TV

This Morning fans in tears over binman’s friendship with 100-year-old grandmother

Fans were left 'in tears'

This Morning viewers were in tears over a binman’s friendship with a 100-year-old grandmother.

The pair’s close bond went viral after heartwarming footage showed Ben Bird surprising Dorothy ‘Mercy’ Ballard with a special birthday cake.

Appearing on the daytime show live from Dorothy’s home on Tuesday, the pair spoke about their unlikely friendship.

Dorothy and Ben spoke about their friendship (Credit: ITV)

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Dorothy said: “I didn’t know that he’s such a friendly lad. We just got talking and I just look forward to him coming, it’s so great really.”

Ben explained: “I’ve been doing Mercy’s bins for about eight years now and it just started with her opening the door and saying, ‘thank you.'”

Dorothy said: “We just talk about his family, he tells me about his little kids.”

Ben continued: “We stand and chat about Mercy’s life and I find it really interesting…”

But before he could finish his sentence, Dorothy jumped in and started speaking over him.

Ben said he’s been emptying Dorothy’s bins for eight years (Credit: ITV)

Host Eamonn Holmes joked: “And do you get a word in edgeways, Ben?”

Ben said: “She never lets me talk. This is like every Thursday morning. Is it my turn yet?” as he put his hand on Dorothy’s shoulder.

She replied: “Yeah go on then.”

Ben gushed: “She’s a very special lady. We just stand and talk and I love to listen to her. She’s 70 years older than me and we just have a chat.”

Speaking about the video of Ben giving Dorothy a birthday cake, which has been seen by over three million people online, Dorothy said: “I am just in a whirl.”

Ben gave Dorothy a birthday cake in a video that’s gone viral online (Credit: ITV)

Speaking to Ben, Dorothy said: “Thank you Ben for being so friendly to an old lady.”

Ben told her: “I look forward to next five to maybe 10 years, every Thursday morning, me and you having our chats. What do you reckon, 107, 108 [years old]?”

Dorothy replied: “Yeah.”

A small photo of the Queen could be seen behind Dorothy and Ben.

When asked about it, Dorothy said: “Oh yeah, I’ve had a telegram from the Queen. It came the other morning. I’m so bewildered and I can’t take it all in to be truthful.”

Eamonn and Ruth Langsford then surprised Ben with a gift.

Eamonn told him: “We don’t want to leave you out of this and we’ve got some really nice news. We hope your company acknowledge that you go above and beyond the call of duty.”

Ruth continued: “We thought you and your family could do with a little break somewhere nice, so thanks to Air Arabia, we’ve organised a trip for you and your family to Morocco.”

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Clearly shocked, Ben said: “Oh my God, that is amazing. Thank you very much.”

Dorothy was also over the moon, saying: “I’m confident about that. Oh I’m so pleased about that.”

Viewers were in tears watching Dorothy and Ben and shared their thoughts on Twitter.

Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think of this story.


Rebecca Carter
Associate Editor (News)

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