Television star Carol Vorderman has thanked the public for supporting her throughout a 44-year broadcasting career after receiving one of Welsh television's highest honours.
The presenter, who grew up in Prestatyn and attended schools in Rhyl before studying engineering at Cambridge University, was awarded the BAFTA Cymru Siân Phillips Award for Outstanding Contribution to Television at a ceremony in Newport on Sunday.
The accolade recognises her pioneering career in broadcasting and is one of BAFTA Cymru's most prestigious awards.
Vorderman was accompanied on the red carpet by her son, Cameron King, who made a rare public appearance alongside his mother as she collected the award.
Speaking after the ceremony, the former Countdown star paid tribute to the viewers and supporters she has met throughout her career.
In a message shared on social media, she wrote: "Thank YOU, all of you.
"I've seen a lot over my 44 years on the telly box, and in spite of fashions coming and going somehow I'm still there.
"But the thing, above all things, which has made my life as wonderful as it is, has been that every single day of it, at least one person has come up for a chat to say hello with a story about them... or their Nan watching Countdown... or their children learning maths with me through lockdown and are now a year ahead at school... or about politics... or fighting for women's rights."
She added: "Every single time I think how privileged I am, and have been, to have that in my life.
"So this one is for all of those tens and tens and tens of thousands of people who've said hello over the years."
The 65-year-old said she had been "floating since Sunday" and was "more determined than ever to fight the good fight".
During her acceptance speech, Vorderman reflected on growing up in North Wales and recalled a former maths teacher who inspired her interest in activism.
She told the audience she remembered a time when Welsh road signs were not bilingual and joked that her teacher would occasionally miss lessons after being summoned before magistrates for painting over road signs in protest.
Raised in Prestatyn from infancy, Vorderman attended Ysgol Mair and Blessed Edward Jones Catholic High School in Rhyl before winning a place at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, aged just 17.
Her television career began with Countdown in 1982 and she has since become one of the most recognisable figures on British television, while also championing maths education and STEM subjects.
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