BBC Children In Need Raised More Than £39m

Written by Laura Lallana

Image Credit: BBC

The three-hour show has raised £39,210,850 to help disadvantaged children across the UK. The number includes the £8.8m raised by the presenter Paddy McGuinness after a 300-mile bike ride from Wrexham AFC to Glasgow.

The Children in Need 2024 Appeal took place on Friday night on BBC One where Mel Giedroyc Ade Adepitan, Rochelle Humes, Lenny Rush and Vernon Kay and Chris Ramsay were the ones in charge of presenting the telethon.

Some of the features of the show included Strictly Come Dancing professionals joined by cartoon character Bluey. A standout moment involved Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa introducing a preview from the shows Christmas special.

Another highlighted instant was a reunition of the sitcom cast Outnumbered for a sketch in anticipation of their upcoming festive special airing in December.

Some of the celebrities included on the show were Kylie Minogue, who recorded a special message, Graham Norton and his Red Chair who tried to make children laugh by deciding the fate of some famous faces, Oscar-winning actor Gary Oldman, who read a special CBeebies Bedtime Story and Ella Henderson’s performance.

A particularly touching moment was the premiere of the video of this year’s Children in Need single. The song is a new version of I’ll Stand by You of Girls Aloud featuring Sarah Harding lead vocals throughout. The ballad was originally released in 2004 and topped the UK charts for two weeks.

BBC’s Gladiators also took part in a dance class alongside Ramsey, Rush and Kay.

For the first time the BBC Children in Need Choir featured children from all parts of the UK supported by BBC Children in Need funded projects and sung the anthemic Take That classic ‘Never Forget’.

Last year’s on-the-night total reached £33.5 million, while the 2023 Appeal raised an impressive £48.8 million overall. 

Since its first major appeal in 1980, Children in Need has raised over £1 billion for charities and projects.