Quentin Reynolds, a 26-year-old who had been gigging for almost a year, was also on the bill that night.
When Bridges told his first joke “the whole room absolutely erupted”, he said.
“I was pishing myself too, but also breathed a sigh of relief as the new lad had got a huge laugh and I knew he’d probably be OK.”
Bridges went on to talk about the “trials and tribulations” of being 17.
“Most of it was quite clever stuff, rather than the hack material you might expect from someone so young, and every single gag got a big laugh (again, also highly unusual for a debutant).”
As he walked off to a huge round of applause, Sutherland took him back on stage and told the crowd: “That was his first gig – ever.”
Cue more cheers from the audience, which included Bridges’ father and chaperone, Andy.
“He was an incredibly proud dad,” said Reynolds, who met him during the interval.
“Like a dad watching his son winning a medal at school. But I think we can all agree this was far cooler than any school medal or book token prize.”
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