Tam’s moment in the national limelight comes after he won GMTV’s “emergency services” accolade, to be presented at the Pride of Britain awards.

He risked his own life to leap into the icy waters of the Tay to keep a woman afloat after she plunged from the Queen’s Bridge in Perth, in March.

His actions prompted debate about the role of the fire and rescue service in such incidents, with suggestions he could, technically, have been disciplined for entering the water.

However, Tam’s heroics captured the imagination of the voting public after the dramatic rescue was recreated and shown on national TV.

The firefighter was part of a crew called to the bridge at around 9pm on March 6 after a woman was reported to have fallen into the river. It was impossible to reach her with ropes or poles and, despite it being against regulations, Tam leapt into the freezing water to attach a line to her.

However, as he was helping her toward the bank and safety, the line snapped.

Tam nevertheless fought the dangerously low water temperature and strong currents to pull the woman to safety.

The star-studded awards ceremony will be shown tomorrow night at 9pm on ITV1.

Tam will join over 100 of the country’s biggest names to celebrate and recognise “the most remarkable people of the year”.

Among the guests will be J. K. Rowling, Ewan McGregor, Dame Shirley Bassey and Jamie Oliver.