CHILDREN'S television presenter Kirsten O'Brien has donated nearly £15,000 in prize money from The Weakest Link to Teesside Hospice.

The Nunthorpe-born celebrity beat off stiff competition from stars such as Johnny Ball, Philip Schofield, Floella Benjamin, Timmy Mallet and Roland Rat.

And she gave the "queen of mean" presenter Anne Robinson a run for her money on Wednesday night's charity edition of the hit show, which pitched children's TV presenters against each other.

She said: "I was terrified before I went but once there, I really enjoyed socking it back to her.

"She just kept hammering away for ages but I gave as good as I got, although I do think it was unfair that everyone else got questions on pop and telly and I got mostly natural history."

She swotted up the night before by buying a book on general knowledge to boost her chances of success and it has paid off.

Kirsten, 30, went head-to-head against well-known 1980s presenter Johnny Ball in the final round to win £14,600 for the hospice, which cared for her mother before she lost her battle against cancer in 1999.

She was eternally grateful for the help the Macmillan nurses gave her in the last months of her life.

She said: "I would do the same thing over and over again because they are such a brilliant help and very important to all the people of Teesside.

"I wanted to be able to make the donation to a local charity so it will really make a difference. I am dead chuffed I was able to do it."

She has just finished performing in pantomime in Northampton as Peter Pan and is currently presenting a series of SMart on the Road on BBC1.

She also presents The Big Toe Radio Show on BBC7, a digital radio channel.

Youngsters know her from her days presenting Children's BBC after starting her career with Tyne-Tees Television.

Yesterday, Joanne Dunwood, of Teesside Hospice, thanked Kirsten and said staff were overjoyed with the windfall.

She said: "We were totally surprised when we found out but we think it is fabulous news.

"We always fall short of the running costs we need to keep the service going and this donation will certainly help us out a lot."