and royalty join in with their own tributes to the award winners and at this 26th annual ceremony, Marcus, 17, is one of them.
Marcus has had his own much publicised battles with mental health and in June of this year, he succeeded in becoming the youngest person to run the entire length of Britain, in aid of charity Mind. The teenager, who lives near Malton, in North Yorkshire, raised more than £160,000 from the challenge that tested his mind and body to the limit, while he documented it all on social media.
At one stage of the journey, Sir Mo Farah messaged Marcus to tell him “anything is possible” and to “keep going champ”. The Hull City vlogger put out a post about his Pride of Britain win, saying: “Truly the best night of my life, getting to meet some incredible people and hear many inspirational stories.
“Alongside a few magical moments that I’ll share later on. There’s so many people who deserve a thank you including yourselves who have made this possible but no amount of words could express how grateful I am to win this.
“Although none of us do this for an award, I’m humbled by the support and love. 2 years ago I attempted not to be here anymore, 2 years later last night [Monday] happened.
“Everyone’s tunnel is different, some peoples are long dark and have speed bumps but every tunnel ends at some point and that shows no matter how long or what we are going through it will get better and I mean that.” He ended the post with the details of the show and the words: “Mental health matters.”
Marcus was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, depression, anxiety and intrusive thoughts. In an effort to boost his mental health, he began walking short distances before building up his distance and speed.
He set out on his Lands End to John O’Groats run on April 1, exactly a year since he began a mile-a-day-challenge. The Special Recognition award was presented to Marcus by singer Anne-Marie, who is an ambassador for Mind, and TV personalities Pete Wicks and Sam Thompson.
Marcus told his thousands of followers he “doesn’t often get star struck” but he was “shaking a bit” when he was on stage with Anne-Marie. He said his mum had been “in her element” that they were seated at a table with Strictly Come Dancing cast members.
Mind raised £50,000 at the awards night and Marcus heard there running and walking groups across the UK called Marcus’ Movers to help people’s mental health. The teenager’s next bid will be to complete the 2026 London Marathon.