Children in Need


Children in Need


BBC Children in Need (also promoted as Plant mewn Angen in Wales) is the BBC's UK charity. As of September 2023 and since 1980, it has raised over £1 billion for disadvantaged children and young people in the UK.

One of the highlights is an annual telethon, held in November and televised on BBC One and BBC Two. Pudsey Bear has been BBC Children in Need's mascot since 1985, whilst Sir Terry Wogan was its long-standing host for 35 years. A prominent annual event in British television, Children in Need is one of two high-profile British telethons. It is the only charity belonging to the BBC, the other telethon being Red Nose Day, supporting Comic Relief.

Following the closure of the BBC Television Centre, the telethon broadcasts took place at the BBC Elstree Centre from 2013 to 2020. The telethon previously lasted for up to 7 hours, but since 2020, it has been reduced to a 3 hour programme from 7pm until 10pm. In relation to the event having content designed for family viewing, the watershed is delayed until 11:30pm.

In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the telethon was reduced to a singular programme with only four presenters: Mel Giedroyc, Alex Scott, Chris Ramsey and Stephen Mangan. As of November 2021, the annual telethon takes place at Dock10, MediaCityUK in Salford. In October 2023, it was reported that, for the first time in Children in Need history, the BBC's 2023 appeal broadcast would have its first child co-presenter, with children's TV star and upcoming Doctor Who actor Lenny Rush taking on the role.

History

Earlier BBC appeals

The BBC's first broadcast charity appeal took place in 1927, in the form of a five-minute radio broadcast on Christmas Day. It raised about £1,342, which was donated to four children's charities.

The first televised appeal took place in 1955 and was called the Children's Hour Christmas Appeal, with the yellow glove puppet Sooty Bear and Harry Corbett fronting it. The Christmas Day Appeals continued on TV and radio until 1979. During that time a total of £625,836 was raised. Terry Wogan first appeared during this five-minute appeal in 1978 and again in 1979. Sometimes cartoon characters such as Peter Pan and Tom and Jerry were used.

BBC Children in Need

In 1980, the first Children in Need telethon was broadcast. It was a series of short segments linking the evening's programming instead of the usual continuity. It was devoted to raising money exclusively destined for charities working with children in the United Kingdom. The new format, presented by Terry Wogan, Sue Lawley and Esther Rantzen, saw a dramatic increase in public donations: £1 million was raised that year.

The format was developed throughout the 1980s to the point where the telethon segments grew longer and the regular programming diminished, eventually being dropped altogether from 1984 in favour of a single continuous programme. This format has grown in scope to incorporate further events broadcast on radio and online. As a regular presenter, Wogan had become firmly associated with the annual event, continuing to front it until 2014. The following year, he started to endure ill health, from which he died in 2016.

In 1988, BBC Children in Need became a registered charity (number 802052) in England and Wales, followed by registration in Scotland (SC039557) in 2008. In 2020, BBC Children in Need attended a Formula one Race with Mclaren F1 Team to help support Children in Need in Turkey.

The current chief executive since 2016 is Simon Antrobus.

Sponsorships

Asda has been a part of the Children in Need charity. Other sponsorships include McDonald's, One Stop, Greggs, Enterprise, Welcome Break (which includes WHSmith, Waitrose, Subway, Burger King, Pret, Starbucks and Harry Ramsden's.), and Cineworld additionally joined the Children in Need charity.

Sir Terry Wogan Fundraiser of the Year Award

An award called the Sir Terry Wogan Fundraiser of the Year has been presented since 2016 to someone who has gone above and beyond to help raise money for Children in Need. The award was set up by Terry's family and was presented by Terry's son, Mark, at the 2016 telethon in memory of the late Sir Terry Wogan. Joanna Lumley awarded it to Ellie and Abbie Holloway during the 2017 telethon. In 2021 Michael Ball turned up to present the prestigious award to Amy Wright.

