Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter

Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a British screenwriter, producer and director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known for romantic comedy-drama films, including ''Four Weddings and a Funeral' ...

and comedian Sir

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British Jamaicans, British-Jamaican comedian, actor and writer. He gained success as a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ' ...

in response to the

1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia A widespread Famines in Ethiopia, famine affected Ethiopia from 1983 to 1985. The worst famine to hit the country in a century, it affected 7.75 million people (out of Ethiopia's 38–40 million) or 1/5 of the population and left approximately ...

. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make the public laugh, while raising money to help people around the world and in the United Kingdom. A new CEO, Samir Patel, was announced in January 2021. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, an annual (previously biennial)

telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other cause. Most telethons feature heavy solicitatio ...

held in March. The first live fundraising evening, held on 4 April 1986, featured comedians and pop stars, including

Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles in the sitcoms ''Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and '' Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and in the film series '' Johnny English'' (2003– ...

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, musician, television presenter, artist and retired stand-up comedian. He is sometimes known by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his idiosyncratic and of ...

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...

and co-founder Lenny Henry. A prominent annual event on British television, Comic Relief is one of two high-profile telethon events held in the UK, the other being

Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, 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 ...

, held annually in November. At the end of the Red Nose Day telethon on 14 March 2015, it was announced that in the 30-year history of Comic Relief, the Red Nose Day and Sport Relief appeals had raised in excess of £1.4 billion.

Red Nose Day history

Comic Relief was launched live on

Noel Edmonds Noel Ernest Edmonds (born 22 December 1948) is an English businessman, and former television presenter, radio DJ, writer and producer. Edmonds first became known as a disc jockey on Radio Luxembourg before moving to BBC Radio 1 in the UK, pres ...

' '' Late, Late Breakfast Show'' on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

, on Christmas Day 1985 from a

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for in ...

in Sudan. The idea for Comic Relief came from the charity worker Jane Tewson, who established it as the operating name of Charity Projects, a registered charity in England and Scotland. On 4, 5 and 6 April 1986 the inaugural live fundraising show, "Comic Relief Utterly Utterly Live", was staged at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London featuring popular alternative comedians and pop stars (including

and

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

. The show would be broadcast on BBC1 on the 25th April 1986.). An audio recording was released on WEA, which included a live performance of the charity single " Living Doll" by Cliff Richard and the Young Ones. The highlight of Comic Relief is Red Nose Day. On 8 February 1988, Lenny Henry went to Ethiopia and celebrated the very first Red Nose Day telethon. More than 150 celebrities and comedians participated. The event raised £15 million and attracted 30 million television viewers on BBC1. To date,

and Lenny Henry are still active participants of the Red Nose Day telethon, which continues to raise funds for numerous charities that help children in need and tackle worldwide poverty. The charity states that its aim is to "bring about positive and lasting change in the lives of poor and disadvantaged people, which we believe requires investing in work that addresses people's immediate needs as well as tackling the root causes of poverty and injustice". One of the fundamental principles behind working at Comic Relief is the "Golden Pound Principle" where every single donated pound (£) is spent on charitable projects. All

operating cost Operating costs or operational costs, are the expenses which are related to the operation of a business, or to the operation of a device, component, piece of equipment or facility. They are the cost of resources used by an organization just to mai ...

s, such as staff salaries, are covered by corporate sponsors, or interest earned on money waiting to be distributed. Currently, its main supporters are the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, BT,

TK Maxx TK Maxx is a discount clothing and homewares retailer, founded in 1994. It is currently based in Watford, England. It is owned by American retailer TJ Maxx, who could not trade under the initials "TJ" in the United Kingdom due to the British d ...

and

British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...

. The BBC is responsible for the live television extravaganza on ''Red Nose Day''; BT provides the telephony, and TK Maxx sells merchandise on behalf of the charity. Until 2022,

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...

sold Red Noses in their Supermarkets, Local Stores and Petrol Stations. In 2002, Comic Relief and

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC BBC Television, television, BBC Radio, radio and BBC Online, online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadc ...

teamed up to create

Sport Relief ''Sport Relief'' was a wikt:biennial, biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, established in 2002. It was the idea of Kevin Cahill, CBE, who had joined Comic Relief in 1991 to establish a new department as Dire ...

