The Pride of Britain Awards will always hold a special place in Christine and Frank Lampard's hearts. It was here, in 2009, that they first met – and on Monday they returned to the place that they fell in love, to celebrate some of the nation's most courageous individuals. The happy couple hit the red carpet at London's Grosvenor House, with former footballer Frank revealing to the Mirror: "It's where Christine bagged me! We've been back a few times since, when we can, and it's always an emotional night and it's special for us, obviously."
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TV presenter Christine, who looked striking in a black gown by Isabel Sanchis, featuring a heavily-embellished peplum design, said she was expecting tears as a result of all the "incredible stories" and admitted that she always came away from the event "wanting to be a better person".
Christine and Frank Lampard pose on the red carpet at the 2017 Pride of Britain Awards
Christine, 38, and Frank, 39, tied the knot in December 2015; through her marriage Christine is a stepmother to two little girls, Luna and Isla. She has previously spoken about her first meeting with the former Chelsea star at the Pride of Britain Awards. "There was an awkward introduction at the party afterwards," she said. "Frank came over and said, 'I watch you on The One Show'. And I said, 'No you don't! Who was my guest last night?' And he was able to tell me.
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The couple pictured on their wedding day in December 2015
"I just laughed and we both giggled about it. And then that was it. He somehow got my number and I had a withheld number call on my phone on the way home. I picked up and it was him. I said, 'Wow, you're keen!' as a bit of a joke, and we chatted and he said he enjoyed meeting me and would like to stay in touch. It was very relaxed. And then he went away with England the next day so I didn't see him for a couple of weeks. But we spoke on the phone every single night while he was away and one night we spoke for four hours.
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"So by the time we met again which was a couple of weeks later, we'd done all the awkward chats. I knew straight away it could be serious because I knew we could be mates and he made me laugh and we laughed a lot on the phone."