A nine-year-old girl who came up with a scheme to help grieving families across the country has been rewarded for her "heart of gold" on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. Matilda Handy came up with a heartfelt scheme after her nan died last year.
Matilda came up with the idea of making a "postbox to heaven" as a way to send letters to her grandparents after they died. It was a way to help express her feelings while she grieved.
The idea caught on and a postbox was installed at Gedling Crematorium, in Lambley, where her mum, Leanne, works. The scheme has become such a success that postboxes to heaven are being installed in crematoriums around the country.
READ MORE: Nottingham schoolgirl, 9, launches 'postbox to heaven' idea after death of grandparents
On tonight's episode of Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (March 4) the Geordie duo rewarded Matilda for her caring work during the show's place on the plane segment. The prize was a holiday to Universal Studios in Florida.
Announcing Matilda as a winner, Dec said: "We are coming to say hello to you... Matilda Handy. Hi Matilda."
The announcement left the young girl stunned. She was shown on TV in her living room surrounded by her celebrating family.
"Now, Matilda," Dec continued, "we know that when your nan sadly passed away you came up with the idea of putting a postbox to heaven in your local crematorium where anyone could send letters to their loved ones. Now your postboxes to heaven are being rolled out across the UK.
"You Matilda have a heart of gold. And you're getting a place on the plane."
The white postboxes are being installed at crematoriums around the country owned by the Westerleigh Group. When the news was first announced, Matilda's mum Leanne said: “There's going to be around 40 Westerleigh sites in England, Scotland and Wales that will have them.
"We can walk through our local town and people will stop us and say how beautiful it is. Matilda's teacher told everyone how amazing it is. We're certainly proud of her, it’s helped her. If it can help her it can help a lot of other people.
“To think this little idea, to actually be in 36 crematoriums across the country and helping thousands of families, we just never even imagined it."
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