, a new initiative, aiming to unite the sporting community and culminate in a night of sport, entertainment and fundraising on BBC One. Sport Relief was a biennial charity event, and the campaign deliberately alternated years with Red Nose Day, Comic Relief's flagship event. Red Nose Day occurs in odd-numbered years, and Sport Relief in even-numbered years. In 2009, Comic Relief launched a website calling for a

financial transaction tax A financial transaction tax (FTT) is a levy on a specific type of financial transaction for a particular purpose. The tax has been most commonly associated with the financial sector for transactions involving intangible property rather than rea ...

, the "Robin Hood" tax. On 14 March 2015, at the end of that year's Red Nose Day telethon it was announced that in the 30-year history of Comic Relief, the Red Nose Day and Sport Relief appeals had raised in excess of £1bn (£1,047,083,706). In 2021 it was announced that Red Nose Day would become an annual event and, starting from 2022, there would be no more Sport Relief telethons. From the same year onwards, the appeal shows of Red Nose Day would now take place at the former Sport Relief studio at Dock10,

MediaCityUK MediaCityUK is a mixed-use property development on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal in City of Salford, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The project was developed by The Peel Group, Peel Media; its principal tenants are Mass media, ...

in Salford. In 2024, on Lenny Henry's final telethon as a presenter, he revealed that the overall £1 billion announced in 2015 had risen to more than £1.6 billion (£1,602,539,154).

On television

The television programming begins in the afternoon, with

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

having various related reports, money raising events and celebrity gunging. This is all in-between the regular programmes, but after the six o'clock news, the normal BBC One schedule is suspended at 7 pm in favour of a live show, with a break at 10 pm for the regular

news program News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either video production, produced local programming ...

me. Whilst the BBC News at Ten is aired on BBC One, Comic Relief continues on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

, and then resumes on BBC One at 10:35 pm, with each hour overseen by a different celebrity team. These celebrities do the work for free, as do the crew, with studio space and production facilities donated by the BBC. Regular themes throughout the shows include

parodies A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satirical or ironic imitation. Often its subject is an original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, etc), but a parody can als ...

of recent popular shows, films and clips, events, and specially filmed versions of comedy shows. '' Smith and Jones'', and a parody sketch starring

were both regularly featured.

Presenters

(1988–2007, 2011–2022, 2024) *

Griff Rhys Jones Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh actor, comedian, writer and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. He and Smith came to national attention in the 1980s for ...

(1988–1993, 1999) * Jonathan Ross (1989–1995, 1999–2013, 2017, 2025–present) * Chris Evans (1995, 2005–2007) * Ant & Dec (2001–2003) * Zoe Ball (2001, 2019, 2022–2023) *

Davina McCall Davina Lucy Pascale McCall (born 16 October 1967) is an English television presenter. She has presented various television shows for Channel 4, including ''Streetmate'' (1998–2001, 2016), ''Big Brother (British TV series), Big Brother'' (2 ...

(2003–2015, 2021, 2024–present) * Adam Buxton (2003) *

Joe Cornish Joseph Murray Cornish (born 20 December 1968) is an English comedian and filmmaker. With Adam Buxton, he forms the comedy duo Adam and Joe. In 2011, Cornish released his directorial debut ''Attack the Block''. He also co-wrote ''The Adventures ...

(2003) *

Bob Mortimer Robert Renwick Mortimer (born 23 May 1959) is an English comedian, author, television presenter, writer and actor. He is one half of the comedy double act Reeves and Mortimer with Jim Moir, Vic Reeves, and appears in the ''Mortimer & Whitehouse ...

(2003) *

Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), known professionally as Graham Norton, is an Irish comedian, broadcaster, actor, and writer. He is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for the comedy chat show ''The Graham Norton Show'' (2007–present) ...

(2003–2011, 2017) *

Vic Reeves James Roderick Moir (born 24 January 1959), commonly known by his stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian and artist. He has a double act with Bob Mortimer as Reeves & Mortimer. He is known for his surreal sense of humour. In 2003, Ree ...

(2003) *

Dermot O'Leary Seán Dermot O'Leary (born 24 May 1973) is a British-Irish broadcaster. He presented the television talent show ''The X Factor'' on ITV from 2007 until its final series in 2018, with the exception of 2015. Since 2021, O'Leary has presented ITV' ...

