Nessa and Friends Push the Boat out for the RNLI at Porthcawl

James Corden opened the evening with a video message from ‘Smithy’ which was filmed on the set of James’s American chat show. The Late Late Show host went on to introduce the star of the evening, ‘Nessa’ better known locally as Ruth Jones, who grew up in Porthcawl. She took on the role of compere for the evening in the style of her highly successful Gavin and Stacey character. She was supported by her friends Bonnie Tyler, Only Men Aloud, singer actor Craig Gallivan and during the meal singer Russell Jones Jnr. But to the surprise of the audience one more guest appeared just in time to join Nessa on stage to sing their number one Comic Relief hit ‘Islands in the Stream’; yes, none other than ‘Uncle Bryn’, Rob Brydon. Their duet was a huge success and received a standing ovation from the audience. Following on for the rest of the evening The Dave Barry Big Band kept everyone entertained with many of the audience enjoying a dance to a wide variety of tunes.

The evening was initiated by Ruth earlier in the year in support of the Porthcawl RNLI volunteers, one of whom is her brother-in-law crewman Etienne Cronje. Once a date had been set she then made all the arrangements for the evening which included a three course meal and entertainment. To help raise funds on the night Ruth went around the tables having ‘selfies’ taken with members of the audience. Raffle tickets were also sold and a raffle drawn. That was followed by an auction which included a wide variety of items professionally sold by auctioneer Andrew Thomas, from HRT estate agents in Cowbridge.

Porthcawl Lifeboat Chairman, John Abraham said, ‘The whole evening was a true success for Ruth and her friends, the audience and of course Porthcawl Lifeboat Station. We are grateful for all the effort that she put into making her evening so special for us, she definitely Pushed the Boat Out for Porthcawl RNLI’.

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.