Romesh Ranganathan in surprise visit to Alder Hey

Romesh Ranganathan with Logan and his parents Jon and Nicola

Comedian Romesh Ranganathan gave a "real boost" to teenagers affected by cancer in a surprise visit to a children's hospital.

The TV star visited the Teenage Cancer Trust unit at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool.

Families, staff and young people with cancer spent time with the comedian, who was in the city as part of his Hustle tour.

He said the visit was "emotional because having cancer at any age is horrible".

'Amazing opportunity'

The unit, based on Ward 3B in Oncology at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, is designed for children and young people aged 13 to 19.

Ranganathan said it had been an "amazing opportunity" to see first-hand what Teenage Cancer Trust does.

He said: "Having cancer as a teenager feels like a particularly cruel time for it to happen and what the charity is enabling to happen is for those young people to go through that in a supportive and comfortable way possible."

Logan, 13, from Preston, is having chemotherapy on the unit, after being diagnosed with a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma - called T-Cell lymphoblastic lymphoma.

Faye Hindmarsh, Teenage Cancer Trust Youth Support Worker, and Romesh Ranganathan

He and Ranganathan chatted about playing the game Fortnite, and One Piece – a Japanese anime TV series.

Parents Jon and Nicola said that despite Logan only being diagnosed a few weeks ago, the support the family had received was brilliant.

“The staff have the ability to humanise it all,” Jon said.

The social room on the ward that lets young people get together, play games and "do normal things" was "really important", added Jon.

Logan presenting Romesh Ranganathan with a Teenage Cancer Trust Icon trophy

Ranganathan was also challenged to a game of pool by 15-year-old Jack, who beat him.

Faye Hindmarsh, a Teenage Cancer Trust Youth Support Worker, said: "Romesh was great with the young people and he gave them a real boost."

Ms Hindmarsh said "down-to-earth" Ranganathan had everyone "laughing and chatting".

The star invited more than 150 frontline staff and young people supported by the charity to see his Hustle show for free at the Liverpool Empire after the visit.