BBC Children in Need returns this Friday, with the annual charity television event looking to raise a record amount for disadvantaged youngsters around the country.
What is Children in Need?
First airing in 1980, Children in Need has become the biggest charity event in the UK, raising a total of £890 million over the past 36 years.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Yet according to The Sun, its roots go back even further, to 1927 and the BBC’s first charity broadcast, a five-minute radio appeal on Christmas day that raised £1,143 (about £27,150 in today’s money).
According to the Children in Need website, the charity is currently supporting around 2,400 projects that works with children facing a range of disadvantages, “including poverty and deprivation, disabled young people and children who have been the victims of abuse or neglect”.
Last year, a record £60 million was donated during the course of the evening, up from just £1 million in 1980, but organisers are hoping to do even better this year.
When is it on and who is hosting it?
This year’s Children in Need will air on Friday 17 November at 7.30pm on BBC One.
Fronted by the late Sir Terry Wogan for 34 years until 2014, this year’s line-up will be hosted by comedian and presenter Graham Norton. He will be joined by a host of celebrity presenters including Strictly Come Dancing’s Tess Daly and Ade Adepitan. Former Great British Bake Off presenter Mel Giedroyc will also be involved, along with Rochelle and Marvin Humes.
The Mirror says “There will be a touch of sadness surrounding the show” following Wogan’s death last year “but the stars will hope to raise as much money as possible in his honour”.
The singer Katie Melue will deliver this year’s official Children in Need song, a cover of Sting's “Fields of Gold”, following in the footsteps of Elli Goulding, Craig Davis, McFly and the Spice Girls.
What can we expect on the night?
The BBC has yet to release the full schedule but the stars confirmed for the line-up so far include:
Rita Ora, The Vamps, Beverley Knight, Amber Riley and Cassidy Janson as the Leading Ladies.
Anne Robinson returns with a celebrity version of the Weakest Link while Blue Peter presenters from the past 60 years will compete in a special Pudsey Glitter Ball Strictly special.
Outside of the studio, EastEnders goes WestEnders as the stars sing their way around Albert Square with some classical musical numbers. The One Show’s Rickshaw Challenge also returns for another year, with riders travelling 500 miles to raise money. After setting off on 9 November, they will finally reach their destination on Friday during the live appeal show.
Doctor Who fans will get an exclusive look at the upcoming Christmas special, and Peter Capaldi’s final outing as the Time Lord.
How can I donate?
Aside from the appeal telethon which kicks off at 7.30pm, you can donate online, or alternatively download a fundraising kit to raise money yourself.
There is also a range of Children in Need clothing and merchandise in support of the event. The London Evening Standard says for those in search of Children in Need buys, “supermarket chain Asda has an impressive range of Pudsey-themed clothes and accessories that will help you do your bit for the cause” with a minimum of 20% of each product sold donated to the charity.
There is a range of accessories, t-shirts and Pudsey bears to choose from at the Children In Need shop where you can donate money to the 2017 appeal.
-
Should you add your child to your credit card?The Explainer You can make them an authorized user on your account in order to help them build credit
-
Cracker Barrel crackup: How the culture wars are upending corporate brandingIn the Spotlight Is it 'woke' to leave nostalgia behind?
-
'It's hard to discern what it actually means'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Why a bale of straw is hanging from a London bridgeTall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
-
BBC pauses probe into presenter ‘sex scandal’ as police take overSpeed Read Met Police weighing up whether to launch criminal investigation as Rishi Sunak calls claims ‘shocking and concerning’
-
Why are British five-year-olds 7cm shorter than western peers?feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
-
Muzzling the BBC: what does Indian PM Narendra Modi have to hide?Under the Radar The Delhi government has blocked the airing of a documentary on Modi’s role in the 2002 Gujarat riots
-
Three children dead after plunging into frozen Solihull lakeSpeed Read Search continues for unconfirmed number of other children, with rescue ‘now a recovery operation’
-
‘March of the Mummies’: can people afford to have children?Talking Point Thousands of UK parents are calling on the government to cut childcare costs
-
‘Moving CBBC online isn’t modernisation – it’s dangerous’Instant Opinion Your digest of analysis from the British and international press
-
Home Office worker accused of spiking mistress’s drink with abortion drugSpeed Read Darren Burke had failed to convince his girlfriend to terminate pregnancy
