When Anne Hughes arrived for her cleaning shift at the Best One store in Tonteg, Rhondda Cynon Taf, in March 2024, the last thing she expected was to find fame.
But when CCTV captured her being hoisted into thin air by the shop’s shutters, TikTok went into overdrive – and Anne, then aged 72, was thrust into the limelight.
As a reporter sent to cover the story, I was lucky enough to strike up a great relationship with Anne. She was kind, warm, funny and a reluctant star. In the end, the was the only news organisation she agreed to speak to on camera, and she and I kept in touch.
When I received a message from her granddaughter to say that Anne – a mother and grandmother – had died, I was shocked and saddened.
The 31-second clip of Anne, showing her being hoisted into the air by her coat while still clutching her shopping trolley, was initially shared on the shop’s TikTok account where it was viewed millions of times.
I tracked Anne down in the days that followed. Initially she did not want to be interviewed but did allow me to make an audio recording on my phone that I could take some notes from.
She told me: “When I realised my coat had caught and I was going up, I thought I’m going up and I went right up. I was screaming the owner of the shop’s name, but he couldn’t hear me.
“Thank goodness he finally heard me.”
“I’ll never hear the end of it,” she added, laughing: “My grandchildren ask me why I am holding on to my trolley and I say I just don’t know.”
Thankfully, after a nice chat, Anne agreed that we could use the recording on the .
The interview, and the famous CCTV, ended up not just on the Welsh news but on the network news too. The Instagram video alone has been viewed at least 50 million times.
I was worried about the impact this attention might have had on Anne and went to see her a few days later to give her a thank you card which had “you’re a star” printed on the front.
Anne loved it – if not the fame.
Ten days later, street artist Tee2Sugars curated a mural of the viral CCTV moment on the very same shop shutters, describing it as an opportunity “too good to pass up”.
Anne then agreed to appear on camera for me one final time, this time next to the shutters.
“Only because I like you, and don’t forget my Christmas and birthday cards from now on,” she said to me.
Anne described the mural as “beautiful”, with a wry smile on her face.
I last went to see her at Easter, to present her with some flowers and to tell her that I’d been nominated for an award for the coverage of her viral moment.
We didn’t win, but Anne was more impressed with the flowers.
Just before Christmas, Anne’s granddaughter Lily contacted Wales with the sad news of Anne’s death.
Lily told me and my colleagues in a message: “Thank you for making her smile.”
Anne managed to bring a smile and a laugh to millions, and I’m glad I managed to make her smile too.
I’ve written this piece, and re-shared Anne’s viral CCTV moment, with the blessing of her family.