Junior dragons got to meet their TV hero as a knight in shining armour marched into Wrexham.
CBeebies’ knight-in-training, Mike the Knight, shook hands and allowed excited youngsters to carry his shield as he posed for photographs as he spent a day as guest of honour at Eagles Meadow Shopping Centre.
One of the first in line to meet him was four-year-old James Jones, a member of Wrexham FC’s Junior Dragons fan club who was wearing his brand new Wrexham kit especially for the occasion.
James’ granddad, Peter Jones, who is chair of Wrexham Football Club’s Supporters Trust, says it made for a magical morning.
He said: “James is a big fan of Mike the Knight and is slowly getting excited about Wrexham FC too. He’s a bit young yet but slowly getting to understand the importance of the club.
“He wanted to come down and meet Mike the Knight while we visited the Wrexham shop here on Eagles Meadow.
“It’s fantastic that children had the chance to see a CBeebies character, especially in such a safe environment.”
He added: “It’s also great that we have a Wrexham FC shop here on Eagles Meadow at the present time. It’s a great place for fans of the club to come, meet up and get their shirts as well as other merchandise.”
Mike the Knight was also greeted by the Mayor of Wrexham, Cllr Alan Edwards, and his wife, Glenys, who were on hand to officially welcome the little armoured crusader to the town.
Cllr Edwards, who enjoyed a stroll along the Eagles Meadow plazas with children and Mike the Knight, said: “It’s wonderful to see so many children having such a good time meeting one of the TV heroes.
“It’s fabulous the Eagles Meadow management team are putting on entertainment especially for children during the long school summer holidays. Mike the Knight has certainly brought a lot of smiles to children’s faces here today.”
Karen Chaplin, of Westminster Park, Chester, made the trip to Eagles Meadow after hearing Mike the Knight was going to be at the shopping centre.
She said: “My young son, Matthew, who is four, is a huge fan so as soon as we heard he was coming there was only one place we were going to be, Eagles Meadow! It’s lovely they put something like this on for children.
“Matthew, who insisted on wearing his Mike the Knight t-shirt especially for the occasion, has had a wonderful time and I have never known him so excited.”
Grandparents, Fred and Sandra Foulkes, of Acton, took their granddaughter Sophie Galloway, three, along so she could meet her hero.
Fred said: “She has had a great time and absolutely loved it. We came down especially after seeing it in the paper. She is really excited and it‘s been fabulous.
“There are so many children here and everyone is having a good time. Eagles Meadow has done well putting something like this on for children.”
Lynn Roberts, of Wrexham, took her children, Kayla Young, five, and Ella Young, two, along to meet Mike the Knight with their friend, Courtney Griffiths, 13.
She said: “The children are massive fans of Mike the Knight so when we heard he was going to be in Eagles Meadow we had to come down. Ella has been a bit shy but she was soon holding his hand.
“It’s been brilliant and the children have had a wonderful time. We are going to come down and meet the other TV characters that are coming to Eagles Meadow throughout the summer.”
Clare Booth, of Wrexham, took along her son, Harry Hughes, two-and-a-half, to meet Mike the Knight as he’s a huge fan.
She said: “Harry just loves Mike the Knight and all he’s talked about today is about meeting him and what he was going to say. The fact he got to hold his shield has been brilliant.
“We came down to Eagles Meadow last year to meet Fireman Sam and he loved that too. But now he’s a bit bigger, he’s appreciated it more.”
The visit by Mike the Knight is the first in a series of popular TV characters as part of a “Celebrity Summer” at Eagles Meadow.
On Tuesday, August 12, Leo and Raph from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be there and a week later, on August 19, Fireman Sam will be coming. The final visit will be by Lau Lau from Waybuloo on Tuesday, August 26.
In each action-packed Mike the Knight episode, viewers are transported back to a world filled with marvellous missions, castles, dragons, Vikings and trolls.
Mike is an energetic, cheeky yet bountiful young knight-in-training, driven by his passion to help others and, along the way, be the best knight he can be.
With his father, the King, away exploring faraway lands Queen Martha has put Mike in charge of helping her protect the kingdom.
Determined to do his best through comedy and adventure with his rallying cry “Be a knight, do it right,” Mike learns the power of responsibility and how to do things the right way.