Telethon

Acts

The telethon features performances from many top singers and groups, with many celebrities also appearing on the 6+1⁄2-hour-long programme performing various activities such as sketches or musical numbers. Featured celebrities often include those from programmes on rival network ITV, including some appearing in-character, or from the sets of their own programmes. A performance by BBC newsreaders became an annual fixture. Stars of newly opened West End musicals regularly perform a number from their show later in the evening after "curtain call" in their respective theatres.

Broadcast

The BBC devotes the entire night's programming on its flagship channel BBC One to the Children in Need telethon, with the exception of 35 minutes at 10 o'clock while BBC News at Ten, Weather and Regional News airs, and activity continues on BBC Two with special programming, such as Mastermind Children in Need, which is a form of Celebrity Mastermind, with four celebrities answering questions on a chosen subject and on general knowledge.

In recent years, before the telethon itself, the BBC has broadcast Children in Need specials including DIY SOS The Big Build, Bargain Hunt, The One Show, in which hosts Matt Baker and Alex Jones did a rickshaw challenge and a celebrity version of Pointless in which Pudsey assists hosts Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman.

Unlike the other BBC charity telethon Comic Relief, Children in Need relies substantially on the BBC regions for input into the telethon night. The BBC English regions all have around 5–8-minute round-ups every hour during the telethon. This does not interrupt the schedule of items shown from BBC Television Centre as the presenters usually hand over to the regions, giving those in the main network studio a short break.

BBC Scotland, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland, however, opted out of the network schedule with a considerable amount of local fundraising news and activities from their broadcast area. Usually they went over to the network broadcast at various times of the night, and usually they showed some network items later than when the English regions saw them. This was to give the BBC nations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland a much larger slot than the BBC English regions because the "nations" comprise a distinct audience of the BBC. Usually BBC Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland handed back to network coverage from around 1:00 am on the telethon night. For the 2010 appeal this changed, with Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales deciding not to have their usual opt-outs and instead following the English regions' pattern of having updates every hour.

Children in Need Choir

Since 2011 one of the acts has been a choir where over 1000 children come together in the studio and in around 8-10 locations across the UK and sing one song live in unison from the various locations. These choirs are created by the BBC local news regions using local schools and theatre groups and usually sing from where the regional event takes place*. The performance usually starts in the studio and moving to the different locations throughout the performance before ending in the studio (2022 and 2023 do not start in the studio) with a short 20-30 second instrumental break to show a few clips from the night's appeal films. However, since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic the choir there have been fewer singers and the choirs across the UK have been pre-recorded with only the studio choir singing live.

The locations for each year were:

2011. The Children in Need Choir started by Gareth Malone featured the contestants on The Big Performance Series 2. They sang Keep Holding On by Avril Lavigne The choirs sang at:

  • London at BBC Television Centre in the BBC London region
  • Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay for BBC Scotland
  • Kent at Bluewater for BBC South East
  • Weston-super-Mare at Grand Pier for BBC West
  • Salford at MediaCityUK for BBC North West
  • Cornwall at Eden Project for BBC South West
  • Cardiff at Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama for BBC Wales
  • Pudsey in the Leisure Centre car park for BBC Yorkshire
  • Birmingham at Aston Hall for BBC West Midlands
  • Belfast at W5 museum for BBC Northern Ireland
  • Hull at Hull Truck Theatre for BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
  • Hampshire at The National Motor Museum for BBC South
  • Colchester at Charter Hall for BBC East
  • County Durham at Beamish Museum, County Durham for BBC North East and Cumbria
  • Loughborough at Loughborough University for BBC East Midlands

The link up performance went: London, Glasgow, Kent, Weston-super-Mare, Salford, Cornwall, Cardiff, Pudsey, London, The Instrumental Section, Birmingham, Belfast, London Hull, Hampshire, Colchester, County Durham and Loughborough were not shown in the link up performance and were instead shown on the highlights.

