Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to the famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make the public laugh, while raising money to help people around the world and in the United Kingdom. A new CEO, Samir Patel, was announced in January 2021.
Davina Lucy Pascale McCall is an English television presenter. She was the presenter of the reality show Big Brother during its run on Channel 4 between 2000 and 2010. She also hosted Channel 4's Streetmate, The Million Pound Drop (2010–2015), Five Minutes to a Fortune (2013), and The Jump (2014–2017), as well as ITV's The Biggest Loser (2011–2012), Long Lost Family (2011–present), and This Time Next Year (2016–2019). McCall was a regular co-presenter of the Comic Relief annual telethons from 2005 to 2015.
A telethon is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other purportedly worthy cause.
Fame Academy was a British television talent competition to search for and educate new musical talents. The winner received a chance to become a successful music artist and part of the international franchise Star Academy known under various titles in various countries.
BBC Children in Need is the BBC's UK charity. Since 1980, it has raised over £1.5 billion for disadvantaged children and young people in the UK. When totalising up the money, it totals £1,569,978,236 from 1980 to 2022.
Miranda Katherine Hart Dyke is an English actress and writer. Following drama training at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, Hart began writing material for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and making appearances in various British sitcoms, including Hyperdrive (2006–2007) and Not Going Out (2006–2009).
Sport Relief was a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, established in 2002.
Gregory James Alan Milward is an English radio and television presenter and author. He hosts BBC Radio 1's breakfast show, co-presents the cricket podcast Tailenders alongside Felix White and James Anderson, and wrote the Kid Normal book series alongside Chris Smith.
Let's Sing and Dance, formerly known as Let's Dance, is a British television programme shown on BBC One, featuring celebrities performing famous dance routines to raise money for the charities Comic Relief and Sport Relief. The programme was presented by Steve Jones and Alex Jones, who replaced previous host Claudia Winkleman in 2011. In the first series, Anton du Beke was a regular judge, appearing alongside two guest panellists, but in the second series onwards, three guest judges were on the panel each week.
Red Nose Day 2011 was a fundraising event organised by Comic Relief. There was a live telethon broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two from the evening of 18 March 2011 to early the following morning as well as a number of run-up events. The theme for the Red Nose Day 2011 invited fund-raisers to "Do Something Funny For Money".
Comic Relief USA is an operating 501(c)(3) American charity with the vision of a just world free from poverty. Comic Relief, Inc. specialized in using the power of entertainment to drive positive change.
Children in Need 2011 was a campaign held in the United Kingdom to raise money for Children in Need. 2011 marked the 31st anniversary of the appeal which culminated in a live broadcast on BBC One which began on the evening of Friday 18 November and ran until the early hours of Saturday 19 November. The broadcast was hosted by Terry Wogan, with Tess Daly, Alesha Dixon and Fearne Cotton as co-hosts. The show was broadcast from BBC Television Centre in London but also included regular regional opt-outs presented from various locations around the UK.
Red Nose Day 2013 is a fundraising event organised by Comic Relief. A number of run-up events took place and the main event consisted of a live telethon broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two from the evening of Friday 15 March 2013 to early the following morning.
Sport Relief 2014 is a fundraising event organised by Sport Relief. A number of run-up events took place and the main event consisted of a live telethon broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two from the evening of Friday 21 March 2014 to early the following morning. Due to the closure of BBC Television Centre, the live studio event is now broadcast from the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.
Red Nose Day 2015 was a fund-raising event organised by Comic Relief, broadcast live on BBC One and BBC Two from the evening of 13 March 2015 to early the following morning. It was part of the "Face the Funny" campaign and was held on BBC One from Friday 13 March till Saturday 14 March 2015.
Lou Sanders is an English stand-up comedian, writer and actress from Broadstairs, Kent.
"Sparrow" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé. It was released on 15 March 2019 by Virgin EMI Records as the lead single from her third studio album, Real Life. "Sparrow" was written by Sandé primarily, with Laidi Saliasi credited as an additional songwriter. The track was produced by percussionist Troy Miller, with Sandé serving as a co-producer. The song, a power ballad with gospel influences, features lyrics which Sandé described as being inspired by the "intoxicating positivity" of Nigerian musician Fela Kuti.
Red Nose Day 2019 was a fundraising event organised by Comic Relief, broadcast live from BBC Elstree Centre on BBC One and BBC Two from the evening of 15 March 2019 to early the following morning. The event was broadcast from 7:00 pm to 2:30 am, and raised £63,548,668 for charity.
The Big Night In was a British telethon that was broadcast by BBC One from 7 pm to 10 pm on 23 April 2020 to support those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the first joint initiative between two BBC telethon charities, Children in Need and Comic Relief. By the end of the programme, over £27.3 million had been raised. The British government promised to match all public donations if the minimum of £20 million was reached.
