Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Ed Sheeran and other music stars to thank key workers via BBC local radio

Ed Sheeran (BBC/PA)
Ed Sheeran (BBC/PA)

Ed Sheeran, Sir Rod Stewart and Duran Duran have joined with the BBC’s local radio stations to thank key workers on the front line of the pandemic.

The musicians will feature across the broadcaster’s 39 regional services during a special week of programming leading up to New Year’s Eve.

The BBC said each special will be “packed with Christmas spirit” and feature a selection of the artist’s best music.

Graham Norton Show – London
Sir Rod Stewart (Matt Crossick/PA)

Chart-topping singer Sheeran spoke to intensive care nurse Kirstie Hill, from Leicester, who works at Leicester Royal Infirmary and during both lockdowns supported colleagues and patients by giving them hugs while wearing full PPE.

“When you’re head to toe in PPE, you can have contact with your colleagues and patients and bring a bit of humanisation to it all,” she told the musician.

Asked what he learned during lockdown, Sheeran said: “We had a baby during lockdown and I spent my time reading books and preparing for being a father.

“I learnt carpentry and built a cot out of cherrywood and when Lyra was born it was about learning how to be a good dad.

“The thing about being a first-time dad is that no-one knows what they’re doing at the beginning.

“I spoke to my friend who is a dad and he likened being a parent to ducks on a pond – so calm on top, but underneath, the legs are frantic.”

Duran Duran (John Swannell/PA)

Practice nurse Dawn Varney, who works in a GP surgery in Sheffield, visited patients on Christmas day last year and Sheeran praised her efforts as “incredible”.

Ms Varney said: “I realised that some of my patients would be alone over Christmas.

“So I decided to collect presents and delivered them on Christmas morning.

“Some of them have no family and would have had no-one visiting, so I decided to make a small difference and visited them.”

Ms Varney also started a weekly singing group with some of her patients.

She asked Sheeran to play his guitar and sing with her on the track Lean On Me by Bill Withers, which became a favourite of the group.

Other key workers will put questions to veteran rocker Sir Rod and new wave band Duran Duran during the Christmas period.

Chris Burns, head of BBC Audio and Digital for England, said: “It’s been an extraordinary 18 months across local BBC Radio. This Christmas we hope to bring some joy to the nation’s ‘hero key workers’ for making a huge difference across England.

“We hope the star line-up across local BBC radio will go a long way in bringing joy and sparkle to the many who have helped their communities.”

The specials will air across Local BBC Radio at 9.00am from Monday December 27 to Friday December 31.