These local heroes will have classic cream phones boxes named in their honour.
The East Yorkshire-based broadband provider has been inundated with nominations from the public since it launched its campaign to find nine inspirational local heroes earlier this year. And now, after an intense judging process, the winners who will have their names added to nine of KCOM’s unique cream K6 kiosks have been named at an event at the company’s Hull HQ.
The winners are:
Robert Aramayo, BAFTA-winning Hull actor
Chelsey Dalee and Dawn Thompson, Co-founders of suicide support charity Mysterious Minds
Dean Hoggard, Life For A Kid Hull charity leader
Jo Kent, Humber Wellbeing Hub founder
“Mama” Catherine Lyon, legendary Hull nurse
Amy Owen, dedicated brain tumour charity fundraiser
Jess Park, Brough-raised England footballer
The Santa Squad, Young community volunteer quartet made up of Phoebe, Laurie, Ava and Thea
Jerry Thompson, Hull fishing heritage champion
KCOM CEO Richard Schäfer said: “We’ve been absolutely blown away by the response since we launched our Hometown Heroes campaign – so a massive thank you to everyone who took part.
“We’ve seen some fantastic nominations for so many people deserving of the title Hometown Hero, which shows what a great local community we have here in Hull and East Yorkshire – a community we’ve been proud to be part of for more than 120 years.
“It was an incredibly difficult task to whittle the nominations down to our final nine, but our judges have done a sterling job of choosing winners who represent the very best of our region.
“I couldn’t be prouder to add their names to nine of our classic K6 kiosks, making them part of our region’s rich history and heritage.
“2026 marks the 90th anniversary of our cream K6s and what better way of celebrating these symbols of local pride then dedicating nine of them to people who’ve helped inspire our local communities.”
The final nine winners were chosen by a judging panel of former Hull boxing champion Tommy Coyle, actor and charity campaigner Gemma Oaten, Pride of Britain award winner Marcus “The Hull Boy” Skeet, Emma Hardy MP and KCOM’s own veteran charity fundraiser Liz Carter.
A winning K6 will be unveiled each month between now and Christmas. The first kiosk is dedicated to Hull NHS nursing legend “Mama” Cath Lyon.
The kiosk dedicated to Cath, who’s spent more than 60 years of her life caring for patients at Hull Royal Infirmary before retiring at the age of 80, can be seen near her home on Kingston Road, Willerby, outside Springhead Park Golf Club.
She said: “It’s absolutely wonderful. I can’t believe it to be honest. It’s lovely to think that so many people thought of nominating me. I’ve loved every minute of my time as a nurse in Hull and it’s lovely to think that people appreciate it too.”
For more details about Hometown Heroes, visit www.kcom.com/home/hometown-heroes