A packed house at The Comedy Store in London was host to a fundraising event on Monday, September 17 on behalf of Small Steps, a charity working with disabled children in Roehampton.

The line-up of comedians included Romesh Ranganathan, Josh Widdicombe, Jessie Cave, Ivo Graham, Rosie Jones, Joe Wilkinson, and Suzi Ruffell, and was compered by comedian Charlie Baker, who suggested the idea to Small Steps parents Milly and Charlie Lort-Phillips.

The comedians donated their time entirely free of charge, and entertained a packed house for nearly 2 hours.

When 400 tickets went on sale earlier this month they sold out in under 72 hours, leading to an immediate boost to the charity of over £8500. Small Steps needs over £400,000 to operate each year, and is currently planning a relocation to new facilities in Barnes.

At Small Steps, pre-school children work on all areas of their development, using the principles of conductive education. Children attending Small Steps sessions have cerebral palsy, other forms of motor impairment, syndromes or sensory impairment.

Charlie Lort-Phillips said: ‘As soon as Charlie Baker suggested the idea of a charity gig, it snowballed into this fantastic night. We really cannot thank all of the acts enough for taking part, and of course to Flo Howard at Off the Kerb for putting the entire thing together for us. It will make a huge difference to such an important cause, and hopefully there will be more gigs like this to come in future years!’

The event was helped by generously donated prizes for a raffle which took the total raised to £9612.40 on the night. Independent companies such as The Kernel Brewery, Lant Street Wines, and stallholders at Borough Market donated prizes, and donations from Molton Brown, Barbour, Boden, John Lewis, and others helped to raise the substantial sum for the charity.

Anita Coppola MBE, Head of Small Steps said: 'What an absolutely amazing night of Comedy! We are so grateful to have had such generous support from so many brilliant talented people. The incredible amount of money raised on the night will make a massive difference to our ongoing work in teaching and supporting disabled young children and their families. Thank you so much.'

Plans are already being made for repeat events in years to come, and will help the charity in it’s work with families from across London and the South-East.