Youngster meets One Direction
6:27pm Monday 16th December 2013 in News
Youngster meets One Direction
Four members of the boy band One Direction (left to right) Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson with fan Charlotte Hedderley from Southend, at the children’s charity Rays of Sunshine showing of the bands film This is Us at Cineworld Wembley in London, as sick children get the chance to meet their heroes and win tickets for their concerts next year.
Young children who have had to battle cancer and other illnesses received the thrill of their lives when boy band One Direction dropped in on them while they were watching a movie about the pop stars.
The Rays of Sunshine Children’s Charity granted the wishes of dozens of children whose dream was to meet the world famous group.
The children and their families were provided transport to Wembley in London where they were watching One Direction’s This Is Us film before group members Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson interrupted by entering the cinema with torches.
The welcome intrusion set off screams of delight from the crowd.
The band’s fifth member, Zayn Malik, did not attend because he was ill.
But the audience was thrilled nonetheless, with the four who did attend treating the crowd to acoustic versions of some of their hit songs, including their most famous hit What Makes You Beautiful.
The boys also answered questions from the crowd in between performances.
“You can ask anything you like – passwords, credit cards, phone numbers,” Styles quipped.
But the questions from the young audience were a lot more innocent, ranging from asking what the artists’ favourite colours were to what they wanted for Christmas and whether they owned any pets.
A little boy from the crowd was even allowed to go up and take Malik’s empty seat after confessing he wanted to tour with the band.
Ellie Gabriel could barely contain her excitement when she spoke of her favourite moment.
“Harry hugged me,” she squealed.
Emily Simpson was unable to hold back tears when she spoke of how much the visit meant to her.
The youngster from Stockton-on-Tees suffered a stroke and made a wish to the charity to see the band.
“I like them all,” she said. “I got to hug all of them.”
Her mother Caroline Simpson said the charity’s support had helped the family cope with Emily’s medical dramas.
“It means the world to us,” she said. “We wouldn’t have done this for a start.
“We just appreciate everything they’ve done for us.”
The children were all given a signed One Direction shirt, a watch, and two tickets to their 2014 tour to remember the momentous occasion.
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