(2005, 2011–2013) * Fearne Cotton (2007–2011, 2015) *

Russell Brand Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and media personality. He established himself as a stand-up comedian and radio host before becoming a film actor. After beginning his career as a comedian and la ...

(2007, 2013, 2017) *

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for hosting the television programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), T ...

(2007) *

Nick Frost Nicholas John Frost (born 28 March 1972) is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He has appeared in the '' Three Flavours Cornetto'' trilogy of films, consisting of '' Shaun of the Dead'' (2004), ''Hot Fuzz'' (2007), and '' The World's ...

(2007) *

Richard Hammond Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English journalist, television presenter, and author. He co-hosted the BBC Two motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James Ma ...

(2007) *

James May James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, of the motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' fr ...

(2007) *

Paul O'Grady Paul James O'Grady (14 June 1955 – 28 March 2023) was an English comedian, broadcaster, drag queen, actor, and writer. He achieved notability in the London gay scene during the 1980s with his drag persona Lily Savage, through which he gained ...

(2007) *

Simon Pegg Simon John Pegg (; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. He and Wright co-wrote the ...

(2007) *

Kate Thornton Kate Thornton (born 7 February 1973) is an English journalist and broadcaster, best known as the first presenter of ''The X Factor'' (2004–2006) and for presenting daytime shows including '' Loose Women'' (2009–2011) and '' This Morning'' (2 ...

(2007) *

Alan Carr Alan Graham Carr (born 14 June 1976) is an English comedian, broadcaster, and writer. His breakthrough was in 2001, winning the '' City Life'' Best Newcomer of the Year and the BBC New Comedy Awards. In the ensuing years, Carr's career burgeo ...

(2009–2013) *

James Corden James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English comedian, actor, writer, producer, singer, and television host. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom '' Gavin & S ...

(2009) *

Tess Daly Helen Elizabeth "Tess" Daly (born 29 March 1969) is an English television presenter and former model. Since 2004, she has co-presented the BBC One dancing competition show '' Strictly Come Dancing''. Early life Helen Elizabeth Daly was born o ...

(2009, 2015) *

Noel Fielding Noel Fielding (; born 21 May 1973) is an English comedian, artist, and actor. He was part of The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongside Julian Barratt in the 2000s, and has been a co-presenter of ''The Great British Bake Off'' since 2017. He is kn ...

(2009, 2017) *

Mathew Horne Mathew Frazer Horne (born 6 September 1978) is an English actor, comedian, singer, television presenter, and narrator. He is best known for appearing on several BBC Sketch comedy, sketch shows and sitcoms, most notably ''Gavin & Stacey'' (as L ...

(2009) *

David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...

(2009, 2013, 2019–2024) * Claudia Winkleman (2009–2015) *

Reggie Yates Reginald Yates (born 31 May 1983) is a British television presenter, actor, writer and director with a career spanning three decades on screen as an actor, television presenter and radio DJ. Yates played Leo Jones in ''Doctor Who'' and has wo ...

(2009) * Kevin Bridges (2011) *

Jimmy Carr James Anthony Patrick Carr (born 15 September 1972) is an Irish-British comedian, presenter, writer and actor. He is known for his rapid-fire deadpan delivery of One-line joke, one-liners. He began his comedy career in 1997, and he has regula ...

(2011) *

Michael McIntyre Michael Hazen James McIntyre (born 21 February 1976) is a British comedian, writer, and television presenter. In 2012, he was the highest-grossing stand-up comedian in the world. He currently presents the variety and stand-up comedy show '' Mic ...

(2011–2013) * Jack Whitehall (2011–2013) * John Bishop (2013–2015) *

Rob Brydon Robert Brydon Jones (; born 3 May 1965) is a Welsh actor, comedian, impressionist, presenter, singer and writer. He gained prominence for his roles in film, television and radio. He was appointed Order of the British Empire, Member of the Order ...

(2013) *

David Walliams David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams (), is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series '' Little ...

(2013–2015) *

Sarah Millican Sarah Jane Millican (' King; born 29 May 1975) is an English comedian. Millican won the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, comedy award for Best Newcomer at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In February 2013 she was listed as one of the 100 most powerf ...

