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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Hannah Roberts

Children In Need raises more than £45.5 million after live show

BBC Children In Need has raised over £45.5m following its annual appeal show, with the three-hour broadcast featuring a host of musical performances.

The star-studded programme saw Ella Eyre, Sam Ryder and Lewis Capaldi perform on stage, with the latter delivering a piano rendition of his new track, “The Day That I Die”.

Eurovision stars Remember Monday, who represented the UK earlier this year, also performed a moving version of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.

Their performance was set against a montage of poignant testimonies from young individuals who have directly benefited from the charity's vital work.

In total, £45,507,536 was raised after the live show.

Another performer was Tom Fletcher’s son Buzz, who said he had “always wanted to follow” in his father’s footsteps, after the two performed a song taken from the new animated film, Pudsey and the Thread of Hope.

Tom Fletcher sings with his son Buzz on Children in Need (BBC)

The yellow bear, who acts as a mascot for the charity, appeared in a sketch, alongside 16-year-old presenter Lenny Rush, where they were seen embarking on their new BBC roles as “TV big cheeses”.

In a voiceover from a clip that showed the bear and TV star being photographed outside BBC Broadcasting House, Mel Giedroyc said Rush had “vowed to put children at the heart of absolutely all BBC programming with immediate effect”.

In another clip, Richard Madeley threatened to fire Rush and said: “We both know what’s going to happen if things don’t improve, don’t we? Lenny is going to be fired.”

The sketch showing Rush and Pudsey Bear as two new BBC bosses comes following the resignation of director-general Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness.

Rush hosted the appeal show, filmed live from MediaCityUK in Salford, alongside BBC Radio 2 presenters Vernon Kay and Paddy McGuinness, The Saturdays star Rochelle Humes, TV presenter Giedroyc, and TV chef and musician Big Zuu.

Celebrities, including Jack Black and Jessie J, explained how to donate to the charity in video clips, and presenter Stephen Mulhern demonstrated how gift aid donations worked in a spoof of Deal or No Deal, featuring Pudsey Bear.

Sara Cox covered 135 miles – the equivalent of five marathons in five days – for her Children In Need challenge (BBC)

Presenters Giedroyc and Big Zuu worked up a sweat as they were led by fitness expert Joe Wicks in a live workout, also featuring some of the professional dancers from Strictly Come Dancing.

Elsewhere, DJ AG livestreamed a four-hour set from the piazza outside the Children In Need studio, and teenage carer Eloise from Scotland joined the London cast of Starlight Express on stage for a performance.

Among the other performers were the BBC Children in Need choir, who performed a rendition of “Yellow” by Coldplay.

Earlier on Friday, BBC Radio 2 presenter Sara Cox completed her Children In Need challenge, in which she covered 135 miles – the equivalent of five marathons in five days.

During the appeal show it was revealed that the challenge had so far raised £9,523,028 for Children In Need.

The radio show host, who travelled on foot from Kielder Forest in Northumberland to Pudsey in Leeds, said she was an “absolute wreck” during the appeal show and added: “It was a rollercoaster, like, literally my mood was changing every three, four seconds, it was a lot.”

Children In Need funds family centres, community spaces, youth clubs and refuges, homeless shelters, hospices and helplines across the UK.

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