Harpenden teenager joins celebrities for Great Ormond Street carol concert

Teenager Henry Parrot joined celebrities and gave a reading at a special Christmas carol concert in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Henry, 15, from Harpenden, is a former patient of the children’s hospital where he underwent five operations, six MRI scans and five days in intensive care after developing a brain tumour at the age of nine.

Now fully recovered, he was asked to read at the 2013 concert and was invited back to give a reading again at this year’s concert in St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge.

Among the celebrity guests were Myleene Klass, Jeremy Paxman and actors Tom Cullen, Tamsin Egerton, Penelope Wilton and Sir John Standing.

Henry’s mum Jo Parrott said: “We are really proud of Henry; we were honoured to be invited and we’re thrilled that the money will go towards helping more families like ours.”

Members of staff from the hospital also gave readings and there were carols and live performances from the Choristers of Thomas’s Battersea, the London Fellowship Band and the Band of the Welsh Guards.

Seven hundred guests took part in the service which raised £229,000 for the charity’s Look Inside campaign that helps to fund the hospital’s imaging equipment.

Tim Johnson, chief executive of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, said: “We’re so grateful to Henry for helping to make the night so very special. The money raised will help us to make a huge difference to the young patients at Great Ormond Street Hospital.”