First ‘This Morning Lifetime Achievement Award’ winner revealed

Surprise! Surprise! it’s Jamie here…

Today on This Morning, Jamie Oliver surprised Colleen Green from Walsall’s Beacon Primary School in Willenhall, live on the show with the inaugural ‘This Morning Lifetime Achievement Award’ as part of this year’s Jamie Oliver’s Good School Food Awards.

Nominated for her extraordinary dedication of nearly three decades to changing children’s lives at Beacon Primary School, Colleen who was once a pupil at the school, first began her career as a school dinner lady in 1999 and she is now the Assistant Headteacher.

Speaking about the awards, Jamie Oliver said: “I couldn’t have done it without you… Thank you to the show [This Morning].”

“We reached out to your viewers to nominate people who do exceptional things in schools, school food educators, headteachers, people doing sports and nutrition, and of course, the cook.”

Jamie spoke about the This Morning Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Colleen: “This is someone who has just done a great job for one or two years, this is an amazing woman that not only went to this school as a child but has done decades working there.”

“She has had job progression and always used food to teach the syllabus, science, history, geography, so she just knows… She’s not just feeding them in the tummy, she’s feeding them in the mind.”

Ben and Cat then sent Jamie off the sofa to go and surprise an unsuspecting Colleen who was waiting just outside the studio. Colleen became instantly emotional as Jamie sat in front of her and told her she won the award.

Colleen responded: “Oh my god, oh dear me!” Jamie said: “Everyone, your school, the parents, all your colleagues, we’re so proud of you. What you’re doing is amazing, inspiring the next generation through food.”

Jamie and Colleen then entered the studio to join Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley on the sofa when Cat asked how it felt to be recognised for her career, to which Colleen responded: “Surreal.”

Talking about the importance of teaching children in schools about food and nutrition, Colleen said: “I think it’s a life skill. If they can feed themselves, the world’s their oyster. They can travel the world with their taste buds.”

Also joining the sofa was Beacon Primary School’s headteacher, Claire who described Colleen as ‘amazing’: “If I could choose to work with anybody, I’d always choose to work with Colleen.”

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