A NURSE in Bury dubbed ‘The Angel of the North’ is to feature in both ITV’s Advent Calendar programme and TV star Dan Walker’s new book.

The accolades come as Leona Harris, who raised thousands to help patients during the pandemic, is herself recovering from a coronavirus diagnosis.

This is the latest instalment of a hugely impressive year for Mrs Harris, who works at Fairfield General, in which she captured the imagination of thousands.

Although she will now have to self-isolate with husband Nick, Mrs Harris is looking forward to getting back to work once it is safe to do so and says that helping patients has also been her number one priority.

She said: “I’ve had quite a surreal year. But I didn’t do it to get awards. I did it to help connect patients and their families. But then it went viral and it was just fantastic.”

Mrs Harris first came to attention with a campaign which raised thousands to buy iPads to allow Fairfield patients to speak to loved ones during lockdown.

Since then she has raised more than £70,000 and donated to more than 50 hospitals. She has been honoured several times, most recently by being featured in TV presenter Dan’s new book, Remarkable People.”

Mrs Harris, who has been a nurse since 1997, was also shortlisted for the Florence Nightingale Nurse of the Year Award.

Her task has not always been easy, especially since receiving her positive Covid-19 diagnosis last week.

She said: “I’ve missed three shifts this week and, because I work for an agency, I have not received any pay.

“I just think that’s really wrong. I’ve still got bills to pay and I can’t imagine what it would be like if I was a single mother with no support.”

Now Mrs Harris has begun a ‘Teddy for Christmas’ campaign.

She said: “There’s a lot of people out there who are going to be lonely this Christmas, so this is about raising awareness.”