2012 the choir was led by Aled Jones and featured over 2000 singers in 15 locations. They sang Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel

The choirs were singing at:

  • London at BBC Television Centre in the BBC London region
  • Aberdeen at The Beach Ballroom for BBC Scotland
  • Northumberland at The Alnwick Garden for BBC North East and Cumbria
  • Swindon at STEAM: Museum of the Great Western Railway for BBC West
  • Birmingham at The Mailbox for BBC West Midlands
  • Belfast at Broadcasting House for BBC Northern Ireland
  • East Sussex at Glyndebourne for BBC South East
  • Cardiff at BBC Hoddinott Hall for BBC Wales
  • Scunthorpe at Baths Hall for BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
  • Winchester at INTECH for BBC South
  • Cambridge at West Road Concert Hall, University of Cambridge for BBC East
  • Exeter at The Forum, University of Exeter for BBC South West
  • Leicestershire at Conkers Discovery Centre, National Forest for BBC East Midlands
  • Rotherham at Magna Science Adventure Centre for BBC Yorkshire
  • Salford at MediaCityUK for BBC North West

The link up performance went: London, Aberdeen, London (for a short instrumental section no singing in this section), Northumberland, Swindon, Birmingham, Belfast, The Instrumental section, East Sussex, Cardiff, Scunthorpe, Winchester, London Cambridge, Exeter, Leicestershire, Rotherham, and Salford were not shown as part of the main link up performance and were instead shown in the highlights.

In 2013 the main studio moved to Elstree Studios in Borehamwood just outside of London and had only 10 choirs and 1624 children instead of all of them having choirs and not showing some of them on the link up. The choirs sang at:

  • Elstree at Elstree Studios in the BBC London region
  • Bath at The Roman Baths for BBC West
  • Belfast at BBC Blackstaff House for BBC Northern Ireland
  • Manchester at Z-Arts for BBC North West
  • Falmouth at National Maritime Museum Cornwall for BBC South West
  • Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay for BBC Scotland
  • Birmingham at The Library of Birmingham for BBC West Midlands
  • Kettering at Wicksteed Park for BBC East
  • Merthyr Tydfil at The College for BBC Wales
  • Hexham at Hexham Trinity Methodist Church for BBC North East and Cumbria

The link up performance went: Elstree, Bath, Belfast, Manchester, Falmouth, Glasgow, Birmingham, Kettering, Elstree, The Instrumental Section, Merthyr Tydfil, Hexham, Elstree.

In 2014 the choir had a similar format to 2013 with 10 locations and 1685 and they sang "I'll Stand by You" by The Pretenders.

The choirs sang from:

  • Elstree at Elstree Studios in the BBC London region
  • Bradford at Bradford College for BBC Yorkshire
  • Norwich at The Millennium Library at The Forum for BBC East
  • Newport at The Newport Centre for BBC Wales
  • Birmingham at Thinktank for BBC West Midlands
  • Belfast at BBC Blackstaff House for BBC Northern Ireland
  • Plymouth at Plymouth Life Centre for BBC South West
  • Blackpool at Blackpool Tower Circus for BBC North West
  • Chatham at Chatham Historic Dockyard for BBC South East
  • Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay for BBC Scotland

The link up performance went: Elstree, Bradford, Norwich, Newport, Birmingham, Belfast, Plymouth, The Instrumental Section, Blackpool, Chatham, Glasgow, Elstree

In 2015 there were 1661 children in 10 locations and the choir sang The Climb by Miley Cyrus

The choirs sang from:

  • Elstree at Elstree Studios in the BBC London region
  • Gloucester at Gloucester Cathedral for BBC West
  • Belfast at BBC Blackstaff House for BBC Northern Ireland
  • Keswick at The Rawnsley Centre for BBC North East and Cumbria
  • Great Yarmouth at The Hippodrome for BBC East
  • Llandudno at Venue Cymru for BBC Wales
  • Jersey at Fort Regent for BBC South West
  • Blackpool at Blackpool Tower Circus for BBC North West
  • Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay for BBC Scotland
  • Arundel at Arundel Castle for BBC South

