A Croydon toddler has been given a lifetime supply of pizza after an X post of him went viral.

On Sunday, August 18, south London comedian Angus Dunican posted a picture on X of his 16-month-old son Percy looking heartbroken that Mamma Dough in South Norwood hadn’t opened yet.

The photo went viral on X and Instagram, and it resulted in Mamma Dough extending a very generous offer to the toddler.

Angus Dunican told Your Local Guardian: “I was out for a morning walk with Percy, and he didn’t want to go to the park.

“He was determined to walk towards Station Road, and I didn’t know why.

“We kept stopping outside Mamma Dough and each time, he kept pressing his face against the glass and looking longingly.

“I tried to pull him away a few times, but he got quite upset and it took a while to distract him enough to move away.”

Angus explained they’d been going to Mamma Dough since he was two weeks old and therefore Percy knew that was the place to get pizza.

As a joke, Angus posted the photo of Percy on X, saying “As a full-time parent, I have to get my dopamine (feel-good hormone) from somewhere, and I get that from posting on the internet”.

The photo showed Percy’s face pushed against the glass, appearing heartbroken that he couldn’t go in at 8.10am as the restaurant hadn’t opened yet.

The post was then picked up by the Instagram account The Archbishop of Banterbury, and soon enough, Mamma Dough noticed the post.

Angus said: “Mamma Dough noticed it and they got in touch with this preposterously generous offer.”

(Image: Angus Dunican)

Martin O’Gorman, Head of Marketing and Brand for Mamma Dough, said: “After the X post went viral, we reached out to Angus and explained how sorry they were to see Percy so heartbroken.

“We added that we wanted to offer him and the family a full, lavish dinner with VIP treatment on us.

“He was super grateful, but then we decided that we could do one better than a free meal that night.

“To avoid any future heartbreak, we offered Percy free pizza for life.”

Percy is now Mamma Dough’s first and youngest ever VIP customer and can have free pizza anytime he comes in on the house.

Percy received a certificate to commemorate his VIP status, which Angus said went “straight to his head because he was very grumpy on the night, but he had a really good time”.

Angus said Mamma Dough’s offer was “ridiculous but obscenely welcome because we love eating there”.

Angus said that despite the fact they could theoretically have pizza every single day, they will remain “sensible about it” and will visit Mamma Dough at least once a month.

There are five Mamma Dough restaurants in south London, specifically in Brixton, Peckham, Sydenham, Ladywell, and south Norwood.

Martin said: “Although there are five restaurants, they all operate as local restaurants, and they are all about the local community and the people that go there, our supporters, and the managers.

“It very much feels like a local family-run restaurant.

“So offering a lifetime supply of pizza to Percy was us acknowledging that he, representing the next generation of people, is going to love Mamma Dough.

“And we just wanted to do something nice for someone.”