‘It was one of the most exciting, thrilling and surprising events of my life’
This is the moment an 11-year-old girl met Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash after raising £100k for charity. Kirsty Waugh won this year’s JustGiving Rising Star award and was rewarded by a surprise visit from the celebrity couple.
Heartwarming footage from the visit at her local hospital in Tunbridge Wells shows the schoolgirl’s jaw drop as the pair walked in holding her trophy on December 17. The winner has raised more than £100,000 for Children with Cancer UK as part of her Crochet for Cancer campaign – making bunting triangles for each of her 70 weeks of chemotherapy.
Kirsty has now made 52 triangles as she continues receiving treatment for her grade one benign brain tumour, following diagnosis in November 2024. Her dad Mat Waugh says his daughter and her two older sisters Isla and Doris were all thrilled with the win and the surprise star guests.
The 53-year-old said: “They said we want to surprise her, who would be the best person you could have, and I said its Stacey Solomon. There’s really only one person it could be.
“She is such a fan. When Kirsty’s eyesight came back in February she could watch TV again and at the time Sort Your Life Out was on and that was absolutely Kirsty’s favourite programme.
“She was glued to that programme and couldn’t get enough of Stacey Solomon. She just feels an affinity to her and looks up to her.
“She was flabbergasted. You could see from the look on her face that she couldn’t quite believe what was happening.
“Kirsty was speechless, it was brilliant.” Mat says that him and his wife Kate were told the news months before the surprise, and found it very hard to keep the secret under wraps.
The pair told Kirsty that her sisters were coming with them to get injections, and the camera crews were there to do a PR event for the hospital. Once the stars arrived, the dad-of-three says that they were both so kind, with Stacey doing some crafts alongside Kirsty.
Mat, who is a children’s author, added: “They are really genuine and warm and welcoming and they made Kirsty feel special. They brought along gifts for the nurses.
“Stacey brought along some jewellery and gave Kirsty a necklace. There were surprises on top of surprises.
“Really it is not about the things, it is about the connection that she made with Kirsty. They did some crafts together and it was a lovely moment.”
Kirsty added: “It was one of the most exciting, thrilling and surprising events of my life. Her energy and personality was so fun and it was so amazing for her to present me with my JustGiving award. And she smelled lovely as well!
“Joe was so much fun as well, just like on TV – but he stole one of my bunting triangles to show his children! The award shows me the difference I’ve made for children with conditions like mine and that you really can make a difference, even from something that started so small.”
Kirsty first noticed some symptoms around September last year when she begun having trouble with her eyesight which the opticians couldn’t fix using lenses. On November 15, Kirsty was rushed to hospital after she started vomiting in the mornings – and later that day her dad received the devastating news that she had a tumour on her brain.
Looking back on the moment, Mat said: “They took me into a side room to tell me that she had a brain tumour. It was a bombshell day.
“It is like something has flattened everything you know and believe in.” The schoolgirl has since had an operation to remove part of the tumour, and is undergoing weekly chemotherapy which will end in April.
This is not the first time she has met a celebrity, with an exciting visit from Davina McCall back in May – who battled cancer at the same time as Kirsty. Looking forward, Kirsty is hoping to meet Tom Daley next as she loves his show Game of Wool, and has received a message previously from the Olympian.
Pascale Harvie, president and general manager of JustGiving, said: “Kirsty is one of the youngest and most inspiring fundraisers we’ve ever celebrated. Her courage, creativity and determination to help other children are nothing short of remarkable.
“We are incredibly proud to recognise her as a 2025 JustGiving Awards winner.”