(2015) * Greg James (2015) *

Rob Beckett Robert Anthony Beckett (born 2 January 1986) is an English comedian, actor, and presenter. He was a co-host on the ITV2 spin-off show '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW!'' from 2012 to 2014. Since 2016, Beckett has been a team captain ...

(2017–2019) * Greg Davies (2017) * Warwick Davis (2017) * Miranda Hart (2017) * Joe Lycett (2017) *

Sally Phillips Sally Elizabeth Phillips (born 10 May 1970) is an English actress, comedian, and television presenter. She co-created and was one of the writers of the sketch comedy show '' Smack the Pony''. She is also known for her roles in '' Jam & Jerusale ...

(2017) *

Romesh Ranganathan Jonathan Romesh Ranganathan (born 27 March 1978) is a British comedian, actor, and presenter. His style of comedy is deadpan and often self-deprecating. Ranganathan has made numerous appearances on television comedy panel shows and has been a ...

(2017–2019, 2024) * Luisa Omielan (2017) *

Richard Osman Richard Osman (born 28 November 1970) is an English television presenter, producer, and novelist. He is the creator and former co-presenter of the BBC One television quiz show ''Pointless''. He has presented the BBC Two quiz shows ''Two Tribes ( ...

(2017) * Clara Amfo (2019) * Alesha Dixon (2019–2022, 2025–present) *

Paddy McGuinness Patrick Joseph McGuinness (born 14 August 1973) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television presenter. He rose to fame with the help of fellow comedian Peter Kay, who invited him to appear on the television comedy series '' That Peter ...

(2019–2024) * Joe Sugg (2019) *

Emma Willis Emma Louise Willis (' Griffiths; born 18 March 1976) is an English broadcaster. She is known for her television and radio work with Channel 5, BBC, ITV and Heart FM.

(2019) * Jason Manford (2021) *

Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English media personality, actress and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent competition show '' Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the national ''H ...

(2021) *

AJ Odudu Onatejiro "AJ" Odudu (born 12 February 1988) is a British television presenter. She co-presents the ITV2 reality shows '' Big Brother'' (since 2023) and ''Celebrity Big Brother'' (since 2024) alongside Will Best, and previously the spin-off sh ...

(2022–present) *

Vernon Kay Vernon Charles Kay (born 28 April 1974) is an English broadcaster and former model. He presented Channel 4's ''T4'' (2000–2005) and has presented various television shows for ITV, including '' All Star Family Fortunes'' (2006–2015), ''Ju ...

(2022) *

Joel Dommett Joel Patrick Dommett (born 8 June 1985) is an English comedian, television presenter and actor. After beginning his career as an actor, and appearing in various television shows including '' Casualty'' and '' Skins'', he embarked on stand-up com ...

(2023–present) *

Maya Jama Maya Indea Jama ( ; born 14 August 1994) is a British television presenter and radio DJ. She co-presented BBC One's '' Peter Crouch: Save Our Summer'' alongside Peter Crouch and Alex Horne and was the presenter of the BBC Three competition '' ...

(2024) * Rosie Ramsay (2024) * Alison Hammond (2025–present) *

Rylan Clark Ross Richard Clark (born 25 October 1988), commonly known as Rylan Clark, is an English broadcaster and television personality. He came to prominence as a contestant on the The X Factor (British series 9), ninth series of the television talent s ...

(2025–present) * Tom Allen (2025–present)

1980s and 1990s

1988

The First Red Nose Day was held on Friday 5 February 1988 with the slogan "The Plain Red Nose", and raised £15million.

1989

The Second Red Nose Day was held on Friday 10 March 1989 with the slogan: "Red Nose Day 2", and raised £27million. This is also when the event would start generally being scheduled in mid-March, often close to, or on 17 March –

Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chris ...

1991

The Third Red Nose Day was held on Friday 15 March 1991 with the slogan "The Stonker", and raised £20 million. The charity song was a double A-sided single featuring "The Stonk" performed by Hale & Pace and "The Smile Song" performed by Victoria Wood.

1993

The Fourth Red Nose Day was held on Friday 12 March 1993 with the slogan "The Invasion of the Comic Tomatoes", and raised £18 million.

