TV stars Paddy McGuinness and Sam Thompson hit the road in new Amazon electric HGV
TV personalities Paddy McGuinness and Sam Thompson have hit the road, delivering essential goods to the Multibank charity in one of the new electric heavy goods vehicles in Amazon’s delivery network.
The pair have piloted one of the first vehicles from what is pitched as the UK’s largest ever order of electric HGVs, an all electric Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 truck, which marks a key step in Amazon’s commitment to decarbonising its UK transportation network.
McGuinness, who holds an HGV driving licence, took to the wheel of the electric truck, with Thompson serving as his ‘driver’s mate’.
They delivered essential goods to The Brick Multibank in Wigan. The Multibank charity initiative, which Amazon helped to set up in 2022, was created to meet the needs of families and individuals living in poverty by taking surplus products donated by businesses and giving them to families in need.
To date, the six Multibank donation hubs across the UK have donated more than 12 million essential items to over 800,000 families across the UK.
"I've driven plenty of electric vehicles, but this was my first time behind the wheel of an electric HGV. I was amazed at how powerful yet quiet it was,” says McGuinness.
“Making this special Amazon delivery to families who need The Multibank's support this Christmas, while also doing our bit for the environment, was a no-brainer for me, even if it meant surviving Sam's rapping and bizarre snack combinations. Love the lad to bits, but he’s going to need to up his driver’s mate game, for any future deliveries! The more deliveries we can make with vehicles like these, the better for everyone and the planet."
“When I got the call up from Amazon to be Paddy’s mate, I jumped at the idea. I thought we'd catch up, grab brunch, maybe belt out some karaoke,” says Thompson. “Being a ‘driver’s mate’ is a lot harder than it looks. Evie made it special, and Paddy - I love that guy - even if he can’t get his head around the god tier car snack of a Green Pepperami and a raw mushroom. Jokes aside, it's brilliant to see the work Amazon is doing to make all our deliveries more sustainable.”
2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS
Green retail was a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.
We received a record number of entries and many fantastic examples of the continued resilience and dynamism of the retail space during hugely challenging times.
For a full rundown of all of the shortlisted entries, click here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC in Central London on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
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