Four South Tyneside comedians help collect almost 25,000 Christmas gifts for children in poverty

Comedian and writer Jason Cook welcomed thousands to Newcastle’s Utilita Arena on Sunday evening (December 15) as he hosted his annual Laffs4Kids charity show.

The Christmas comedy show started back in 2015 after Jason, who was covering a show on Metro Radio, discovered that there were thousands of North East children living in poverty who face waking up to nothing on Christmas Day.

Ever since then, he has gathered a number of comedians from across the country, who give their time for free, to put on a comedy show in which the audience pay discounted rates for tickets with the premise that they bring Christmas presents to the gig to be donated.

Nine years on, the 2024 edition of Laffs4Kids saw 24,975 gifts donated to children living in poverty - meaning that the charity event has now raised more than 100,000 presents in total.

Speaking after the show, Jason has how important it is to him to make sure that those who donated to the cause know where their gifts are going.

He said: “It’s such a great feeling knowing that the gifts people bring are going directly into the hands of the kids that need them.

“And when you see thousands of people coming to the door with dozens of presents each, that level of generosity speaks to the kindness of the North East.

“It’s more than just comedians doing stand-up - we want people to know why we are doing it.

“The kids that get these presents live a mile from most people’s houses, and the poverty statistics show that people are choosing between heating their home and feeding their family, so Christmas is an unrealistic luxury.

“We wanted the audience to know how important these gifts are as the kids have to go to school in January and when their friends ask what they got for Christmas they either have to say ‘nothing’ or lie and make something up.”

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South Shields husband and wife duo, Chris and Rosie Ramsey, were very much on hand throughout the evening to help Jason put on a show for audiences - with the pair appearing in a number of skits alongside the Hebburn comedian.

Chris also closed out the show as the headline comedy act while Rosie also performed a variety of musical numbers alongside the South Shields Gilbert and Sullivan Society.

Comedian Carl Hutchinson, also from South Shields, was also on the bill as he entertained audiences with his own stand-up routine.

Other acts included Adam Rowe, Brennan Reece, Clinton Baptiste, Scott Bennett, MC Hammersmith, Lauren Pattison and Glen Roughhead & Bay 6.

Despite the 2024 version of Laffs4Kids only just coming to an end, Jason has already set his sights on next year and has appealed to lcoal businesses to help make it happen.

He added: “We are looking at next year already. The feedback has been incredible, the audience really get what we are trying to do so we are looking at how to make it happen again for the tenth anniversary.

“The biggest problem we have is money.

“It’s very expensive to put a show on of this size and I’ve always wanted to keep ticket prices as low as possible, to give people more money to buy gifts to bring.

“We had some incredible sponsors this year who really deserve a massive thank you, and that’s what will make or break the future of Laffs4Kids.

“We want local businesses to stand with us, as we stand with these kids.”

You can find out more about Laffs4Kids by visiting: https://laffs4kids.co.uk/.