BBC Children in Need

''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its fundraising efforts.

The charity's flagship event is an annual telethon broadcast every November on BBC One and BBC Two. Pudsey Bear has served as its mascot, while the late Sir Terry Wogan hosted the event for 35 years. As a cornerstone of British television, Children in Need is one of the UK's two major telethons, alongside Comic Relief's Red Nose Day. It remains the BBC's sole in-house charity.

Originally broadcast from the BBC Television Centre, the telethon relocated to the BBC Elstree Centre between 2013 and 2020 following the closure of the former. Historically lasting up to seven hours, the event was streamlined to a three-hour programme (7:00 pm to 10:00 pm) from 2020 onwards. To accommodate family-friendly content, the television watershed is postponed until 11:30 pm on the night of the broadcast.

The 2020 telethon, impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, featured a significantly reduced format with just four presenters: Mel Giedroyc, Alex Scott, Chris Ramsey, and Stephen Mangan. Since November 2021, the event has been staged at Dock10, MediaCityUK in Salford. In October 2023, it was announced that Lenny Rush—a children's television star and future ''Doctor Who'' actor—would become the first child co-presenter in the charity's history during the 2023 appeal broadcast.

History

Earlier BBC appeals

The BBC's inaugural charity appeal was a five-minute radio broadcast on Christmas Day 1927, raising approximately £1,342 for four children's charities.

The first televised appeal, the ''Children's Hour'', aired in 1955. Fronted by Harry Corbett and the yellow glove puppet Sooty Bear, these appeals continued annually on television and radio until 1979, raising a total of £625,836. Sir Terry Wogan made his debut during the five-minute appeal in 1978 and returned in 1979. Animated characters such as Peter Pan and Tom and Jerry occasionally featured in these broadcasts.

''BBC Children in Need''

The first dedicated ''Children in Need'' telethon aired in 1980, replacing standard continuity segments with fundraising appeals during evening programming. Presented by Terry Wogan, Sue Lawley, and Esther Rantzen, the event raised £1 million, exclusively for UK-based children's charities—a significant increase from previous campaigns.

By 1984, the telethon evolved into a single continuous programme, abandoning regular programming slots. The format expanded to include radio and online content, with Wogan remaining the primary host until 2014. He stepped down due to health issues and died in 2016.

In 1988, BBC ''Children in Need'' registered as a charity in England and Wales (no. 802052), followed by Scottish registration (SC039557) in 2008. A notable partnership in 2020 saw the charity collaborate with the McLaren Formula One Team at a race to support initiatives in Turkey.

Simon Antrobus has served as chief executive since 2016.

Sponsorships

Corporate partners have played a key role in fundraising. Asda, McDonald's, One Stop, Greggs, Enterprise, and Cineworld are among the charity's longstanding sponsors. Welcome Break—whose service stations host outlets such as WHSmith, Waitrose, Subway, Burger King, Pret a Manger, Starbucks and Harry Ramsden's—has also supported the cause. The 2025 Sidemen Charity Match, scheduled for Wembley Stadium, will raise funds for ''Children in Need''.

Sir Terry Wogan Fundraiser of the Year Award

The Sir Terry Wogan Fundraiser of the Year has been awarded annually since 2016 to individuals demonstrating exceptional commitment to raising funds for BBC ''Children in Need''. Established by Wogan's family in memory of the late Sir Terry Wogan—the charity's long-standing host—the award was first presented by his son, Mark, during the 2016 telethon. Subsequent ceremonies have featured notable presenters, including Joanna Lumley (2017) and Michael Ball (2021).

Telethon

Acts

The telethon features performances by prominent singers, musical groups, and celebrities, often participating in sketches or musical numbers during the -hour-long programme. Notable appearances include actors from ITV programmes—sometimes in character or from their show's sets—as well as BBC newsreaders, whose performances became an annual tradition. Stars of West End musicals frequently perform excerpts from their productions after their theatre curtain calls.

Broadcast

BBC One dedicates its entire evening schedule to the telethon, pausing only for a 35-minute break at 10:00 pm to air '' BBC News at Ten'', weather updates, and regional news. Simultaneously, BBC Two broadcasts complementary programming, such as ''Mastermind Children in Need'', which is a form of '' Celebrity Mastermind''. Pre-telethon specials include '' DIY SOS: The Big Build'', '' Bargain Hunt'', and ''The One Show'', featuring challenges like the hosts' rickshaw ride and a celebrity edition of ''Pointless'' hosted by Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman, assisted by Pudsey Bear.

Regional contributions play a significant role: BBC England's regions provide hourly updates, while BBC Scotland, BBC Cymru Wales, and BBC Northern Ireland historically aired extended local segments before rejoining the network broadcast around 1:00 am. From 2010, however, these nations adopted the English regions' hourly update format.

''Children in Need'' Choir

Since 2011, a central feature of the telethon has been a live choir performance involving over 1,000 children across 8–10 UK locations, singing in unison.

Annual telethon 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 which involved making the multicoloured spots on his bandana larger and adding multicoloured spots onto the soles of his now white feet.

Official singles

Notes:
: The Collective includes Gary Barlow, Tulisa Contostavlos, Wretch 32, Ed Sheeran, Ms. Dynamite, Chipmunk, Mz Bratt, Dot Rotten, Labrinth, Rizzle Kicks and Tinchy Stryder.
: 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
: 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

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.

During November 2024, Rosie Millard stepped down as Chair of BBC ''Children in Need'' after protesting over grants awarded to an LGBT youth charity whose former chief had been involved in a child abuse scandal.

See also

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

References

External links

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1980s British television series
1990s British television series
2000s British television series
2010s British television series
2020s British television series
British telethons
1980 in British television
1980 establishments in the United Kingdom
Annual events in the United Kingdom
British English-language television shows
Organisations based in Salford
Television series by BBC Studios
Television shows shot at BBC Elstree Centre
BBC One original programming
BBC Two original programming
Children's charities based in the United Kingdom