1995

The Fifth Red Nose Day was held on Friday 17 March 1995, with the slogan "What A Difference A Day Makes", and raised £22 million.

1997 event

The 1997 Red Nose Day event was held on 14 March with the slogan "Small Change – Big Difference". The event raised more than £27m for charitable causes. The

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 10 ...

song " Who Do You Think You Are?" was the official Comic Relief single with 672,577 physical copies sold. The telethon featured an appearance from Father Ted Crilly ( Dermot Morgan) and Father Dougal McGuire (

Ardal O'Hanlon Ardal O'Hanlon (; born 8 October 1965) is an Irish comedian, actor, and author. He played Father Dougal McGuire in ''Father Ted'' (1995–1998), George Sunday/Thermoman in ''My Hero (British TV series), My Hero'' (2000–2006), and DI Jack Moone ...

), characters from the sitcom ''

Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for British television channel Channel 4. It aired over three seri ...

''.

1999 event

The 1999 Red Nose Day was held on 12 March and raised more than £35m. Perennial hosts Jonathan Ross and Lenny Henry were joined by Davina McCall, Chris Evans,

Ben Elton Benjamin Charles Elton is a British comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. One of the major figures in the alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, his early stand-up style was Left-wing politics, left-wing political satire ...

, Jack Dee and

Julian Clary Julian Peter McDonald Clary (born 25 May 1959) is an English actor, comedian, novelist and presenter. He began appearing on television in the mid-1980s. Since then, he has also acted in films, on television and in stage productions, including n ...

, with

Peter Snow Peter John Snow (born 20 April 1938) is a British radio and television presenter and historian. Between 1969 and 2005, he was an analyst of general election results, first on ITV and later for the BBC. He presented ''Newsnight'' from its lau ...

providing regular updates on donations. Angus Deayton hosted a live cross-over panel game, '' Have I Got Buzzcocks All Over''. A parody of the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' series starring

as the

Doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

, '' Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death'', was featured during the show, as was ''Wetty Hainthropp Investigates'' (a

Victoria Wood Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, musician, screenwriter, and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over several decades, and her live comedy act ...

parody of '' Hetty Wainthropp Investigates''), ''The Naughty Boys'' (a mock 1967 pilot for ''

Men Behaving Badly ''Men Behaving Badly'' is a British sitcom that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang ( Martin Clunes) and his flatmates Dermot Povey ( Harry Enfield; series 1 only) and Tony Smart ( Neil Morrissey; series ...

'') and guest appearance by '' Rex the Runt''. On Radio 1, Simon Mayo set the record of 37 hours of consecutive broadcasting (which was later broken in March 2011 by

Chris Moyles Christopher David Moyles (born 22 February 1974) is an English radio and television presenter, author and presenter of '' The Chris Moyles Show'' on Radio X. Previously he presented '' The Chris Moyles Show'' on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2012 ...

and Comedy Dave on the same station for 52 hours, " BBC Radio 1's Longest Show Ever with Chris Moyles and Comedy Dave for Comic Relief", the world record for the longest show in radio history). The 1999 Comic Relief song was "When the Going Gets Tough" by

Boyzone Boyzone were an Irish boy band created in 1993 by the talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's ''The Late Late Show (Ireland), The Late Late Show''. Its most successful line-up was co ...

2000s

2001 event

The 2001 Red Nose Day was held on 16 March. The total raised was £55 million. As well as donations on the night of the TV show, money is raised from countrywide sponsored events and from

merchandising Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of Product (business), products ("merch" colloquially) to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative w ...

, particularly of the red noses themselves. '' Celebrity Big Brother 1'' was produced in honour of Comic Relief, with the finale airing as part of the Red Nose Day festivities.

2003 event

The 2003 Red Nose Day was held on 14 March. The fund raising activities included

providing the voice of the

speaking clock A speaking clock or talking clock is a live or recorded human voice service, usually accessed by telephone, that gives the correct time. The first telephone speaking clock service was introduced in France, in association with the Paris Observa ...

between 10 and 23 March with the cost of the call going to Comic Relief. On the night of the live show itself, £35m was raised, an on-the-night record. A total of £61.6 million was raised that year, setting a new record. Jack Dee stood outside at the top of a pole for the duration of the show, parodying the acts of

David Blaine David Blaine (born David Blaine White; April 4, 1973) is an American magician, mentalist, and Endurance art, endurance performer. Born in New York City, Blaine became interested in magic at a very young age. He gained prominence in 1997, when h ...

