Simon Cowell gave a heartfelt tribute to Pride of Britain creator Peter Willis at the awards on Monday.

He said of the late Mirror editor: “Peter had an idea 25 years, 26 years [ago] probably, to create what he called the People’s Awards Ceremony, and this was his passion… he cared.

“You never said no to Peter, by the way. When you got ‘the call’, it was ‘I’m coming’. And I always remember the years I would come, just before I’d get up if I was going to introduce someone, he would tell me about their story.

“He cared so passionately about the people who got the awards, and looking around today, Peter, this is still, in my opinion, the most important awards show of the year. As always, you meet the most incredible people because I always thought of this show as extraordinary people with extraordinary stories.”

Peter Willis inside the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards 2015 at the Grosvenor House Hotel London
The late Peter Willis created the Pride of Britain Awards ( 
Image:
Daily Mirror)

Speaking at the Central London ceremony, the talent show mogul told the audience: “You’re going to leave feeling humbled. Peter’s legacy lives on… a tribute to a man I had huge respect for.”

Later, during a break in filming, Carol Vorderman delivered her own tribute to her friend Peter, who died in 2021 aged 54. Carol, who has hosted Pride of Britain since the very first ceremony, said: “Peter and I are the only ones who were there from the very start. It is because of Peter that we were there. Without him, it would not have become what it is today.”