The link up performance went: Elstree, Gloucester, Belfast, Keswick, Great Yarmouth, Elstree, Llandudno, Elstree (short instrumental with no singing), Jersey, The Instrumental section, Blackpool, Glasgow, Arundel, Elstree

In 2016 they had 1580 children in 9 choirs and they sang Lean on Me by Bill Withers

The Choirs sang at:

  • Elstree at Elstree Studios in the BBC London region
  • Liverpool at Sefton Park for BBC North West
  • Swansea at Swansea University for BBC Wales
  • Bridlington at Bridlington Spa for BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
  • Dudley at The Black Country Living Museum for BBC West Midlands
  • Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay for BBC Scotland
  • Milton Keynes at Stadium MK for BBC East
  • Salisbury at Salisbury Arts Centre for BBC South
  • Belfast at Titanic for BBC Northern Ireland

The Link up performance went: Elstree, Liverpool, Swansea, Bridlington, Dudley, Glasgow, Milton Keynes, The Instrumental section, Salisbury, Swansea, Bridlington, Belfast, Glasgow, Elstree

In 2017 there were 1788 children in 10 choirs and they sang Over the Rainbow by Judy Garland

The choirs sang from:

  • Elstree at Elstree Studios in the BBC London region
  • Manchester at The Science and Industry Museum for BBC North West
  • Bristol at Aerospace for BBC West
  • Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay for BBC Scotland
  • Newcastle at The Discovery Museum for BBC North East and Cumbria
  • Newbury at Brockhurst and Marlston House School for BBC South
  • Belfast at The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum for BBC Northern Ireland
  • Halifax at The Piece Hall for BBC Yorkshire
  • Cardiff at The Broadcasting House for BBC Wales
  • Nottingham at The Albert Hall for BBC East Midlands

The Link up performance went: Elstree, Manchester, Bristol, Glasgow, Newcastle, The Instrumental section, Newbury, Belfast, Halifax, Cardiff, Nottingham, Elstree

In 2018 the 1466 children in 9 choirs sang A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman

The choirs sang from:

  • Elstree at Elstree Studios in the BBC London region
  • Southampton at King Edward VI School for BBC South
  • St Ives at Tate for BBC South West
  • Belfast at The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum for BBC Northern Ireland
  • Chester at Storyhouse for BBC North West
  • Lincoln at The New Theatre Royal for BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
  • Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay for BBC Scotland
  • Cardiff at The Broadcasting House for BBC Wales
  • Wolverhampton at The Grand Theatre for BBC West Midlands

The Link up performance went: Elstree, Southampton, St Ives, Belfast, Chester, Lincoln, Glasgow, The Instrumental section, Cardiff and Wolverhampton, Belfast, Elstree

In 2019 there were 9 choirs and 1399 children and they sang True Colours by Cyndi Lauper

The Choirs sang from:

  • Elstree at Elstree Studios in the BBC London region
  • Hartlepool at The Town Hall Theatre for BBC North East and Cumbria
  • Belfast at W5 museum for BBC Northern Ireland
  • Maidstone at Allington Castle for BBC South East
  • The Wirral at The Lady Lever Art Gallery for BBC North West
  • Cardiff at The Broadcasting House for BBC Wales
  • Mountsorrel at The Mountsorrel Memorial Centre for BBC East Midlands
  • Larkhill at St Michael's CE Primary School for BBC West
  • Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay for BBC Scotland

The link up wenr: Elstree, Hartlepool, Belfast, Maidstone, The Wirral, Cardiff, Mountsorrel, The Instrumental Section, Larkhill and Glasgow, Cardiff, Elstree

