Sir Lenny Henry will be joined by Joel Dommett, Davina McCall, Paddy McGuiness, Romesh Ranganathan and David Tennant with Maya Jama and Rosie Ramsey making their Red Nose Day Night of TV debut
Live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Friday 15 March from 7pm this year’s Red Nose Day night of TV, Comic Relief: Funny for Money, will entertain, enthral and bring smiles to the nation.
• In what will be his last year hosting the show, Sir Lenny Henry will be joined by Joel Dommett, Davina McCall, Paddy McGuiness, Romesh Ranganathan and David Tennant with Maya Jama and Rosie Ramsey making their Red Nose Day Night of TV debut
• Comedy and entertainment’s biggest night of TV comes live from Media City UK in Salford on Friday 15th March across BBC One, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer from 7pm.
• Highlights from the fundraising bonanza include: the cast of a famous TV show reunite to find Sir Lenny’s replacement host, Alan Partridge returns to our airwaves and is joined by a very special guest and there’s an all-star line-up in The Traitors: The Movie.
• Special show dedicated to Sir Lenny’s 39 years of Comic Relief airs on BBC One.
• A star-studded line-up of sketches, live performances and special surprises will bring audiences together to raise a laugh and vital funds for important causes.
Viewers can expect hilarious sketches, live performances, exciting surprises and big prizes. At 10pm the laughter moves over to BBC Two for more skits and musical guests in Comic Relief: More Funny for Money, before returning to BBC One at 10:40pm for a very special tribute show, Comic Relief: A Whole Lotta Lenny, celebrating Sir Lenny Henry, hosted by Alex Jones.
The fun-filled evening will highlight and raise vital funds for Comic Relief’s work in the UK and around the world.
Red Nose Day Night of TV
Bringing together some of the nation’s best comics and entertainers, the big night of TV will feature exciting sketches, including a very special audition process to find Sir Lenny Henry’s replacement host. Alan Partridge returns with a very special guest on his regional radio show, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders reunite with a hilarious Red Nose Day message and who will be cast as the iconic Claudia Winkleman in The Traitors: The Movie?
The cast of Just For One Day, the Live Aid Musical, will perform a special medley and celebrities from across the nation put their comedy bones to the test by telling jokes. PLUS, live appearances by darts sensation Luke Littler, Money maestro Martin Lewis and The Gladiators!
Audiences have an exciting opportunity to win huge prizes during the night. Chris Evans and CarFest have already announced that they will be donating an Aston Martin – the same model as featured in the James Bond film Die Another Day – for one lucky winner to win on the night.
More information on sketches and musical performances will be revealed in due course.
Red Nose Day’s fundraising night of TV is a BBC Studios Entertainment Production for the BBC, commissioned by Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC. The BBC Studios Executive Producers are Peter Davey and Colin Hopkins and Sophie Rogers is Series Producer. Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Katie Taylor.
Additional Programmes
Comic Relief: A Whole Lotta Lenny
BBC One and BBC iPlayer, Friday 15 March at 10.40pm
Join Alex Jones and Sir Lenny Henry for a rollicking 60 minute romp celebrating Sir Lenny’s epic decades-long stint hosting Red Nose Day.
From the very first night of standup for Comic Relief in 1986 at the Shaftesbury Theatre – and the first live Red Nose Day TV show on the BBC in 1988 – until this evening, one man has been at the wheel.
We will reflect, reminisce and laugh along with Lenny, rolling VT on his greatest moment as chosen by ‘The One Show’ viewers, including Lenny in Luther, Lenny v Tom Jones, Lenny v Frank Bruno, plus some lesser spotted nostalgic nuggets from the vaults. Lenny will reveal his favourite ever moments, so expect gold plated Comic Relief classics and vintage music performances.
It’s a fitting tribute to the unique and tireless contribution of a legend in a sharp red suit who has put the fun into fundraising. Thank you, Sir Lenny!
Sir Lenny Henry says: “While this will be my last year of presenting Red Nose Day, I’ll still be involved in other Comic Relief projects throughout the year. But I think it is time to hand over the onscreen reins to some new names. This year the show is going to be chock-a-block full of content and all of your favourite presenters. It will probably be the best night of my life because it’s my last year hosting and I know there’s going to be loads of surprises and fun in store. You have to tune in for that!”
Snow Going Back: Comic Relief vs the Arctic
BBC One and BBC iPlayer, Monday 11 March at 9pm
Snow Going Back: Comic Relief vs The Arctic captures every gruelling step of Sara Davies, Vicky Pattison, Alex Scott and Laura Whitmore’s extraordinary trek across the Arctic in a bid to raise life changing money for Comic Relief.
Airing on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Monday 11 March at 9pm, the special documentary will see the foursome set off from the edge of the unforgiving Arctic Circle, in Tromsø Norway, to embark on Comic Relief’s coldest ever challenge in a terrain used to train British Special Forces. Over four long days, viewers will see the team battle unpredictable and disorientating conditions, as they attempt to trek, cross country ski and cycle to the finish line 50km away, with only eight hours of daylight each day and a constant threat of snowstorms.
Over 1,300 miles away from home trepidation grows as the team travel deeper into the silent and isolated Arctic wilderness. To complete their challenge of a lifetime, they must work together as a team and push the boundaries of their physical and mental resilience to navigate snow-covered tundras, hidden frozen lakes and ferocious winds while enduring temperatures as low as -20 degrees.
Red Peter
CBBC and BBC iPlayer, Friday 15 March at 5pm
Following the excitement from last year, Blue Peter is once again being renamed ‘Red Peter’ for an epic Red Nose Day special. The world’s longest-running children’s TV show has a jam-packed Red Nose Day extravaganza in store, including dressing up and in true Blue Peter style, a challenge! Can presenters Abby, Joel and Shini turn three landmarks ‘red to toe’ in just three days?
CBeebies Bedtime Story
CBeebies and BBC iPlayer, 15 March at 6:50pm
Comedian and actor Lenny Rush gets us in the mood for Red Nose Day in tonight’s funny CBeebies Bedtime Story, reading Not Now Bernard by David McKee.
Appeal Films
Throughout the evening of entertainment, viewers will see how their donations could help and have helped people trying to get by in the face of poverty and injustice in the UK and around the world. Films shown during the evening will tell the personal stories of those supported by Comic Relief funded projects. The films will help raise awareness of a range of important issues such as poverty, homelessness, domestic abuse, safe shelter, early childhood development and access to safe passage for those escaping danger.
Where The Money Goes
Red Nose Day returns at a difficult time for many – millions are facing impossible choices just to get by, and the impact of poverty, conflict and climate change is being felt further and wider than ever before.
Donations to Red Nose Day will go towards organisations helping to tackle some of the urgent problems faced by people here in the UK and around the world. This could include helping provide shelter for those that need it, putting food on plates, filling the shelves of baby banks, offering someone to talk to, or somewhere to be safe.
Donation Details
There are lots of ways to get involved and Do Something Funny for Money this Red Nose Day. To find out more, and to order your free fundraising pack, visit bbc.co.uk/rednoseday
Any donation you can give will make a difference. You can donate to Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day campaign by visiting bbc.co.uk/rednoseday
Red Nose Day merchandise
To look the part this Red Nose Day there’s still time to get your hands on some of this year’s official merchandise. This year’s Red Noses are the funniest and most sustainable collection to date, and are available from Amazon. Or, visit TK Maxx to get hold of one of the Red Nose Day T-shirt and sweatshirt fashion collection, featuring characters from the iconic Aardman family – including Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Morph and Feathers McGraw.
Source
BBC One