. '' Celebrity Driving School'' led up to the event, with the test results announced during the telethon: they all failed. The hosts of Red Nose Day 2003 were: Jonathan Ross,

, Anthony McPartlin,

Declan Donnelly Declan Joseph Oliver Donnelly (born 25 September 1975) is a British television presenter, television producer, former singer, rapper, comedian and actor. He is best known for working alongside Ant McPartlin as part of the presenting duo Ant ...

, Adam Buxton and

Shows included

As usual a variety of specially filmed versions of television shows were made. Popular BBC talent show '' Fame Academy'' returned as '' Comic Relief does Fame Academy''. Other shows included ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'', ''

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' () is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site ...

'', ''

University Challenge ''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...

'' and '' Celebrity Driving School''. ''Harry Potter and the Secret Chamberpot of Azerbaijan'', a parody of

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

, starring

Dawn French Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian and writer. She is known for writing and starring on the BBC sketch comedy series '' French and Saunders'' (1987–2007) with her best friend and comedy partner Jennifer Sa ...

Jennifer Saunders Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer, and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School ...

Ron Weasley Ronald Bilius Weasley is a fictional character in the ''Harry Potter'' series of novels by J. K. Rowling. He is introduced in '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' as a first-year student on his way to the wizarding school Hogwarts. ...

and

Miranda Richardson Miranda Jane Richardson (born 3 March 1958) is an English actress who has worked in film, television and theatre. After graduating from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Richardson began her career in 1979 and made her West End theatre, West ...

Hermione Granger Hermione Jean Granger ( ) is a fictional character in the ''Harry Potter'' series of novels by J. K. Rowling. She first appeared in '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' (1997), as a first-year student on her way to Hogwarts. She becom ...

2005 event

The 2005 Red Nose Day was held on 11 March, and was hosted by a collection of television stars: these were Chris Evans,

and Jonathan Ross. The 2005 event was also noteworthy for supporting the

Make Poverty History Make Poverty History were organizations in a number of countries, which focused on issues relating to 8th Millennium Development Goal such as aid, trade and justice. They generally formed a coalition of aid and development agencies which worked ...

campaign – many of the videos recorded for the MPH campaign (including videos by

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...

and

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

) were shown throughout the evening. £65m was raised.

Shows included

As usual a variety of specially filmed versions of television shows were made. Popular BBC talent show '' Comic Relief does Fame Academy'' was attended by celebrities singing

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of songs. Viewers voted for their favourite, with the proceeds going to the cause and the celebrity. Other shows included '' Absolutely Fabulous'', '' Little Britain'' ''I Want That One'', ''

The Vicar of Dibley ''The Vicar of Dibley'' is a British sitcom. It consists of three series, which aired on BBC One from 10 November 1994 to 1 January 2000, and several specials, the most recent of which aired on 23 December 2020. It is set in the fictional Oxfor ...

'', '' Green Wing'', '' Spider-Plant Man'', a parody of ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

'' starring Rowan Atkinson, and '' My Family''.

McFly McFly are a British pop rock band formed in London in 2003. The band took their name from the ''Back to the Future (franchise), Back to the Future'' character Marty McFly. The band consists of Tom Fletcher (lead vocals, guitar, and piano), Da ...

released the official single, a double A-side of " All About You/You've Got a Friend", which reached Number 1 in the UK Singles Chart, and also Number 1 in the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

. The cover is predominantly red and features the members of

dressed in red, wearing red noses, in honour of Red Nose Day.

2007 event

2007's Red Nose Day was held on 16 March. Its tagline was "The Big One", which was also representative of the novelty nose. Walkers,

Kleenex Kleenex is a brand name primarily known for their line of facial tissues. Often used informally as a genericized trademark for facial tissue, ''Kleenex'' is a registered trademark of Kimberly-Clark applied to products made in 78 countries. The ...

and

Andrex Andrex is a British brand of toilet roll. It is owned by the United States, American company Kimberly-Clark. The "Andrex Puppy", a Labrador Retriever puppy that appears on the company's television advertisements, is synonymous with the brand. T ...

also promoted the charity, as well as Sainsbury's. The event raised £67.7 million.

