Ashton girl's kind hearted gesture goes worldwide

A little girl from Ashton is making waves across the world thanks to her kind hearted nature.

Eight-year-old Tallulah Mclellan has become an internet star after a video of her using sign language to thank her deaf delivery driver was viewed more than 22 million times. It’s even been shared by famous faces such as Kevin Bacon and Game of Thrones actor Lena Heady.

Tallulah and her mother Amy have been busy ever since making appearances on the Granada Reports, BBC Radio 5 Live and even American television.

“It’s had 23 million views on my twitter” said Amy. “It’s mad!"

Explaining how it came about she said: “Obviously during lockdown we were getting more parcels delivered. I ordered things, I’ve got a teenage daughter who’s ordering things as well.

“The delivery driver, Tim, is deaf. He’s our local driver who brings them to us and Tallulah just using her manners was signing thank you.

“She’s learned it at an after school club.

“It’s gone on to 'good morning' and he was just so happy she was communicating with him so he’s taught her how to say 'have a good day'.

“Since then she’s learning new things all the time to show him.”

Tallulah said of Tim: “He’s a very nice man, he’s polite and very friendly.”

She only began learning sign language this year with ‘Hands to Communicate’, an Oldham-based community company, but her mum says she wants to know everything about it.

“She wants to do them all, she does everything after school so she wanted to do that as well.”

Tallulah and her St Stephens C of E Primary classmates have been using the social media network to stay in touch during the lockdown, sharing work and it was there where Amy first posted the video.

From there it went further than any of them could have imagined.

Amy explained: “Because she’d been learning the sign language at school I sent them [the school] that just to show them she was using her skills out of school.

“I put the school in it and Hermes as well so they know how friendly Tim is and I couldn’t believe it. It was just going up and up and up.”

Stars of Coronation Street, one of the pair's favourite shows were retweeting and commenting and that’s when Amy knew that the video had reached a wider audience.

“My nephew in Southampton rang me and said that Lena Heady had tweeted it. I looked in my messages and she’d messaged me asking if she could share it.

“I didn’t know who it was but she’d put it on her instagram account. Kevin Bacon, he’s done it as well.”

Tallulah added: “I’m amazed by it. It’s just massive.”

“It’s nice to be nice,” said Amy. “He’s a key worker who is out working doing long hours.

“She’s a polite and friendly girl anyway so it captured the imagination.”