Amanda Byram has revealed the best gift she ever received – a school bag from when she was a kid.
The Total Wipeout presenter was sent the gift by her parents on her 40th birthday, and immediately “a wave of emotion” washed over her.
She said: “On the morning of my 40th birthday last year, my parents rang me and, after singing Happy Birthday, as they do every year without fail, told me to expect a fragile package.
Birthday: Amanda celebrates 40th in Dublin | VIPIRELAND.COM
“It arrived later that day and turned out to be a significant chunk of my childhood: my first leather school satchel. I instantly recognised it, strangely, because it had been more than 30 years since I had last seen it.
“My name was still on the inside where my dad had written it all those years ago. A wave of emotion washed over me. I felt five again and a flood of tears followed.
“It made me realise that I once held this as a little girl with so much to learn, and I was now a grown woman having had the most amazing life. It’s the best gift I had ever received.”
Helped: Amanda says Mark Cagney made her TV presenter she is today | VIPIRELAND.COM
Meanwhile Amanda has admitted that she wouldn’t be the TV presenter she is today without Ireland AM.
“Mark Cagney and I were the very first hosts and it was the first year of my television career. I learnt everything on that show about live TV,” she told the Sunday Times.
“I made all my mistakes and became the presenter that I am today because of it. I owe TV3 that, and am forever grateful for that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“When I was working there, I used to drink coffee and eat Special K with berries all morning.”