AN UNSUNG hero who has helped raise thousands of pounds for good causes has dedicated his award to the community after being surprised by TV star Jackie Bird.

Davie Martin has been at the heart of a number of fundraisers and good deeds in his home town of Tranent and beyond.

While presenting his morning show on the town’s Radio Saltire, he was surprised by the former Reporting Scotland presenter, along with Greg Hemphill and Ford Kiernan, famous for Still Game.

TV audiences will get the chance to see Davie, who works as a civil servant, receive the award on Tuesday as part of Scotland’s People 2022: A Thank You.

He said: “They congratulated me and thanked me for everything.

“It was a good friend, Pauline Cranston, that put me up for this.

'I could greet thinking about it'

“They presented me with the award and said they were wanting to take two or three more photographs in the studio and outside.

“We went outside and the street was rammed. There were hundreds of folk waiting to thank me.

“Genuinely, I could greet thinking about it. It was overwhelming, no doubt about that.

“It could not have come at a better time on the Sunday after John Tinlin, who is a pillar for Tranent, had died. To lose somebody like that, the whole town was on a downer.

“It is all right saying I got the award but I keep saying it, and I genuinely mean it: I’m just the frontman for it.

“I was honoured to get the award and the recognition but it is not just for me. It is for the hundreds of others who have helped me and been alongside me, and I could not do it without them, I just couldn’t.”

Interview ploy

Davie, who lives in the Carlaverock area of the town, had been interviewing his good friend Alex Brown on the radio station, which is based on the town’s Civic Square.

However, the interview was a ploy to get him in the studio and set up the unexpected surprise.

When Alex asked for a glass of water, ‘a university student’ who was helping out popped out to get it.

Little did Davie know that she was actually working for the BBC and was on her way to get Jackie Bird.

Davie said: “I was not paying that much attention and was more focusing on the technical side.

“I heard ‘I believe somebody was wanting water in here’ and then repeated it a couple of times.

“Alex said it was him and when I looked up I realised it was Jackie Bird standing there. At that point, she interrupted and said it was not about Alex but it was all about me.”

TV programme

Davie, 60, has been organising charity events since he was a teenager.

During lockdown, he ensured that people who were not allowed to attend funerals due to Covid-19 legislation could hear the services from outside the cemetery thanks to his PA system. In total, he did 187 such funeral services.

In addition, he has been a key member of the Tranent Belters, who have passed on dozens of riser chairs and mobility buggies to people in need over the years.

Scotland’s People 2022: A Thank You celebrates people who have been nominated for their good deeds as Jackie Bird gives them a special Scotland’s People award.

The programme is on BBC One Scotland at 8pm on Tuesday.

In typical fashion, Davie will be doing his bit for the community that evening.

He said: “I’ll be at the Prestonpans Hibs Supporters’ pensioners Christmas dinner at Royal Musselburgh Golf Club. I’ll have to shoot away pretty quickly to watch it.

“The Royal Musselburgh take all the pensioners, 200 of them, every year and give them a free Christmas dinner. I do the entertainment for them on the day free of charge.”

'An honour to meet Davie'

Jackie Bird said: “There can be few people who have devoted so much of their life to helping others.

“It was an honour to meet Davie Martin and great fun to interrupt his live radio show.

“Even after he was inundated with thanks by people who gathered to wish him well, he was still trying to protest that his actions weren’t particularly special – that humility just summed him up.”

Greg Hemphill, who played Victor in hit comedy Still Game, described it as “an honour” to meet Davie. He said: “Seeing how selfless he is, at a time when people would be forgiven for turning inwards and looking after themselves and their families, was nothing short of inspiring.”

Mike Falconer, chairman of Radio Saltire and Tranent and Elphinstone Community Council, said of Davie: “Everybody in Tranent knows he is a legend.

"He has been doing this stuff for such a long time, helping others. He connects people and encourages people to do good things.

"He often says he is just a conduit but he is tireless and he is an absolute legend in the community.”