Today it seems almost unbelievable that in 2002, of the 1.6 odd million votes cast in the epic BBC quest to find our Greatest Briton of all time – not one could be given to a candidate of African descent. Sir Winston Churchill was voted as the Greatest Britain.
Delia’s guest Patrick Vernon OBE decided to do something. Just one year after he created the 100 Great Black Britons campaign which ultimately saw the coronation of Crimean nurse Mary Seacole as number one – and secured her rightful place in the history books and the National Curriculum.
Patrick Vernon literally revolutionized forever our role in British history by putting us in there for the first time. Now a new generation knows the name of Mary Seacole, announced as Greatest Black Briton of all time, live on Channel 4, thanks to him. He tells Delia why he’s preparing to do it all over again.
Patrick Vernon OBE