In 2020 due to the Covid-19 Pandemic The choir was altered to fit guidelines so instead of mass 150+ person choirs it was reduced to around 4-5 singers in each location and it was pre-recorded except for the studio choir which had 12 members and were there live on the night and instead of an instrumental it went to a montage of all the choirs together before returning to showing the locations as usual. Instead of Museums or Theatres more of the locations were landmarks with their on screen labels being the landmark name instead of just the city/ town. It was also the last year to be in Elstree Studios. They sang Fix You by Coldplay

The singers sang from:

  • Elstree at Elstree Studios in the BBC London region
  • The Brontë Parsonage, West Yorkshire for BBC Yorkshire
  • The National Maritime Museum, Falmouth for BBC South West
  • Pacific Quay, Glasgow for BBC Scotland
  • Coventry Cathedral for BBC West Midlands
  • Stonehenge, Wiltshire for BBC South
  • The Harmonies of Hope Choir - A Choir of children who've had kidney transplants. The choir is funded by Children in Need and they sang from their homes across London and The South East and were edited together by the BBC Production Team.
  • Ely Cathedral for BBC East
  • Portmeirion for BBC Wales
  • Cardiff Castle for BBC Wales
  • Titanic Belfast for BBC Northern Ireland

The nationwide performance went: Elstree, Bronte Parsonage - West Yorkshire, National Maritime museum - Falmouth, Pacific Quay - Glasgow, Coventry Cathedral, Stonehenge - Wiltshire, The Harmonies of Hope Choir, The Montage section, Ely Cathedral, Portmeirion - North Wales, Cardiff Castle, Titanic - Belfast, Elstree

In 2021 The Choir followed a similar format to 2020 with most locations having 4-6 singers and 12 in the live studio choir. However, it did include the instrumental section. This was the first year to use Salford for the Main Studio. They sang Rise Up by Andra Day. The on-screen name labels followed the same format as 2020.

The singers sang at:

  • MediaCityUK, Salford in the BBC North West region
  • Stirling Castle for BBC Scotland
  • Scarborough Spa for BBC Yorkshire
  • Housesteads, Hadrian's Wall for BBC North East and Cumbria
  • Smeaton's Tower, Plymouth for BBC South West
  • Mumbles Pier for BBC Wales
  • The Abbey Pumping Station in Leicester for BBC East Midlands
  • Beaumaris Castle for BBC Wales
  • The Vision Signing Choir, a signing choir based in Kent signed the song from their homes and were edited together by the Production Team for BBC South East
  • The Cutty Sark, London for BBC London
  • The Giant's Causeway for BBC Northern Ireland

The nationwide performance went: MediaCity UK - Salford, Stirling Castle, Scarborough Spa, Housesteads - Hadrian's Wall, Smeaton's Tower - Plymouth Hoe, Mumbles Pier, Abbey Pumping Station - Leicester, Beaumaris Castle, Vision Signing Choir - Kent, The Instrumental Section, Cutty Sark - London, Giants Causeway, MediaCity UK - Salford Further Clips can be found here:

In 2022 the choir was again pre-recorded with the studio choir live. The number of singers was upped to around 20 per location and. This year was the first year not to start and end with the studio choir's performance instead starting with a montage of the children preparing for singing and all of the choirs were shown before the instrumental with only the Studio and a montage of all the choirs shown after. They sang Somewhere Only We Know by Keane

The choirs this year were:

  • Framlingham Castle, Suffolk for BBC East
  • Aberystwyth at The National Library of Wales for BBC Wales
  • The Laxey Wheel on The Isle of Man for BBC North West
  • Bristol at Purdown Open Space for BBC West
  • The Kelpies at Falkirk for BBC Scotland
  • Hull Marina for BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
  • MediaCity UK in Salford in the BBC North West region
  • Blists Hill Victorian Town in Telford for BBC West Midlands
  • The Tropical Ravine in Belfast for BBC Northern Ireland

