Immediate release: Saturday 16 November 2019

BBC Children in Need’s 2019 Appeal raises an incredible £47.8 million

The Great British public have once again gone above and beyond to raise a phenomenal £47,886,382 for BBC Children in Need’s 2019 Appeal.

Live on BBC One and Two from 7.30pm on Friday until the early hours of Saturday morning, the 2019 Appeal show marked the crescendo of this year’s fundraising activities for BBC Children in Need with a special night of family entertainment to help raise money for disadvantaged children and young people in communities across the UK.

TV favourites Ade Adepitan and Tess Daly kicked off proceedings, before Mel Giedroyc and Graham Norton took over ahead of Rochelle and Marvin Humes, who were joined by comedian Tom Allen.  All seven presenters saw the stage came to life with performances from Louis Tomlinson, Alfie Boe & Michael Ball and Westlife. 

A surprise performance on the night came from Adrian Lester OBE, who performed a stunning rendition of Stevie Wonder’s I Wish, which features on BBC Children in Need’s Got It Covered album.   Last month, BBC Children in Need: Got It Covered was broadcast on BBC One. The 90-minute entertainment documentary brought to life the making of the album from a stellar line-up including Helena Bonham Carter CBE, Jim Broadbent, Olivia Colman CBE, Shaun Dooley, Luke Evans, Suranne Jones, Adrian Lester OBE, Himesh Patel, David Tennant and Jodie Whittaker.

A very special highlight during the show saw EastEnders’ stars bidding to win the Pudsey Glitter Ball trophy. The special saw Ricky Champ, Louisa Lytton, Maisie Smith and Rudolph Walker OBE taking to the dancefloor with the Strictly pros, with Maisie Smith and professional partner Kevin Clifton lifting the 2019 Pudsey Glitterball trophy.

Viewers were treated to a behind the scenes mockumentary about the making of Armando Iannucci’s latest film – A Personal History of David Copperfield.   The hilarious sketch saw the cast – including Daisy Cooper and Paul Whitehouse playing up, resulting in Armando calling in some help from a group of children from the Big Yellow Bear Production Company.

A moving VT saw England’s Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling join TV presenter Mark Wright in surprising children from the England Amputee Football Association, one of the many organisations benefiting from support from BBC Children in Need.

Another very special moment on the show saw an incredible young girl who has been supported by a BBC Children in Need funded project being surprised live on stage by Doctor Who stars Tosin Cole, Mandip Gill and the Doctor herself, Jodie Whittaker.

There was slime and stunts galore when presenters Sam and Mark brought children’s TV favourite – Crackerjack – back for BBC Children in Need.

The show also saw the finale of The One Show’s Rickshaw Challenge.  The challenge saw Matt Baker and six inspirational young people who have benefited from BBC Children in Need funding, cycle the rickshaw 400 miles from Holyhead to BBC Elstree Studios, raising a remarkable £5.5 million along the way.  Sir Tom Hunter and Lady Marion Hunter joined the team on the stage to celebrate the incredible total. The Hunter Foundation (THF) had pledged to give 40p for every £1 donated by the general public to the Rickshaw Challenge, but generously announced that they were donating £3 million, bringing The Rickshaw Challenge’s 2019 total to a whopping £8.5 million.

Another standout moment from the show saw Popular YouTube star, Colin Furze, being challenged by two of the cast of Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker – Daisy Ridley and John Boyega – to make a real working landspeeder from the first ever Star Wars to mark the culmination of the biggest film sagas of all time.  Young people from BBC Children in Need funded projects supported him as he worked to get it ready for Appeal night.

Elsewhere, Rylan Clark-Neal joined the show to celebrate Radio 2’s incredible fundraising total for 2019, an amazing £2 million. Earlier this week, bona fide karaoke king – Rylan Clark-Neal, undertook a 24 hour non-stop karaoke challenge to raise money for BBC Children in Need, raising a spectacular £1 million which contributed to Radio 2’s fantastic total.

In a fitting tribute to the charity’s Life-President, the show also saw the presentation of the fourth Sir Terry Wogan Fundraiser of the Year Award. The accolade recognises the charity’s fundraisers, of whom Sir Terry was a huge champion, and went to siblings Austin and Esther who undertake Quadrathlon’s for BBC Children in Need.  Twelve year-old Austin has Muscular Dystrophy but is passionate about supporting other children, and alongside Esther, has raised over £6,000 for BBC Children in Need in recent years.

At 10pm viewers switched over to BBC Two for a very special Dragons’ Den Does I’ll Get This: Children in Need Special. The special saw current Dragons’, Peter Jones, Tej Lalvani, Touker Suleyman and Sara Davies, as well as former Dragon Sarah Willingham, meet at a restaurant for a fancy meal where they played a series of games between courses, which resulted in the loser – Touker Suleyman – having to pay for everyone’s dinner and make a donation to BBC Children in Need – however the rest of the generous Dragons’ decided to match Touker’s donation, raising even more money for the charity!

Later in the evening, BBC Children in Need took over The Graham Norton Show studio for a special edition of the Big Red Chair.  Graham’s special guests were three young carers who had control of the famous lever and ultimately decided whether Tom Allen, Sara Cox, Alex Jones, Sophie Raworth, Anneka Rice and Danny Rose’s jokes were good enough to let them walk, or whether they got flipped.

