If you’re ever in and around Gosport on a Monday or Friday evening, you might just hear it before you see it, someone shouting across the road, “It’s the fudge man!” And there he is: Paul Lees, arms full of neatly labelled boxes and bags, smiling like he’s delivering gold. And in a way, he is.
In just over three years, Paul has turned a single homemade Christmas gift into a joyful, generous, communitypowered fundraising effort. His project, ‘One Box of Fudge’, has raised more than £25,000 for over 58 local charities and causes, sold over 6,600 boxes, and built a following of 2,500 ‘Fudge Lovers’ who cheer him on every step of the way.
Paul’s life has never followed a straight line. Originally from Essex, he moved to Gosport in 2015 after his husband Andy got a new job. Paul works as a dental practice manager in Fareham, where he runs a team of 20, handling compliance, policies, procedures, and the endless stream of emails that come with the job.
But outside of work? Paul has always had a creative streak. Two decades ago, he made it to the final 100 on The X Factor with boyband ‘F4CUS’ before flying solo and amassing over 4.2 million streams of his own music to date. Before dentistry, he climbed the retail ladder at Morrisons and Marks & Spencer. Then, aged 27, he decided to retrain entirely, qualifying as a dental nurse before moving into management.
His life has always had two tracks, he tells me, the serious professional – and the performer. He just didn’t know fudge would become the bridge between them.
The accident that changed everything
In October 2022, Paul was injured on a fairground ride and spent just over three months on and off, recovering at home. It was just before Christmas. He was in agony and couldn’t go out, so decided to look online for tips to make home-made Christmas gifts. “I came across the fudge recipe and despite not being a good cook, I thought I’d give it a go,” he laughs.
“I was really proud of what I’d made so I posted a photo of what I’d produced to my social media friends, and bizarrely, people immediately asked if they could buy some themselves,” Paul laughs at the memory. “I had no idea what it was going to turn into. I said to Andy – ‘If I enjoy doing this, what if I donate all the profits to local charities and causes? Wouldn’t it be amazing if I could make a difference, one box of fudge at a time?’ And that’s where the name came from.”
A fundraiser that became a movement
Paul soon made his first £50 and donated it to Jacob’s Well, a Gosport food bank where Andy had volunteered during Covid. From there, the momentum never stopped.
Since November 2022, Paul has:
- Donated £25,000+ to local charities and causes
- Made 116 donations
- Sold over 6,600 boxes of fudge
- Selfpublished a fudge recipe book ‘One Book of Fudge’ that hit #1 in the Amazon cookery charts on publishing day
- Been filmed by ITV Meridian showcasing his efforts
- Reached the final four for The Pride of Britain Awards ‘Regional Fundraiser of the Year’
- Been nominated for the 2025 ‘Gosport Citizen of the Year’
His beneficiaries include Sophie’s Legacy, Two Saints, Steps Within, Baby Bundles Solent, Teen Talk, Y Services LGBTQ+ and dozens more. If a charity in Gosport or Fareham needs help, Paul is usually already on it.
“I keep my ear to the ground, follow countless local groups, and respond to whatever the community needs at that moment.”
The kitchen that never sleeps
Paul makes all the fudge at home in his kitchen. It takes about an hour to make three boxes, so evenings and weekends are a blur of sugar, butter, condensed milk, and playlists. “Christmas is chaos,” he says, “January is quiet as everyone goes on a diet, then the rest of the year rises and falls like the tide,” he chuckles.
Every Monday and Friday night, it’s ‘Fudgelivery time’ as Paul and Andy head out across Gosport delivering boxes of fudge. What strikes Paul most is the generosity behind each order. “People aren’t just buying it for a treat, they’re buying it because they genuinely want to help someone in our community,” he says. “Even those who don’t have much still choose to buy a box. It’s inspiring, and it’s what keeps me going.”
For Paul, the success of the project is rooted in the character of the borough itself. He describes Gosport as a tightknit community where people look out for one another and step in when someone needs support. “I think that’s why the fudge has taken off the way it has,” he says.
