Winner: Claire Tickell
Children's charities took two of the four categories in Third Sector's Britain's Most Admired Charities awards last night.
The Children's Society won Britain's Most Admired Charity, and Clare Tickell, leader of Action for Children, was voted Most Admired Chief Executive.
Most Innovative Charity was the London Community Recycling Network, and Celebrity Charity Champion was Duncan Bannatyne, the Scottish entrepreneur who features in BBC TV's Dragons' Den.
Bob Reitemeier, chief executive of the Children's Society, received the trophy from Stephen Pittam, chief executive of last year's winner, the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.
And Matthew Thomson, chief executive of the LCRN, received his charity's trophy from John Kingston, director of last year's winner Venturesome.
The presentations were preceded by a talk by actor Joanna Lumley, winner of Celebrity Charity Champion last year. She spoke about the importance of giving to charity and her support for nearly 60 causes, ranging from the Born Free Foundation to Sightsavers and the Free Tibet Campaign.
The awards, in their fifth year, were hosted by Barclays on the 30th floor of its building in London's Canary Wharf. They were attended by more than 150 chief executives, trustees and other sector representatives.
Jeremy Wilson, vice chair of Barclays Commercial Bank, spoke about the bank's wide-ranging involvement with charities and the important role they would play in providing social support in the economic downturn.
The awards were decided by charity chief executives voting for a shortlist drawn up with the advice of a panel of voluntary sector leaders and experts.
