Chris Ramsey was in superb form to do his hometown proud on Celebrity Catchphrase, winning huge money for the Customs House.
The South Shields comedian took home a brilliant £31,400 to give to the town's famous theatre, which like many other entertainment venues, has been through incredibly tough times these past 12 months, due to the repercussions of the coronvirus pandemic.
Self-confessed Catchphrase super fan Chris admitted to being really nervous about being on the show as he took on fellow Strictly 2019 star Kelvin Fletcher and M People legend Heather Small.
And Chris got one over on Strictly champion Kelvin by seeing him and Heather off as he stormed through the early round, building up a huge lead and getting an impressive £6,400 in the bank for the Customs House, a place both he and podcast co-host wife Rosie performed in as youngsters and are now Honorary Fellows of.
Chris raised even more money for the South Tyneside theatre in the final round when he came agonisingly close to taking the £50,000 jackpot but was outsmarted by a 'everyone's a winner' puzzle right at the death.
But the expectant dad looked absolutely delighted when told by host Stephen Mulhern that he'd won an extra £25,000.
The Customs House quickly tweeted: "Overwhelming kindness, thankyou from the bottom of our hearts for recognising the work we do and supporting us. We are so proud of you @IAmChrisRamsey.
"It means so much to our charity."
Chris came in for plenty of praise from Catchphrase viewers, with one tweeting: "What a run in the super catchphrase by Chris Ramsey. Superb" and another posting: "Chris Ramsey you are a legendary Sandancer"
Chris himself tweeted about the show and the reaction he'd had, writing: "Thanks for all the @Catchphrase love guys. You’re making me all emotional here! The @CustomsHouseLP is an amazing venue and theatres are in big trouble at the moment. So I was glad I could help!"
