Pride of Britain hero exchanges epic Everest for fantastic fjords

Hari Budha Magar, a Gurkha from Nepal who served with the British Army for 15 years, lost both of his legs in an IED explosion in Afghanistan in 2010.

But rather than dwell on his own misfortunes, Hari’s mission ever since has been to inspire others that anything is possible, no matter what challenges you face in life.

And he has led by example. Hari, 46, was the first above-the-knee amputee to climb Everest, and is two mountains shy of becoming the first to scale the highest peaks on all seven continents - a challenge he hopes to complete by January 2026.

When Hari won a Special Recognition Award at the Daily Mirror’s Pride of Britain Awards, he was understandably thrilled.

“I was absolutely delighted,” he says. “It was such an honour.

“I just wanted to climb mountains and raise awareness about disability.”

While Hari has travelled the world scaling mountains, he had never taken to the sea on a cruise ship.

But P&O Cruises - from this year the new headline partner for the awards – surprised each of the winners with a cruise holiday.

“It was just amazing, and not something I was expecting at all,” says the married father of three childen aged 12 to 29.

“And the holiday wasn't just for me, it was a trip for the whole family.

“We had never been on a cruise holiday before. I'm very busy going everywhere, so it was perfect for us to spend time together and do things we've never done before."

Setting sail for the Norwegian Fjords in spring, the family enjoyed a week exploring ashore and making the most of everything Iona has to offer.

"We expected that on a cruise holiday you might not spend much time on land, but we had so much time ashore, taking cable cars up mountains and exploring the fjords," Hari says.

The family