Famous faces were among the guests at ellenor’s annual fundraising Orange Ball in London.

Patrons including Tom Parker of The Wanted and EastEnders’ Cheryl Fergison joined hundreds of others at The Grange and helped raise a record £77,000.

All the money will help the Gravesend-based hospice charity support families facing terminal illness across Kent — it could even pay for a specialist children’s nurse for 18 months.

Other well-known patrons to attend were Good Morning Britain’s Charlotte Hawkins and Phil Spencer from Location Location Location.

Phil said: “How fortunate Kent is to have a charity such as ellenor, which takes end-of-life care into children’s homes.

“It’s a service we all hope we’ll never need – but the fact that ellenor provides it, is incredible.”

Hawkins added: “I was inspired to get involved when I met the Read family – who ellenor supported when both of their young sons were ill and very sadly died.

“The charity helped to keep the family together at this really difficult time. Everyone involved does an absolutely fantastic job.”

Offering round-the-clock care every day of the year, ellenor children’s hospice care team is the only service in Kent to provide care to seriously ill children at home.

After dinner, guests watched a film about one of ellenor’s young patients, Finley Jones.

His parents, Sarah and Mike, who were special guests at the ball, explained how, as a tiny baby, doctors said Finley was unlikely to survive a case of meningitis.

His ventilator was turned off and his parents said their goodbyes, but Finley had other ideas and is alive, being cared for by ellenor at home, three years on.

"How fortunate Kent is to have a charity such as ellenor, which takes end-of-life care into children’s homes" Phil Spencer

Claire Cardy, ellenor’s chief executive, said: “We currently face a huge challenge, as there are many more families out there like Finley’s who urgently need our help.

“The only way we can continue to expand our services is through the generous support of our community.”

Much of the money raised on the night came through an auction, which featured a rare EastEnders script, and the chance to win a luxury break in Cornwall.

Singer Parker also performed on the night and was joined at the event by his fiancée, Kelsey Hardwick.

Claire Cardy added: “A huge thank you to everyone who made our second Orange Ball so successful – including our wonderful celebrity supporters.”