The Big Night In Raises £67m For Children In Need And Comic Relief

The BBC's fundraising show saw the return of Little Britain and The Vicar Of Dibley.

This week’s The Big Night In charity event has raised a total of £67,110,010, it has been revealed.

A total of £47 million of this figure will be split between BBC Children In Need and Comic Relief.

The BBC One fundraising show secured £27,398,675 during the 3 hour show on Thursday, but donations continued overnight, taking the total to £33,555,005.

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The Big Night In
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The Government pledged to match the amount raised on the night, with the first £20 million going to National Emergencies Trust and the rest split between BBC Children In Need and Comic Relief.

So far it has given £13,555,005 to BBC Children In Need and Comic Relief.

Alex Jones and Patrick Kielty announced the news on The One Show on Friday.

BBC Children In Need’s 2019 appeal, hosted by Mel Giedroyc and Graham Norton, raised a total of £47.8 million for the charity, while Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day 2019 appeal show raised more than £63 million on the night of broadcast alone.

 

Thursday’s telethon featured the first new Little Britain sketch in more than 10 years, a lockdown version of The Trip by Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, and even included a surprise performance from the Duke of Cambridge.

According to the BBC, it was watched by an average of 6.7 million viewers and gave the channel a 35% share of viewers, with a peak audience of 8.5 million.

William appeared in a Blackadder sketch alongside Stephen Fry just before the clap for carers took place.

He told the actor and comedian: “On my way, let me just see if I can find my socks, and my shoes, and my trousers.”

The programme also featured a host of musical performances from artists including Gary Barlow, Sam Smith and Celeste.

Smith performed an isolation version of their song Lay Me Down, while Celeste sang a cover of Bill Withers’ Lean On Me.

 

Foo Fighters also led a star-studded group of musicians including Dua Lipa and Chris Martin in a charity cover of their song Times Like These.

There were also comedy performances from David Tennant and Catherine Tate, Miranda Hart and Dawn French.

A reworked version of the music video for Peter Kay’s (Is This The Way To) Amarillo, which featured members of the public and emergency service workers, was also aired during the programme.