Alison Hammond surprised some of Britain’s most dedicated people with dream holiday vouchers to thank them for their loyalty – after popping out of a giant cup of tea.

The TV host and former holiday rep jumped out from an oversized ‘cup of loyal-tea’ at Battersea Power Station to celebrate the people, passions and traditions Brits are most dedicated to.

It was set up to launch Tui’s Smile Rewards Club, a new free-to-join rewards programme designed to thank customers for their loyalty.

Among those surprised were Ronnie Goldwater, one of the UK’s longest-serving firefighters, road safety instructor Julie Turner, and Paul Ingledew, who has returned to the same Cyprus hotel more than 70 times over the past 24 years.

Ronnie Goldwater, 67, from Bradford, served in the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service for 48 years after joining in 1978 when he was just 19 years old.

He went on to attend 12,500 incidents, one of which involved untangling a boa constrictor from the springs of a sofa, leading to his nickname, ‘Dolittle’.

Since retiring in 2021, Ronnie has continued to volunteer with the fire service and organises the funerals of colleagues who pass away.

The second person surprised was Julie Turner, 67, who has been a road safety instructor for 25 years and volunteered for three years before that.

Julie, from Driffield, East Yorkshire, has taught more than 15,000 children about road safety and has just been honoured with a lifetime achievement award.

She first began volunteering in 1998 because she has always enjoyed helping people, and in 2001 was offered a permanent position by East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

The final person surprised by Alison was Paul Ingledew, who is so devoted to a hotel in Cyprus that he’s about to make his 74th visit, with number 75 already in the diary.

The resort has been at the heart of family holidays, weddings and friendships spanning more than two decades, while staff know him so well that they greet him with a hug and the words, “welcome home”, when he arrives.

Alison Hammond said: “What a day! I’ve absolutely loved meeting Ronnie, Julie and Paul.

“They are such wonderful people, and it was so nice to be able to surprise them, reward them and have a proper chat over a cup of tea.

“It turns out we’re all quite loyal really and people will go to extreme lengths to support someone or something they love.

“I’m definitely guilty of that, I’d never dream of changing my manicurist, and there are some things I’m loyal to for life.

“Loyalty is a lovely quality, and it was amazing to meet people who have so much dedication to the places and passions they love.”

It comes after research of 2,000 adults, commissioned by TUI, showed they would be willing to brave bad weather (38 per cent) and use annual leave (26 per cent) for the people and things they are loyal to.

With Brits most loyal to their friends (54 per cent), while banks (28 per cent), sports teams (26 per cent) and hairdresser (22 per cent) also rank highly.

Meanwhile, 20 per cent are even dedicated to the brand of tea they drink, and 32 per cent said the same of a holiday destination.

Nearly a third (30 per cent) even go as far as packing their preferred tea brand when going away.

However, 44 per cent of those polled, via OnePoll, think it’s harder to be loyal now than it was 10 years ago, with 47 per cent blaming financial pressures and 38 per cent pointing the finger at social media.

It also emerged 82 per cent think loyalty is shown more through consistent day-to-day actions than through grand gestures.

Neil Swanson, TUI UK’s managing director, said: “The stories of Ronnie, Julie and Paul prove that loyalty is far from a thing of the past.

“Whether it’s a job, a favourite place, a lifelong tradition or the people we care about most, Brits still form incredibly strong connections with the things they love.

“As we launch the TUI Smiles Rewards Club, we wanted to celebrate that loyalty and shine a light on the remarkable people who embody it.

“After all, in a world full of endless choice, there’s something pretty special about sticking with what you love.”