The nationwide performance went: Introduction Montage, Framlingham Castle - Suffolk, Aberystwyth, Laxey Wheel - Isle of Man, Bristol, The Kelpies - Falkirk, Hull Marina, MediaCityUK in Salford, Blists Hill Victorian Town - Telford and The Tropical Ravine - Belfast, The Instrumental Section, MediaCityUK in Salford, Montage of all the choirs, MediaCityUK in Salford

In 2023 the choir went down to around 7-10 singers per location and was still mostly pre-recorded and though it did not start with the studio choir and again a montage its format was more similar to 2021 or the live choirs. The onscreen labels were done in the 2011-2019 fashion of just naming the city/town. They sang You Raise Me Up

The choirs sang from:

  • Slough at The Old Horlicks Factory for BBC South
  • Rotherham at Wentworth Woodhouse for BBC Yorkshire
  • Salford at MediaCityUK in the BBC North West region
  • Sunderland at Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens for BBC North East and Cumbria
  • Edinburgh at Port Edgar for BBC Scotland
  • Cardiff from outside The Senedd building for BBC Wales
  • Northampton at The Holy Sepulchre Church for BBC East
  • Guernsey at Castle Cornet for BBC South West
  • Antrim at Antrim Castle Gardens for BBC Northern Ireland

The nationwide performance went: Intro Montage, Slough, Rotherham, Salford, Sunderland, Edinburgh, Cardiff, The Instrumental Section, Northampton, Guernsey, Antrim, Salford

  • The studio choirs are made of children from the region they are in but created by the main studio team not the region's team.

Presenters

Overview

Children in Need Rocks

Pudsey Bear

The mascot fronting the Children in Need appeal is called Pudsey Bear. He was created and named in 1985 by BBC graphic designer Joanna Lane, who worked in the BBC's design department. Asked to revamp the logo, with a brief to improve the charity's image, Lane said "It was like a lightbulb moment for me. We were bouncing ideas off each other and I latched on to this idea of a teddy bear. I immediately realised there was a huge potential for a mascot beyond the 2D logo". The bear was named after her hometown of Pudsey, West Yorkshire, where her grandfather was mayor.

A reproduction of the bear mascot (made of vegetation) is in Pudsey park, near the town centre. Originally introduced for the 1985 appeal, Pudsey Bear was created as a triangular shaped logo, depicting a yellow-orange teddy bear with a red bandana tied over one eye. The bandana had a pattern of small black triangles. The mouth of the bear depicted a sad expression. The lettering "BBC" appeared as 3 circular black buttons running vertically down the front of the bear, one capital letter on each, in white. Perpendicular to the buttons, the words "children-in-need" appeared in all lower case letters along the base of the triangular outline. Accessibility for young readers, and people with disabilities including speech and reading challenges, were factors weighed by the designer Joanna Ball, specifically the "P" sound in "Pudsey" name, and the choice of all lower case sans serif letters for the logotype.

The original design was adapted for various applications for use in the 1985 appeal, both 2D graphics and three-dimensional objects. Items using the original 1985 design included a filmed opening title sequence, using cartoon cell animation, a postage stamp, and a prototype soft toy, commissioned from a film and TV prop maker (citation). The original prototype soft toy was orange and reflected the design of the logo, which was then adapted for approximately 12 identical bears, one for each regional BBC Television Studio. These bears were numbered and tagged with the official logo and auctioned off as part of the appeal. The number 1 Pudsey Bear was allocated to the Leeds region. Joanna Lumley appeared with one of the soft toys during the opening of Blackpool Illuminations and named Pudsey Bear the official mascot of the BBC Children in Need appeal.

In 1986, the logo was redesigned. Whilst retaining the concept of a teddy bear with a bandana over one eye, all other elements were changed. Specifically, the triangular elements of the underlying design were abandoned, and the corporate identity colour scheme was changed. The new bandana design was white with red spots, one of the buttons was removed and the logotype now appeared as building blocks, which spelled out "BBC CHILDREN IN NEED" in capital letters. Pudsey now had a smiling expression on his face rather than a sad one in the previous logo.