2009 event

The 2009 event took place on Friday 13 March 2009. Fundraisers had three different nose designs to choose from: "this one", "that one" and "the other one"all with different facial expressions.

The Saturdays The Saturdays are an English-Irish girl group based in London, England. The group formed during the summer of 2007 and has been on hiatus since 2014. The lineup consists of Frankie Bridge, Una Healy, Rochelle Humes, Mollie King, and Vanessa Whi ...

provided the official single, a cover of " Just Can't Get Enough". The event raised £82.3million.

2010s

2011 event

The 2011 event took place on Friday 18 March 2011. £74.3 million was raised on the night, the highest ever 'on the night' total. This was subsequently beaten by £0.8 million on Red Nose Day 2013's on-the-night event. The total for the whole campaign was £108.4 million, the then highest raised for one event. In addition to the continued absence of Rowan Atkinson, two more prominent supporters of the charity were absent for 2011 – this was the first ever Comic Relief event to feature no input from Dawn French, and the first for more than 10 years not to feature input from Matt Lucas. Similarly, several other frequent contributors from previous years appeared only in appeal films or as part of the ''24 Hour Panel People'' event. Lenny Henry however finally returned after an absence to perform comedic material.

2013 event

The 2013 event took place on Friday 15 March 2013. By the end of the night, Comic Relief raised £75,107,852. In total that year Comic Relief raised £100.3 million.

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, were an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group consisted of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik (until his departure in 2015), Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. The group sold o ...

recorded the official single "

One Way or Another "One Way or Another" is a song by American rock band Blondie from their 1978 album ''Parallel Lines''. Lyrically, the song was inspired by Blondie frontwoman Deborah Harry's experience with a stalker in the early 1970s, an incident which for ...

", a medley of Blondie's "

" and " Teenage Kicks" by

The Undertones The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O'Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradle ...

. The single was released on 17 February 2013.

2015 event

The 2015 event took place on Friday 13 March 2015. It was broadcast live for the first time at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

, with £99.4 million being raised.

2017 event

The 2017 event took place on Friday 24 March 2017, broadcast live from Building Six at

The O2 The O2 (formerly known as the Millennium Dome) is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, Town square, piazzas, ...

in London. It was widely criticised, for both the quality of sound, sketches, and going from films on poverty to a biscuit competition. The event raised £82.1 million.

2019 event

The 2019 event took place on Friday 15 March 2019 live from BBC Elstree Centre. The event raised £63,548,668.

2020s

2021 event

The 2021 event took place on Friday 19 March 2021. The event raised £52 million and was once again hosted by Sir Lenny Henry alongside Davina McCall, Paddy McGuinness, David Tennant and Alesha Dixon. Sketches included a crossover between

Catherine Tate Catherine Tate (born Catherine Jane Ford, 5 December 1969) is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC Two, BBC sketch comedy series ''The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007), as well as bein ...

's Nan character and

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

(

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English actor. His accolades include two National Board of Review Awards, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. ...

), a Comic Relief Zoom meeting featuring Jack Whitehall and various celebrities and a trailer for ''2020 – The Movie'' featuring

Keira Knightley Keira Christina Knightley ( ; born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films and Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters, particularly Historical drama, period dramas, she has received List of awards and no ...

Michael Sheen Michael Christopher Sheen (born 5 February 1969) is a Welsh actor. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s with stage roles in ''Romeo and Juliet'' (1992), ''Don't Fool wi ...

Jodie Whittaker Jodie Auckland Whittaker (born 17 June 1982) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles on television as Beth Latimer in ''Broadchurch'' (2013–2017) and the Thirteenth Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2017–2022, 2025). She came to pro ...

, KSI, Anna Friel and Dame

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Awards, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime Emm ...

. Sheen and Tennant also starred in a special edition of their TV show '' Staged'' while McGuinness and his '' Top Gear'' co-stars, Freddie Flintoff and Chris Harris were asked questions by children in a segment hosted by Radio 1's

Jordan North Jordan Levi North (born 14 February 1990) is a British radio DJ and television presenter from York, England. Since April 2024, he has been the host of ''Capital Breakfast'', and formerly hosted lunchtime and drivetime shows on BBC Radio 1. In ...

