Theatre patrons at the Woodville Theatre, Gravesend were in generous spirits over Christmas, as they helped raise over £8,500 for Kent charity ellenor.

Bucket collections held at the end of each performance during the three week run of Sleeping Beauty raised £8,612.81 for the charity which cares for families facing terminal illness or living with a life-limiting condition. Panto cast members with ellenor’s own mascot also joined in with the fun with family selfies.

Ewan Tuohy, Area Fundraiser for ellenor says: “This is the first year we have been supported by panto producers Those Magic Beans and we are delighted they chose our charity to benefit from their annual pantomime collection. The generosity of the audiences for every performance is staggering and will make a huge difference to the patients, families, and carers supported by ellenor each and every year. It costs £6.9 million to provide our services every year and we are dependent on the generosity of the community we serve to provide our vital services”.

Established in 1985 and serving Kent and Bexley, ellenor is committed to providing quality care and support to both children and adults in the hospice and in the home, while enhancing comfort, dignity, choice and quality of life. The hospice supports patients for the duration of their illness, continuing on with the surviving family with bereavement support. The hospice serves all members of the community who have a life limiting or terminal illness with no fee for any services.

Ant ‘Silly Billy’ Payne said “It was a pleasure to entertain the audiences of Gravesend, and to meet them after shows, where families made generous donations in return for pictures with the cast. What a fantastic amount of money for this amazing cause”.