Davina McCall has revealed that Comic Relief’s annual Red Nose Day appeal has successfully raised more than £30 million.
The star-studded charity fundraiser, broadcast live from Salford’s MediaCity, featured a host of comedic talent.
Catherine Tate reprised her beloved character Nan, while sketches drew inspiration from popular BBC programmes such as The Traitors and Amandaland.
McCall fronted the event alongside fellow comedians Tate, Joel Dommett, Katherine Ryan, and Nick Mohammed.
Revealing the Red Nose Day total at the end of the show on BBC One, McCall said: “The total raised tonight is a whopping £30,004,040. Thank you so, so much and thank you for your incredible generosity.”
The first total of the night was revealed to be £11,520,926.
A pre-recorded video of Comic Relief co-founder Sir Lenny Henry played at the start of the show thanking the public for their fundraising over the past 41 years, hailing their dedication as the “definition of a truly United Kingdom”.
Elsewhere on the show, actors including Julia Roberts, Sir Ian McKellen and Bryan Cranston made a special appearance, responding to a letter from Tate’s Nan character asking them to come on the show.
A spoof of The Traitors aired, showing celebrities including Gavin And Stacey star Alison Steadman, reality TV star Vicky Pattison and comedian Iain Stirling playing contestants from this year’s series.
Another sketch saw Amandaland star Lucy Punch joined by some of TV’s most beloved Amandas including presenter Amanda Holden, former Coronation Street actress Amanda Barrie, and the Traitors series four star Amanda Collier.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Other stars who featured across the show included Sir Idris Elba, TV presenters Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary, comedian Chris McCausland, former Made In Chelsea star Sam Thompson and the cast of Saturday Night Live UK.
There were also musical appearances from singers Calum Scott and Blessing Offor, as well as social media stars Ayame, Sarel, Victor Kunda and Specs Gonzalez – who had two weeks to come together and learn a song to perform on the show.
The evening also had TV presenter Dommett, known as the face of ITV’s The Masked Singer, taking part in a parody of the show called The Masked Finger in which a giant finger was revealed to be social media star AngryGinge.
BBC Radio 1 DJ Greg James was also on the BBC One programme following his 1,000km charity cycle, and spoke about when the Prince of Wales briefly joined him for part of his journey.
The broadcaster said he had “never held on more tightly” and joked: “Can you imagine what would have happened to me if he fell off? It would have been the end – maybe the end of Comic Relief.”
Canadian comic Ryan hosted the fundraiser later in the evening and took aim at Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor during her monologue after she said she had to tone down her jokes because it has not passed the watershed.
She quipped: “You’ve had a lucky escape if you used to be a prince.”
A series of appeal films, including one fronted by Welsh actor Michael Sheen, were played during the show, reminding viewers of the purpose of Red Nose Day and how donations help support people in the UK and beyond.
Comic Relief is a UK charity that aims “to help put food on plates, roofs over heads and keep little ones safe”, and was co-founded by Sir Lenny Henry and Love Actually screenwriter Richard Curtis in 1985.
Money raised by Red Nose Day goes towards organisations helping to tackle homelessness, poverty and mental health along with other causes in the UK and throughout the world.