In 2007, Pudsey and the logo were redesigned again. This time, Pudsey's bandana had multicoloured spots, and all of the buttons were removed. By 2009, Pudsey had been joined by another bear, a brown female bear named "Blush". She had a spotty bow with the pattern similar to Pudsey's bandana pattern. In 2013, Moshi Monsters introduced Pudsey as an in-game item for 100 Rox.

The Children in Need 2015 campaign on 13 November 2015 marked the thirtieth birthday of Pudsey Bear, who has been the charity's mascot since 1985.

In 2022, as part of the corporate BBC rebrand, the logo was completely redesigned. The phrase "CHILDREN IN NEED" in capital letters appeared in a modified rounded version of BBC Reith Sans Bold, and Pudsey Bear was removed as part of the logo. Despite this, Pudsey Bear remained in use as a mascot and was also given a redesign.

Official singles

Notes:

^1 The Collective includes Gary Barlow, Tulisa Contostavlos, Wretch 32, Ed Sheeran, Ms. Dynamite, Chipmunk, Mz Bratt, Dot Rotten, Labrinth, Rizzle Kicks and Tinchy Stryder.
^2 The All Star Choir includes Linda Robson, Jo Brand, Mel Giedroyc, Larry Lamb, Craig Revel Horwood, Alison Steadman, Alice Levine, John Craven, Fabrice Muamba, Margaret Alphonsi, Radzi Chinyanganya and Nitin Ganatra
^3 BBC Radio 2's Allstars consists of Bryan Adams, Izzy Bizu, Cher, Clean Bandit, Melanie C, Jamie Cullum, Ella Eyre, Paloma Faith, Rebecca Ferguson, Jess Glynne, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Lenny Kravitz, KSI, Lauv, Ava Max, Kylie Minogue, James Morrison, Gregory Porter, Nile Rodgers, Jack Savoretti, Jay Sean, Anoushka Shankar, Robbie Williams and Yola
Collection James Bond 007

Criticism

In November 2006, Intelligent Giving published an article about Children in Need, which attracted wide attention across the British media. The article, titled "Four things wrong with Pudsey", described donations to Children in Need as a "lazy and inefficient way of giving" and pointed out that, as a grant-giving charity, Children in Need would use donations to pay two sets of administration costs. It also described the quality of some of its public reporting as "shambolic".

In 2007, it was reported that presenter Terry Wogan had been receiving an annual honorarium since 1980 (amounting to £9,065 in 2005). This made him the only celebrity paid for his participation in Children in Need. According to Wogan's account, he would "quite happily do it for nothing" and had "never asked for a fee". The BBC stated that the amount, which was paid from BBC resources rather than from the Children in Need charity fund, had "never been negotiated", having instead increased in line with inflation. Two days before the 2007 event, Wogan waived his fee.

There has been concern about the type of groups receiving funding from Children in Need. Writing in The Spectator, Ross Clark noted that funding goes towards controversial groups such as Women in Prison, which campaigns against jailing female criminals. Another charity highlighted was the Children's Legal Centre, which provided funding for Shabina Begum to sue her school as she wanted to wear the jilbāb. Clark pondered whether donors seeing cancer victims on screen would appreciate "that a slice of their donation would be going into the pockets of Cherie Blair to help a teenage girl sue her school over her refusal to wear a school uniform".

A former BBC governor said that Jimmy Savile was kept away from Children In Need. Sir Roger Jones who was also chairman of the charity said he had suspicions about Savile a decade before the news of Savile's sexual abuse scandal came to public light in 2012. His comments came on the day an inquiry began into whether the BBC's child protection and whistle-blowing policies were acceptable.

See also

  • ITV Telethon
  • STV Children's Appeal
  • Text Santa

References

External links

  • Children in Need at BBC Online
  • Children in Need at IMDb

Text submitted to CC-BY-SA license. Source: Children in Need by Wikipedia (Historical)




 








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