Romesh Ranganathan surprises village hall's comedy night

The crowd at a village hall's comedy night got a big surprise when Romesh Ranganathan turned up on stage.

The performer, from Crawley, was a surprise guest at the event, staged by production company Funny That, on Saturday evening at Rawson Hall in Bolney.

Helen Mullany, who runs the hall in the Sussex village, said that they put on the performance straight after the Bolney Horticultural Society's Spring Show.

She had teased audiences in advance with the promise of a "huge name", but kept it quiet until the last moment.

Anyone who messaged her privately was allowed to know, and the event, attended by 192 people, soon sold out.

Ranganathan, host of shows including The Ranganation and The Weakest Link, as well as actor, writer and co-owner of a bakery, performed at the hall before going on to another set in Brighton.

Mullany posted on Facebook: "So much fun last night at the Rawson hall. Romesh Ranganathan, thank you so much for venturing out of Crawley and giving us some stick!!"

She told BBC Radio Sussex that they already had a line-up of four "excellent" comedians, and then she heard last week they had an "extra special" guest.

"We sent that little rumour round - that Romesh was coming over.

"We were allowed to tell people but we weren't allowed to put it straight out, and the tickets clearly flew."

She said the evening was "just brilliant", adding: "He came to us and gave us a suitable amount of stick about living in Bolney, but we didn't mind, because he was very, very funny and very nice as well to have around. We were very lucky."

Volunteers turned out to help her put out the chairs after the horticultural show.

"It's how a village hall works," Mullany said. "We have a great team."

Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.