Paul explains that although he makes the fudge on his own, his husband, affectionately known to followers as ‘Andy Pandy’ is a huge part of his team. “Despite Andy working full-time himself and long hours, he still comes out delivering with me twice a week. My customers love him. He’s my little angel and is of course my chief taste-tester too,” he laughs. “But in all seriousness, the fudge has become a part of us and our life now. In Gosport there are so many amazing people that are doing incredible things for other people, and it’s really humbling for both of us to be a part of that.”
The flavours that built a fanbase
Paul’s favourite fudge is ruminfused raisin and Andy’s favourite: “all the chocolate ones” Paul laughs. The public’s favourite this past year? “Scottish Tablet, which I named ‘St Andy Pandy’, in honour of Andy’s 50th birthday, of course,” he giggles once more.
Paul says Scottish Tablet is notoriously hard to make. “It’s easy to burn so not a lot of people make it. It’s hard in texture, but melts in your mouth, so people can’t get enough of it.”
As well as working as a dental practice manager and making fudge countless hours a week, Paul also spent a year volunteering every Friday at St Matthew’s Church café in Bridgemary, because he wanted to give more time to the people who buy his fudge. “Many of my customers live alone and just want a chat, so by placing myself at the café, customers were coming to me, purchasing their breakfast or lunch in the café, and picking up a box of fudge and having a catch-up chat with me. It was so lovely.”
Although he’s now too busy making fudge to volunteer, he has certainly created a community connection, that much is clear.
“This has been the most lifegiving thing I’ve ever done,” Paul admits. “It’s even made me better at my job too, as I’m out in the community, meeting local people and seeing what people are going through. I don’t take any of its success for granted,” he says humbly.
Celebrations, targets, and the next chapter
Paul sets fundraising targets the way other people set New Year’s resolutions – publicly, joyfully, and with a party. “For every milestone I have thrown a party and set another target,” he says. “The first one was when we raised £3,000 so I threw a huge party at Quay West Studios in Gosport, performed songs from my new album and set a new target of £10,000. When I hit that £10,000 target in June 2024, I held a Muriel’s Wedding £10k Celebration Screening – as that’s my favourite film of all time and everyone came dressed in their wedding clobber, we had a photographer and even a wedding cake, with me perched on the top!’ A new target was then set of £25,000, which Paul hit in the last week of January, which led to announcing a new target of £40,000, in honour of Paul turning 40 in September.
Paul says his next celebration is in May and this time is at local Gosport restaurant Arty’s. “For this one I am selling tickets, with all proceeds donated to local charities. The fancy dress theme is Icons, and it will be such a fun evening, with singing, dancing, a raffle and what I love most, bringing all of the community together.”
I ask Paul what his family thinks. “My family are very proud of me. This whole moment has brought me attention in a completely different, unexpected way. It’s even put a spotlight back on my earlier music. When I shared my X Factor audition video on my social media, people went wild for it. And suddenly loads of people were downloading my songs again. Over the years I’ve brought out all sorts of merchandise, and people have snapped that up too, which means even more money has been donated. It’s honestly been crazy. Everyone’s baffled because it all started from that one proud photo of the Christmas fudge, I made. Starting a fundraiser in this climate is so difficult, even though this isn’t a business, the essence of it is, so to see it grow the way it has… it’s mad. And with every donation, I seem to gain new followers because I support so many different local charities.”
Would he ever turn it into a business?
“No,” Paul says without hesitation. “Firstly, I absolutely love my job. Secondly, I’m very passionate about looking after people, so I just want to keep making a difference in the small way I can. The way it connects people and brings the community together, that’s why I love it. It’s a huge honour for me.’
“If I ever won the lottery, I’d turn One Box of Fudge into a social enterprise to teach young people about business and community. But for now, this is a fundraiser. And it feeds my soul,” he says joyfully.
When Paul moved to Gosport in 2015, he didn’t know anyone. He could easily have moved back to Essex without anyone realising. But through making the fudge, he soon found his people and where he wanted to be, for life.
“We’ve lifted the veil on how many incredible people there are here,” he says. “There are so many charities helping others. It’s very much our home now and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
And as long as people keep buying fudge, Paul says he will keep making it.
“One Box of Fudge will carry on for as long as people want it,” he says. “I’ve harnessed a bunch of incredible people who want to help others. And that’s the magic.”
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