Sir Trevor McDonald joins the 6th Annual James Bulger Memorial Trust Black Tie & Tiara Ball

ITN newscaster and journalist, Sir Trevor McDonald made a special trip to Liverpool to support mum Denise.

The Crowne Plaza Liverpool played host to the 6th annual James Bulger Memorial Trust Black Tie & Tiara Ball last night as local celebs, stars of tv and music and special guest, Sir Trevor McDonald, joined over 200 people in celebrating what would have been James’ 28th birthday.

For the first time, the fundraiser was dedicated to James and dressed in their best tuxedos and ball gowns, supporters rose on a number of occasions to raise a toast to the beautiful little boy, cruelly taken from mum Denise, 25 years ago. The James Bulger Memorial Trust provides short breaks and holidays for bullied children and families dealing with bereavement as Denise continues to turns her heartbreak into a lasting legacy of good, for James.

Watch above as our Jay chats with Sir Trevor McDonald about working with Denise to tell her story and watch all of the highlights from the night below.

Our very own Jay Hynd and Claire Simmo hosted the sell-out bash and Reece Ryan rallied the crowd into raising £32,000 on the night, with an auction, raffle and spot prizes. Throwing their support behind the charity and performing on the night was 90’s boyband sensation, 911, X Factor star Amelia Lily, The Voice songstress Lydia Lucy and Liverpool’s very own crooner, Gary Barker.  

It’s been a busy few weeks for James’ mum, Denise as she launched her long-awaited book, ‘I Let Him Go’ which tells the heartbreaking story of a mother who said goodbye to a son, far too soon. Earlier this year Denise also worked with decorated journalist and documentary maker, Sir Trevor MacDonald on ITV programme, James Bulger: A Mother’s Story, an honest, frank account of how Denise has coped since James was abducted and murdered in 1993.

Following the documentary, a petition to open a public inquiry into James’ murder case has been granted as more than 200,000 people showed their support and signed on the dotted line.

Sir Trevor McDonald said: “We came to do a programme about the 25th anniversary of James Bulger’s death and we were royally received here and helped to accomplish what we wanted to do, so I thought it was a nice thing to come back and say thank you.”

There were a number of moving tributes to James throughout the evening with messages of support from the likes of The Kaiser Chiefs, Tony Hadley, the Hollyoaks cast and a brilliant performance from the guys and girls at MD Productions.

After tucking into a drinks receptions and three course meal, guests took to the dance floor as stunning vocalist and former The Voice contestant, Lydia Lucy, who travelled from Essex to support the charity, took to the stage, quickly followed by Gary Barker who debuted his brand new single ‘Roll With The Thunder’ (and continued his run of taking his shirt off), before 90’s boyband 911, who sold over 10 million singles and 6 million albums world wide, performed their classic hits which include ‘Bodyshakin’ ‘Private Number’ and their number one single ‘A Little Bit More’.

The evening was wrapped up by former X Factor star and Celeb Big Brother runner up, Amelia Lily, who won her place in the live shows after an audition right here in Liverpool. Amelia sang ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ by Michael Jackson and dedicated it to Denise before finishing the night with her single ‘You Bring Me Joy’.

You can add your support to the James Bulger Memorial Trust by checking out www.forjames.org or click here to see the official Facebook page of events and fundraising activities. The Guide Liverpool would like to congratulate Denise, Stuart and all the patrons, ambassadors and volunteers on staging yet another brilliant event. 

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