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'I think I have the biggest Comic Relief collection'

George Torr
BBC News, Derby
Rob Rose
BBC News, East Midlands
Reporting fromAshbourne, Derbyshire
Rob Rose/BBC Ziggy wearing big red glasses and a white cap shows off his massive collection of Comic Relief items from across the decades. The picture shows an array of soft toys, tea towels and tote bags.Rob Rose/BBC
Ziggy, 11, became a Comic Relief super fan when he got his first red nose aged five

Is this the world's biggest collection of Comic Relief memorabilia?

Ziggy, 11, from Ashbourne in Derbyshire, seems to think so. He has amassed about 1,000 items from across the years.

His passion started when he was five and has been a super fan ever since collecting hundreds of iconic red noses, pin badges, tea towels and pens to name a few.

He told the BBC: "I applied to the Guinness World Records but I haven't had a reply yet."

His mother Charlotte said his initial interest then turned into a "slight obsession" after Ziggy got his hands on a nose that changed colour.

"[It started] in 2019 when I bought my first nose and I ended up with the one that I wanted from the set," Ziggy said.

"A couple of years later they were reintroduced and it then just descended into madness."

Rob Rose/BBC A vast array of Comic Relief items on a table include red noses, pens, wristbands, soft toys, tea towels, tote bags, cups, mugs, erasers, water bottles and keyrings.Rob Rose/BBC
Ziggy has amassed a collection of about 1,000 Comic Relief items which includes hundreds of iconic red noses

One of his favourite items is a giant eraser from 2009 - a rare item because Ziggy said he "can't find any images of them online".

He said he has all the red noses apart from one - an extremely uncommon piece of memorabilia which came out in 2019 - and he is still on the lookout for one.

The Red Nose Day enthusiast set up his huge collection for classmates at Clifton Church of England Primary School in Ashbourne, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the fundraising event.

He said it took him more than two hours to arrange each item giving it pride of place - and it has been big hit with his peers.

On what Comic Relief means to him, Ziggy said: "Not only is the day a way to raise lots of money for a great cause, I get to show off my collection which I don't get to do very often."

Rob Rose/BBC Mum Charlotte on the right and Ziggy on the left. They have a number of Comic Relief red noses on their fingers. Rob Rose/BBC
Charlotte said Ziggy's bedroom is filled wall-to-wall with Comic Relief items - some from the 1980s

Charlotte said she was "slightly hoping" Ziggy would grow out of it but there is no sign of that so far.

"Everyone has been so supportive, we're all so proud of him."

On where the collection lives at home, Charlotte added: "That is the bone of contention, but his bedroom is filled with items on different shelves across all the walls, and he's also taken over the loft."

Comic Relief will be broadcast from 19:00 GMT on BBC One and 22:00 GMT on BBC Two.

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