Simon Cowell gives special shout out to Ernie Rickman from M&S Halifax on ITV

Ernie was recognised by his colleagues for his extraordinary teamwork and outstanding dedication in delivering food for the community’s customers every day.

He starts incredibly early in the morning and steps into any role, including leading and motivating the team in the absence of others to ensure maximum efficiency and smoothness of running M&S Halifax.

During the broadcast, Simon Cowell said: “This week I’m thanking Ernie Rickman from M&S Food in Halifax who unloads the lorries at 4am everyday to fill the store, thank you Ernie.”

When asked about the recognition Ernie Rickman said: “I’ve worked for M&S for 38 years and have always been proud to represent the brand from day 1 to now. I’ve been blown away by the reaction to Simon’s shout out, my phone was so busy from messages and notifications I had to turn it off.

"All my family and friends are proud as punch to have seen the thank you, it’s been amazing.”

Earlier this year, M&S Food announced that it has renewed its sponsorship with ITV’S Britain’s Got Talent, the UK’s most popular family TV show.

Building on the success of last year’s partnership, M&S Food has created an exciting program of activity to bring delicious, high quality M&S Food into the living rooms of families across the UK every Saturday night, across the show itself and associated app and website, with lots of new features and surprises in the coming weeks.

As part of the partnership, each Saturday night ahead of the show Simon Cowell will give a shout out on ITV to recognise an M&S colleague who has gone above and beyond in feeding the nation.

M&S Halifax is open, from 8am – 6pm Monday to Saturday and 10.30am – 4.30pm on Sundays with special opening hours between 8am – 9am for older/vulnerable customers and NHS, health and social care workers.