Dame Helen Mirren - Helen Mirren Salutes Woman Of The Year Kate Woolveridge

The mezzo soprano co-founded and is musical director of the Forget-me-Not Chorus, which hosts weekly singing workshops for dementia patients in Cardiff, Wales.

Woolveridge was voted the Inspirational Woman Of The Year at a ceremony in London on Monday (22Oct12), and The Queen star was on hand to praise her hard work and dedication.

Dame Helen says, "Big congratulations to Kate for her incredible work... In an area that's very difficult for us all to confront, (she is) someone who's prepared to take that on board and deal with it and make something positive out of it. Just amazing, so well done, Kate."

Woolveridge admits she was "starstruck" to meet the veteran actress at the prizegiving, and hopes the prestigious accolade will help her expand her organisation.

She adds, "It was a superb day. I was starstruck. I couldn't believe it. It was amazing. Our model works, we'd love to take that model into dementia homes. That's the next step, (to) form choirs in homes, that's what we like to do. We just need a bit of funding to do that."