A squad like no other...

In what was a challenging 2020, we were honoured to bring together 23 heroes who had saved lives, inspired communities or made a difference for others.

We wanted to recognise 23 individuals who have gone above and beyond during the COVID-19 crisis to celebrate their efforts and thank them for everything they've done.

An England team like no other. Meet our Lionhearts squad.

1. Captain Sir Tom Moore

Inspirational Captain Sir Tom Moore visited at home by England legend David Beckham

Inspirational Captain Sir Tom Moore visited at home by England legend David Beckham

Captain Sir Tom Moore is the first member of our Lionhearts squad and its captain. The 100-year-old captured hearts during the COVID-19 pandemic, raising more than £32m for NHS Charities Together by walking laps of his garden after initially setting a target of £1,000.

2. Ranjit Singh

The wrestling coach from Wolverhampton helped organise daily meals for 300 people and the distribution of PPE equipment. Ranjit worked with the Cannock Road Gurdwara in Wolverhampton to help serve daily food to around 300 members of the local community including vulnerable and homeless people.

3. Daisy Briggs

Three year old Daisy was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus when her parents were told she was unlikely to walk, has raised almost £25,000 for NHS Charities Together this year. Daisy used her walking frame to walk 25 meters a day wearing a different colour of the rainbow to raise the money.

4. Jack Littlejohns

The disability football volunteer kept his club and community spirit going during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a player with learning difficulties himself, Jack is part of the Barnstaple Ability FC, which caters for people that have either a disability or mental health issues.

5. Betty-Leigh Allinson

Five-year-old football shirt enthusiast who has raised over £32,000 for a Hertfordshire hospice through a cycling feat. It all started when a dream trip to Disneyland Paris which she was saving up for with her grandparents was cancelled during the COVID-19 lockdown.

6. Harmonie-Rose Allen

Harmonie-Rose was just ten months old when she suffered from Meningococcal septicaemia, which saw her have both legs and arms amputated in order to save her life. The six year old from Bath was given shirt number six, following her charity work in 2020 which saw her raise almost £75,000 for Meningitis Now.

7. Imogen Papworth-Heidel

The young footballer embarked on a mission to do a keepie-uppie for every keyworker in the UK and raised over £10,000 for nine charities in the process. It all started when a dream trip to Disneyland Paris which she was saving up for with her grandparents was cancelled during the COVID-19 lockdown.

8. Mehdi Taheri

The Plymouth-based chef and restauranteur proved heroic to hundreds of people during the COVID-19 lockdown, delivering food to the local community and key workers. His restaurant Fuel Catering helped to feed frontline workers and members of the local community in Plymouth throughout 2020.

9. 'Captain' Tobias Weller

The nine-year-old from Sheffield has cerebral palsy and autism, which means he cannot stand or walk unaided, but had been planning on completing a sponsored 1km walk in his local park in May 2020. He was inspired by Captain Sir Tom Moore to raise almost £150,000 for Sheffield-based charities.

10. Joe Wicks

The YouTube fitness coach led the nation and beyond through a daily exercise class for 18 weeks during lockdown. He amassed over 80m views across the 18 weeks in which the show ran, with people and families across the UK and around the world tuning in on a daily basis.

11. Dr. Meenal Viz & Dr. Nishant Joshi

The NHS couple campaigned for better PPE across England. Both Dr Viz and Dr Joshi were treating patients suffering from COVID-19 but filed for judicial review in the High Court after noticing a mismatch between the UK government guidance on PPE and the World Heath Organisation’s.

12. Nana Badu

Nana Badu was left shocked and surprised when former England, Arsenal and Spurs star Sol Campbell welcomed him into the Lionhearts squad. His organisation, BADU Sports, provided a helpline, food bank and deliveries to vulnerable members of the local community in Hackney.

13. Dr. Sadif Rafiq

The Cheshire-based GP suffered twice from COVID-19 but continued to tirelessly support her patients. The Wilmslow doctor has been recognised for her tireless efforts to treat patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and twice recovering from the virus herself.

14. Kian Cormier

Kian, 15, who is also autistic and has Asperger’s, produced visors and face shields with his 3D printer at home, for people in his local community in Surrey. He set up a GoFundMe page to help raise funds for the materials needed and any spare money was donated to local care homes and NHS Charities.

15. Hassan Akkad

The award-winning film maker answered a call to be a cleaner in his local hospital before raising awareness of NHS bereavement fund. Hassan sent out a video via social media in which the reaction led to a Government u-turn on the NHS bereavement scheme policy.

16. Akbar Khan

As chairman of the Bradford PHAB Club, part of a national charity for people with physical disabilities and their families, Akbar has been a vital pillar for members of the community both before and throughout the COVID-19 spell. He's helped organise food parcel deliveries to members of the club during lockdown.

17. Ayesha Pakravan-Ovey

Ayesha’s story began during the first COVID-19 lockdown, when all of the bookings for her catering business The Plattery were cancelled. The chef set up Vital Meals during lockdown and went on to provide over 15,000 free meals to people in London.

18. Dema Aktaa

Originally from Syria, where she was the victim of a bomb attack in her home village of Salqin back in 2012 which caused her to lose a leg, Dema arrived in the UK in 2017. Dema helped to raise over £70,000 for the Help Refugees campaign during the COVID-19 lockdown.

19. Tony Hudgell

The heroic five year old, who suffered a double amputation of both his legs in 2017, has raised over £1.6m for the Evelina Hospital. Tony was inspired after seeing Captain Sir Tom Moore’s achievements and decided he would practise walking on them each day throughout June.

20. Ian Alcorn

Nottinghamshire-based Ian started off by camping out in the garden with his children, 13-year-old Lola and eight-year-old William, in March and inviting his friends and neighbours to join in and donate £2 to the NHS. The camp-out-to-help-out scheme has now received over £210,000 in donations.

21. Emdad Rahman

After working as a volunteer for most of his life since he was aged just ten, Emdad set up his Bookbike London scheme at the start of this year which saw him cycling around the capital to deliver books to people who might not have had access otherwise.

22. Daniel Sukula

Community leader from Bolton who, after being saved from deportation back to DR Congo, founded a centre for disadvantaged youths. He set up the Be The Best community company to help youngsters in Bolton fulfil their potential, in spite of any barriers they might face within their lives.

23. Jay Flynn

The Lancashire native initially started his online quiz for friends and family back in March, shortly after the COVID-19 lockdown began. The virtual quizmaster helped raise money for multiple charities and entered the Guinness Book of Records during lockdown.