Prince William surprises shielding family with video call - BBC News
The Duke of Cambridge spoke with Leanne and her five-year-old-son, who has cystic fibrosis.
Prince William spoke with Leanne whose five-year-old son Kaydyn has cystic fibrosis

The Duke of Cambridge has made a surprise video call to a woman and her young son who have been shielding for the past three months.

William spoke with Leanne and five-year-old Kaydyn, who has cystic fibrosis, at their home in Corby, Northamptonshire.

Footage of the call will feature on BBC One's The One Show on Tuesday.

Leanne was shown covering her mouth with her hands in shock as the Duke called from his home in Norfolk.

It forms part of a film focusing on extremely vulnerable people being advised to remain at home as much as possible, and the challenges they are facing.

The Duke of Cambridge during a previous video call, when he revealed he was a volunteer for a mental health charity's crisis helpline

From the start of June, more than 2.2 million extremely vulnerable people shielding from coronavirus were allowed to leave their homes.

Since the advice changed, Leanne and Kaydyn have been outside twice, for country walks.

The BBC said: "Initially Kaydyn was frustrated about being forced to stay inside - now he is very nervous about leaving the house."

The film will also look at Shelby Lynch, a 21-year-old from Leeds, who has spinal muscular atrophy type 2 and is on a ventilator 24 hours a day.

It follows the moment she finally leaves her home for a socially distanced meeting with her boyfriend for the first time in weeks.

"He had been feeling a little down so it was nice to see his face light up," she said.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and volunteers at Conscious Youth during a video call

Last week, the Duke of Cambridge revealed he had been anonymously volunteering on a crisis helpline during lockdown, after being trained by a mental health charity.

William said he had been answering messages at Shout 85258, which offers support via text message to people in personal crisis.

Last month he told fellow volunteers in a video call: "I'm going to share a little secret with you guys, but I'm actually on the platform volunteering."

The Duke and Duchess have held video calls with those helping charities in England and Wales. The Duchess has also taken part in video calls with people who are self-isolating or vulnerable.

The One Show is on BBC One every weekday at 19:00 BST