Worksop: A memorable night with the stars to celebrate Sarah

TV star Dawn Porter organised her Best Friends Ball at the Shephard’s Bush Hall in aid of Breast Cancer Awareness.

And the main guests were six girls from Worksop who had featured in one of Miss Porter’s documentaries on Sky.

The local women, Sarah Rose, Katie Thackery, Lindsey Cheetham, Wanda Dawson, Louise McHugh and Nina Majewski, all came to Miss Porter’s attention for the way they had supported and helped the family of Sarah Galley-Stedmans and been with her througout until her death last Christmas aged 41.

The togetherness of the best friends had stayed with Miss Porter, who kept in touch with the Worksop girls, and had no hesitation in inviting them down to guests of honour in London.

“It was unreal, from the minute we got to the hotel to the fact that Dawn had arranged for us to have champagne in our rooms, it was just amazing,” said Sarah Rose.

“We had a big picture of Sarah with us too, so she was there with us in spirit and it was all such a tribute to her and the bravery of her and her family.”

“But it was also about us too. The event was to raise awareness of breast cancer but it was also about the best friends too and we were the best friends in question.”

“Dawn got us up on stage at the start of the night and we then enjoyed all the performers like Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Melanie C and we were stood next to Sophie’s mum Janet Ellis, the former Blue Peter presenter throughout the show and she was saying how she would be so proud to have us as friends.”

“Both Mel C and Sophie Ellis-Bextor asked to have us brought to them backstage to meet them and when you’re just ordinary girls from a little town just looking after your friend, you don’t think of things like this.”

“But the thing was, we felt on a par with the celebrities there, it seems strange to say it, but we thought we’d be out of our depth, but we weren’t.”

“While we were there, we were featured on Hello magazine’s TV channel and that was all about Sarah and that was quite emotional becauseas a group, we’re all so different as individuals but we’re all best friends and all together through Sarah.”

“The end of the night was probably the most memorable bit, thanks to Chris O’Dowd, who was trying to get us a taxi and wouoldn’t let us leave until we were all together,” added Katie.

“We were all kept getting separated, one was in the building, one was in the kebab shop, things like that.”

“So it ended up with Chris running up and down the street trying to round us up. I think he even dived into the kebab shop at one point to fetch Wanda, it was hilarious and we just thought at the end, what a night.”