Marvin and Rochelle Humes hosted a BBC Children in Need special of their Saturday night music quiz, The Hit List, featuring a number of artists that have previously performed on official BBC Children in Need official singles.  Hip-hop artist Wretch 32 was paired with former JLS member JB Gill, Heidi Range from the Sugababes competed with Girls Aloud’s Nadine Coyle and Michelle Heaton from Liberty X was paired with Blue’s very own Antony Costa. The triumphant duo on the night was Nadine and Michelle.

Celebrities including Cheryl, Danny Dyer, Rupert Grint, Nadiya Hussain, Felicity Jones, Vicky McClure, Himish Patel, Eddie Redmayne, Andrew Scott, Gareth Southgate and David Tennant reminded viewers about where their money goes with stories of the children and young people who have received support from BBC Children in Need funded projects, thanks to the generosity of people across the UK and their fundraising efforts.

Other highlights of the evening included:

• A spectacular opening performance came from the cast of the hit West End show Big, including Jay McGuinness, Kimberley Walsh, Matthew Kelly and Wendi Peters who took to the stage and kicked off the night with a bang. The performance was arranged especially for BBC Children in Need, and poignantly featured four young people who have previously been supported by BBC Children in Need funded projects.
• Hugh Dennis, Ed Gamble and Dara O’Briain got together for a Mock The Week sketch, which saw a BBC Children in Need spin on one their most popular rounds – Scenes We’d Like To See
• A breath-taking routine from the Circus 1903 stage show
• The cast of the Tina Turner Musical hot-stepped into the studio for a special performance
• Nick Knowles and the purple shirts came to the stage to celebrate their 2019 Big Build for BBC Children in Need, which saw the team convert a rundown church hall into accommodation and a support centre for Nightsafe: a Blackburn charity which provides support to young people aged 16 to 24 who are homeless or vulnerably housed
• Joe Wicks, The Body Coach, was live in the studio to celebrate the remarkable fundraising efforts of schools up and down the UK.  Schools have pulled out all the stops in their fundraising this year and are currently on track to raise £5,250,000
• A spectacular performance from 1,399 children performing from nine different locations across the UK as they joined together to sing True Colours by Cyndi Lauper
• Countryfile’s 2019 fundraising total was announced – a phenomenal £2.7 million
• An exclusive first-look at the Call The Midwife 2019 Christmas special
• Chizzy Akudolu, Aston Merrygold, Ashley Roberts and Sam Thompson joined Marvin, Rochelle and Tom for fun and games towards the end of the evening
• Thank you messages to fundraisers who have pulled out all the stops in their fundraising this year and are currently on track to raise £4,250,000

Simon Antrobus, Chief Executive of BBC Children in Need, said: “Our incredible supporters the length and breadth of the UK can feel incredibly proud of what has been achieved this evening.  Saying ‘thank you’ seems insufficient, but I hope everyone who supported this evening accepts my heartfelt thanks for the millions of acts of kindness that have been shown this evening – every single text sent, pound in a collection tin or phone call made this evening, has led to this.  The money raised tonight really will go on to make a lasting, positive impact on young lives – changing young people’s futures and giving hope when they need it the most.  Thank you.”

Tonight’s total represents an exciting culmination of fundraising activity for BBC Children in Need – but this evening’s total will continue to rise as the money pours in from the thousands of events already held, or scheduled to happen, across the UK. And it’s not too late to get involved! Organise a fundraising event or donate at bbc.co.uk/Pudsey or 0345 733 2233.

The BBC Children in Need Appeal Show is a BBC Studios production, executive produced by Peter Davey and Barney Newman.

~Ends~

Further information:

• BBC Children in Need contact: [email protected]
• BBC Press Office:  020 8576 1865 / bbc.co.uk/pressoffice

Images

• Show pictures available from: bbcpictures.com  or Dropbox
• Backstage pictures available here (Dave Hogan credit)

Notes to Editors

BBC Children in Need’s 2018 Appeal show culminated with an on-the-night total of £50.6 million.  The 2018 total grew to £58 million as donations and fundraising income continued to pour in over the months following the 2018 show.

About BBC Children in Need

BBC Children in Need’s vision is that every child in the UK has a safe, happy and secure childhood and the chance to reach their potential. The charity will realise this vision by supporting, promoting and publicising work that addresses the challenges that children and young people face and work that builds their skills and resilience.

BBC Children in Need is currently supporting over 3,000 local charities and projects in communities across the UK that are helping children and young people facing a range of disadvantages such as living in poverty, being disabled or ill, or experiencing distress, neglect or trauma.

Further information on BBC Children in Need can be found at bbc.co.uk/Pudsey

About BBC Studios Production 

BBC Studios Production makes around 2000 hours of content annually for the BBC and other UK and international broadcasters and received 79 awards and over 300 nominations over the past year, making it the most awarded producer in the UK.  Spanning drama, comedy, factual, factual entertainment, entertainment, music and events, its award-winning credits include Blue Planet II, Doctor Who, Luther, Good Omens, This Country, Famalam, The Planets, 8 Days: To the Moon and Back, Louis Theroux and Killed By My Debt, as well as much-loved long-running series like Top Gear, Strictly Come Dancing, EastEnders, DIY SOS and Countryfile. Since launching as a commercial business in April 2017, BBC Studios has won over 30 third-party commissions, including commissions from Apple, National Geographic, Channel 4, Sky, UKTV, Channel 5, Discovery, PBS, Quibi, ABC in Australia and Migu in China.

Regional fundraising breakdown