Shopkeeper who won Ant and Dec's 'place on the plane' bumps into Dec on flight from London

A Newcastle shopkeeper who won a place on the plane to Florida on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway has bumped into Declan Donnelly on another plane 17 months later.

Sheraz Awan, who owns Westerhope Convenience Store, was surprised by Fleur East live on the Saturday night show with a trip to Florida in March 2023. However, the kind-hearted dad-of-three sent his family to The States instead while he continued to help those in need.

A-year-and-a-half later, Sheraz finally met Dec in person in a chance encounter on a British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Newcastle. Sheraz had been on a business trip, and claims that Dec recognised him straight away, saying: "you're the guy with the free bread shop, aren't you?"

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Sheraz, who has owned the shop for more than 20 years, told ChronicleLive: "He's a very, very humble down-to-earth and lovely gentleman, I'm really happy he remembered us and our shop."

He hopes the Geordie duo will visit the shop in the not too distant future to take pictures with customers and sign autographs for their fans in Westerhope.

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After the appearance on Saturday Night Takeaway, a mural of Ant & Dec, Fleur East and Sheraz was painted on the shop's front doors. That, however, has been replaced it with stickers, as paint kept getting rubbed off the mural.

What hasn't changed is Sheraz's generosity in providing for the local community. Since the Coronavirus pandemic, the store has been giving out free loaves of bread, which are picked up from several cash and carries.

He estimates that the shop currently gives out around 2,000 free loaves of bread every week, as well as croissants, hot dog buns and other baked goods, which people "travel miles" for. And that number has increased after his appearance on Saturday Night Takeaway, and as the cost of living crisis has continued to worsen.

Sheraz finished: "I feel bad knowing that we've got a problem in this country, but I'm glad I can do something personally about it."