Romesh Ranganathan makes wonderful gesture during surprise Alder Hey visit

Comedian Romesh Ranganathan brought a smile to the faces of staff and patients at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital after making a surprise visit to the Teenage Cancer Trust unit and handing out invites to his show. The 46-year-old, who played Liverpool Empire as part of his UK wide Hustle tour, has supported Teenage Cancer Trust for many years.

Romesh met 13-year-old Logan from Preston, who is having chemotherapy on the unit. Logan said he enjoyed meeting The Weakest Link host and they chatted about their common interests including playing Fortnite, and One Piece - a Japanese anime TV series. He was joined by his parents Jon and Nicola, who said they are fans of Romesh and watch him on TV. 

Speaking about the support they’ve received from Teenage Cancer Trust, Jon said that despite Logan only being diagnosed a few weeks ago, the support they have received has been brilliant. “The staff have the ability to humanise it all,” he said. “Not only do they explain the medical information in a way that everyone can understand, they also focus on the social side for the young people who are on the unit.

“While having their treatment, the young people have the space to come into the social room, play games together, sit and chat and do normal things that young people like doing - that’s really important. As parents we are being supported too.”

As well as having a tour of the Teenage Cancer Trust unit, which is designed for 13-19-year olds, Romesh was challenged to a game of pool by 15-year-old Jack who is having cancer treatment and the comedian lost, saying: “Am I the worst person you have played at pool?”

Faye Hindmarsh, a Teenage Cancer Trust Youth Support Worker, said the visit was a highlight for the young people on the unit. “Romesh was great with the young people and he gave them a real boost,” she said. “He is really down-to-earth, he got involved playing pool and got everyone laughing and chatting. Everyone had a really nice time and he’s welcome back anytime.”

Last year Romesh was announced as Teenage Cancer Trust’s first comedy Icon. The Icon role is for high-profile figures across the entertainment industry who have volunteered to give a year of their time to deliver transformational change for young people with cancer.

Reflecting on his visit to the unit, Romesh said it was an amazing opportunity to go to the unit and see first-hand to see what Teenage Cancer Trust has helped to provide and help fund for teenagers and young adults with cancer.

He added: “Meeting young people and their families was quite emotional because having cancer at any age is horrible. But having cancer as a teenager feels like a particularly cruel time for it to happen and what the charity is enabling to happen, is for those young people to go through that in a supportive and comfortable way possible. I am very grateful to Teenage Cancer Trust for what they do to help these families. It’s incredibly important work and the charity need as much help as possible.”

Each year, approximately 120 13-24-year-olds in Merseyside and Cheshire are newly diagnosed with cancer each year. It costs more than £500,000 a year to fund Teenage Cancer Trust services in Merseyside and Cheshire. To donate to Teenage Cancer Trust please visit: www.teenagecancertrust.org/romesh-ranganathan