Latest Wishes - Matthew’s 'express' wish to meet his comedy heroes

Recently-decorated Geordie TV presenters Ant & Dec put a smile on 17 year old Matthew’s face when he took the train to meet them in London...

Matthew is from Bradford and lives with Joubert Syndrome, a rare inherited disorder of the brain. Symptoms of the disease vary, but in Matthew’s case it means that he cannot stand or walk unaided and so is confined to a wheelchair.

His wish was two-fold; as a dedicated fan both of travelling by train and of Ant & Dec’s TV programmes, he wanted to take the train from Yorkshire down to London and meet the duo, recent winners of their first BAFTA award for ‘I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here’.

Although Matthew loves train travel, he has occasionally been disappointed to find himself with a restricted view due to being in his wheelchair, so we arranged for him to have some special assistance at Bradford’s Interchange station to ensure that this did not happen.

After arriving in London, there was time for a quick ‘flight’ on the London Eye for Matthew and his parents before they returned to their posh hotel to await the next morning and the day that Matthew was really looking forward to.

Next day, the family was picked up and driven to Fountain Studios to watch a dress rehearsal of hit show ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ and Matthew’s dream of meeting Ant & Dec was finally realised. The wisecracking duo were on top form, making Matthew and his family feel welcome and happily posing for photos. Matthew was on top of the world and thoroughly enjoyed both seeing the show and meeting the presenters.

Did we mention that Matthew’s also a big fan of curries? His big day was topped off with a visit to a fantastic Indian restaurant – and there was still the next day’s train-trip back North to look forward to.....

Mum Angela told us: "Matthew was so over the moon and is still talking about it now. The whole world knows about him meeting Ant and Dec – they made his day! Thank you, Make-A-Wish."

In 2010, around 1,000 children will turn to Make-A-Wish to have their special wish granted. We need to raise £5 million this year in order to continue granting these magical wishes. Please help us to grant more magical wishes by making a donation today