Comedian Suzi Ruffell: 'Laughter is a wonderful thing. It helps us see each other's humanity'

Suzi Ruffell loves to smile. It is her job to make other people smile. Laughter has changed her life.

And she believes it has the power to change other people’s lives too.

“You’re all different people with different lives. You might pray to different Gods. You might have different beliefs. But if you can sit in a room with someone and all laugh at the same thing, it’s a wonderful thing,” the comedian says. 

Sometimes, Ruffell gets the chance to bring smiles to families who really need it. She is a long-standing supporter and ambassador of charity Spread a Smile, which brings joy to seriously ill children and their loved ones during long hospital stays.

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They support thousands of children and young people every year with hospital visits from magicians, fairies, therapy dogs and more. They also host outings and events, and art sessions.

Ruffell has hosted comedy nights over the nights to raise funds, featuring the likes of Alan Carr and Tom Alan, and joined the charity on visits to hospitals. And this Christmas, she will be helping Spread a Smile pack festive hampers – with the aim of delivering 2,000 to children and their siblings.

Each hamper is packed with gifts hand-picked by volunteers with each child in mind. A total of 480 volunteers will be involved over a six week period, giving up 120 hours of their time.

Suzi Ruffell chats to the Big Issue about why she is such a keen supporter of the charity and how laughter can help change the world.

Why did you want to get involved with Spread a Smile? 

Eight or nine years ago, they were much smaller than they are now, and a very close family friend’s daughter was in Great Ormond Street Hospital. She was having treatment for a tumour on her pituitary gland. She had to have long, extensive treatment. Spread a Smile had been to see her and she responded well to all the brilliant stuff they do.

A couple of years later, my standup career was getting busier and I was booking telly, and they said to me: ‘If you ever get asked to on one of those TV quiz shows where you have to pick a charity, choose Spread a Smile, because when Trixie was really poorly, the days when Spread a Smile came were the days when she could deal with what was happening so much better.’ A short while after that, I was asked to do Tipping Point.

Trixie is much better now. She’s a teenager and she’s doing really well, but she has such fond memories of Spread a Smile and the lovely experiences she had from the team, not just the visits to her hospital bedside but also the days out they organise.

We’ve now done six comedy nights together. Alan Carr’s done a couple. Tom Allen’s done a couple. We’ve had really great lineups every year. They are all comics that are keen and willing to give up their time for charity on a Monday night, which is usually a comedian’s night off. But it’s always worth it when it’s a charity like Spread a Smile.

What difference do the Spread a Smile hampers make?

They’re sending out 2,000 smile hampers to seriously ill children and their siblings. A parent will get in touch and they’ll say: ‘What are they into?’ It could be that they’re really into KPop Demon Hunters or they love slime. The office becomes like Santa’s Grotto. It’s so organised. You might put in some Lego, some Play-Doh. You’ll pick out a couple of bigger things to put in. They might not have as much mobility so it could be things you can do sitting down, like painting. We might have a fidget spinner or some nice pencils. It will be personalised. Someone has taken the time. It’s really lovely to send and receive.

I’ve been lucky enough to spend some time with the families and these remarkable children. I’ve got a five-year-old and I can’t imagine what these parents are going through. And rather than watching their sick kid, they’re watching their kid laughing and having a moment of respite as well. On Christmas morning, my very healthy, lovely-five year-old’s gonna be running all over the house. I feel so lucky to be able to help in a small way.

The world often feels very scary and depressing, and there’s lots of stuff going on globally that’s terrifying. And that’s the wonderful thing about working with such a small charity is, you know, we know that the money we make from the comedy nights will mean children are going to receive presents. It’s lovely to feel like you play a part there.

What difference does smiling and laughter make for our health and wellbeing?

Look I’m not a doctor, which might come as a huge shock. I know I’ve got the vibe of a doctor. I know that in periods of my life that I’ve found harder, whether it’s going through grief or heartbreak, I’ve been very into comedy. It’s that experience of sitting in a room with people and laughing with other people, and you’re all laughing at the same time. You’re all different people with different lives. You might pray to different Gods. You might have different beliefs. But if you can sit in a room with someone and all laugh at the same thing, it’s a wonderful thing. On stage, I’m often talking about something embarrassing I’ve done. If everyone can laugh at that, you see each other’s humanity. 

I’ve had those experiences. I went to see Bridget Christie in Edinburgh a long time ago now and I was definitely a feminist but I was a lot younger and I hadn’t worked out my feelings on everything. I went to see her and she had this amazing hour of feminist standup. I was in a room with loads of women. That felt like a rallying cry. I felt powerful leaving. I felt so in touch with all these women I’d just sat next to for an hour. It changed my view of the world. 

What in your life brings you the most joy? 

My family. My mum’s pretty funny, usually unintentionally. I have a puppy. She’s bringing a lot of joy. She’s nearly five months old and she walks like Bambi. I work with friends who make me laugh. I do a podcast with Tom Allen and another with Maisie Adam about women’s football. And also, at this time of year, TheMuppet Christmas Carol. I’ll probably watch that about three times.

A donation of £42 will help fund one Smile Hamper for a seriously ill child this Christmas. Donate to Spread a Smile here.

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