A “kind-hearted” Asda employee – who went viral for her actions after an elderly man collapsed in store – has revealed she also got engaged on the same day.
Gemma Parish – 26, who is originally from Devon but now lives in Hindley, Wigan and also works part-time for the North West Ambulance Service – leapt into action when a customer fell over at the Asda supermarket in Daubhill, Bolton, back in October.
She rushed to look after the elderly shopper and stayed with him for half an hour, reassuring him until he felt better, before paying for his shopping out of her own back pocket and arranging for a taxi to pick him up.
Gemma was given a ‘Silver Service Superstar Award’ by Asda following the incident.
The supermarket chain took to social media to share the story of Gemma’s heroic actions earlier this month on 2nd December in a now-viral post which saw over 29K interactions, hundreds of shares and thousands of comments from members of the public.
ADVERTISEMENT
The store reimbursed Gemma for her kindness and store manager Ava Joyce – who nominated Gemma for the Asda award – said: “The customer – who’s a regular here – had a small amount of shopping and was panicking that he needed it, so Gemma went and paid for it from her own pocket so that the gentlemen had his essentials [and] she then arranged for him to get a taxi home.
“This was a lovely gesture and we are all very proud of her here.”
ADVERTISEMENT
She added: “Gemma’s a lovely caring colleague who always goes above and beyond.”
Speaking on her viral fame, Gemma said: “People keep tagging me in it and every time I look there are loads more people liking and sharing it. I was one of the store’s first aiders but he didn’t want any help so I just stayed with him”.
She continued: “He normally had a mobility scooter but it had a puncture so he’d walked and I just think he was exhausted.”
ADVERTISEMENT
That’s not all though.
Wednesday 2nd December isn’t a date Gemma is going to forget any time soon as it also happens to be the day her now-fiancé Tom Sutton proposed.
Gemma and Tom met while travelling around Australia last year.
“We got together October last year but we actually met in June when we were backpacking,” said Tom.
“We came back to England in March because of COVID. She’s originally from Devon but she made the decision to come and move here with me. She’s worked for Asda for four years, first in Devon and then Hindley, and then moved to Bolton to be section leader in the summer.
ADVERTISEMENT
“When she was asked into the store for a photograph we didn’t really think anything of it, but it’s just taken off.
“She found it hilarious at first but she can’t believe how far it’s gone. You always hear these stories of people and you think ‘it’ll never be me’ but it is, so it’s quite funny really.”
From everyone here at The Manc – congratulations Gemma & Tom.
Trending
Kyle Walker set to leave Manchester City on a free transfer with at least two clubs monitoring
Danny Jones
Kyle Walker looks to be leaving Manchester City after the best part of eight years and could be set to join another Premier League clubif reports are to be believed.
The long-serving Man City and England defender has been at the Etihad Stadium throughout the most successful spell, but has gradually fallen out of favour with Pep Guardiola of late.
Walker regularly played more than 30 games per campaign under the Catalan coach for seven years, but was ultimately loaned out to AC Milan for the remainder of the 2024/25 season, where he made just over a dozen appearances.
Despite being one of the first names on the team sheet for the longest time, the Sheffield-born full-back has grown to become somewhat of a divisive figure among the fan base. As a result, he is now preparing to find a new club with his contract expiring this summer, and Everton is said to be interested.
🚨🔵 Kyle Walker (35) is seen as a potential signing for Everton this summer, reports @mcgrathmike/@TeleFootball! 🏴
This transfer update comes from Telegraph journalist Mike McGrath, who writes that the Merseyside club have identified Walker as a possibility, with David Moyes looking to recruit additions to his backline.
According to McGrath, “Kyle Walker [is] seen as a potential signing for Everton this summer with David Moyes looking at signing a right-back”, adding that the departure of former Aston Villa and Manchester United player, Ashley Young, as well as Jack O’Brien’s ability to play central makes it a viable option.
Were he to be picked up by the often struggling top-flight team, the 35-year-old would be yet another senior appointment to bolster the defensive ranks, effectively replacing Young (38).
The Toffees have flirted with the relegation zone in recent times, but with previously popular manager Moyes having returned to the club and now set to begin a maiden chapter at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium on Bramley Moore Dock, the first division veteran and serial winner could be a key signing.
Walker asked to leave the club back in January, securing his loan spell in Serie A shortly after, but as he is soon set to leave permanently as a free agent, he could prove a good bit of business for Everton.
🗞️Kyle Walker would cost a nominal or potentially no fee, while Everton also have interest in soon to be free agents Kenny Tete, Vladimir Coufal and Kyle Walker-Peters
Other suitors are said to include Fenerbahçe SK, with a number of European players entering the latter stages of their career opting for a switch to the Turkish league.
However, with still plenty of strength, pace and experience in a number of defensive positions, Walker will no doubt favour his chances remaining in the ever-competitive and fast-paced Premier League.
What about you, Blues – will you be sad to see him go?
The TikTok that TRICKED people into thinking Oasis played at Parklife last night
Thomas Melia
A TikTok video has gone viral overnight after one user tricked people into thinking there was a surprise Oasis set at Parklife last night.
In case you haven’t heard, or your social media feed hasn’t been packed with videos giving you serious FOMO, the biggest weekend in the Manchester music calendar, Parklife, is well underway.
Heaton Park may have been home to another familiar British rock band, Catfish and The Bottlemen on Friday night, but a certain rock band which definitely weren’t in attendance last night (as much as TikTok might want you to believe) is Oasis.
Although Parklife is welcoming the likes of A-list talent such as Charli XCX, 50 Cent, Jorja Smith and more, familiar household name and Britpop icons Oasis are not playing out across any of the two-day weekender.
Parklife is Manchester’s biggest festival weekender.This festival draws in crowds of up to 80,000 across both days.
But a video uploaded last night, which showed Oasis seemingly playing a set at this music festival, went viral with the caption, ‘Can’t believe Oasis just performed at Parklife’.
One TikTok user seemed very annoyed at the fact that, “My daughter was there and she hasn’t told me !!!! She hasn’t said anything ???”
Another said: “No way I sold my ticket.”
Someone else commented: “Wait what?!”
While another user outsmarted this viral video by asking the original uploader: “Do Oasis know about this?”
The video which has now resurfaced and gone viral online was actually taken back in 2022 when Liam Gallagher played out to a packed 85,000 crowd at Knebworth – not Parklife.
Although Liam Gallagher may have been scheduled to play Heaton Park back in 2020 on his own, he definitely didn’t play last night and the rest of the Oasis troupe, including Noel, definitely weren’t in attendance too.
This, however, will be a different story next month as the boys are set to play five non-consecutive nights at Heaton Park between 11 and 20 July.
Emily Sergeant -
9th December 2020 