. ''

''s Geraldine Granger (played by

) appeared alongside the Reverend

Kate Bottley Kate Bottley () is a Church of England vicar in North Nottinghamshire, a role which she combines with her other roles of journalist, media presenter and reality television star. She appears frequently on British radio and television as well as i ...

to open the show. There were musical performances from

The Proclaimers The Proclaimers are a Scottish Rock music, rock duo formed in 1983 by twin brothers Craig and Charlie Reid (born 5 March 1962). They came to attention with their 1987 single "Letter from America (song), Letter from America", which reached No. 3 ...

, Gabrielle and the cast of '' Back to the Future the Musical''. After the main show,

and Jason Manford presented ''The Great Comic Relief Prizeathon''.

2022 event

Red Nose Day took place on 18 March 2022. Some of 2022's fundraising challenges that took place prior to the main televised event included a 100-mile river challenge, which saw BBC Radio 1 presenter Jordan North rowing from London to Burnley, and Tom Daley's Homecoming Challenge, which involved rowing, swimming, cycling and running. Footage of the latter challenge, which took place between the Aquatics Centre in London and Plymouth, was featured in a BBC One documentary called ''Tom Daley's Hell of a Homecoming'', which was broadcast on 14 March 2022. The main Red Nose Day programming was split into three sections with the three-hour comedy special and ''The Great Comic Relief Prizeathon'' appearing on BBC One before and after the news, whilst ''Comic Relief at the Movies'' took a 10pm slot on BBC Two. The 2022 Comic Relief show featured parodies of ''The Repair Shop'' (with Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders and Dame Judi Dench) as well as various popstars in David Walliams and Matt Lucas' ''Rock Profile'' sketches, whilst Tim Vine and Kiri Pritchard-McLean took part in a ''One Man and His Dog'' competition. The late-night programme ''The Great Comic Relief Prizeathon'' was presented by Vernon Kay and AJ Odudu, with an hour-long ''Best Bits'' compilation being transmitted a couple of days after the event.

2023 event

The 2023 event was held on 17 March 2023. Lenny Henry did not appear as the telethon's main presenter due to commitments with another project. Instead, the role was filled by David Tennant. An open sketch saw Henry regenerating into Tennant as a parody of

. £34 million was raised from donations.

2024 event

The 2024 event was held on 15 March 2024. This was the last telethon for Lenny Henry, the fundraiser's founder after 39 years of being the presenter of the telethon. As part of the tributes to Henry, co-host David Tennant, who also hosted the previous year's telethon, thanked Henry for "an amazing tour of duty". The event raised £38 million from donations.

2025 event

The 2025 event was held on 21 March 2025. It was the first event since Henry’s departure in 2024. Davina McCall, AJ Odudu, and Joel Dommett returned to present after hosting last year, Alesha Dixon also returned 3 years after her previous appearance in 2022, and Jonathan Ross returned after previously hosting in 2017. Alongside them, Alison Hammond, Tom Allen, and Rylan Clark hosted for the very first time. As part of Comic Reliefs 40th anniversary, 40 Years of Funny was broadcast. Emma Willis and Asim Chaudhry presented a special programme celebrating the show’s 40 year anniversary. As of 22 March 2025, £34,022,590 has been raised.

Ratings

Fundraising

Merchandise

Various items of merchandise have been sold to promote and raise money for Comic Relief. In 1991, ''The Totally Stonking, Surprisingly Educational And Utterly Mindboggling Comic Relief Comic'' was published by

Fleetway Fleetway Publications was a magazine publishing company based in London. History It was founded in 1959 when the Mirror Group acquired the Amalgamated Press, then based at Fleetway House, Farringdon Street, London. It was one of the companies t ...

. Conceived, plotted and edited by

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, Humanism, humanist philosophy and counterculture, countercultural leanings. Morrison has writt ...

and Peter K. Hogan, it featured contributions from a vast array of British comics talent, including

Jamie Delano Jamie Delano ( ; born 1954) is an English comic book writer. He was part of the first post-Alan Moore "British Invasion" of writers which started to feature in American comics in the 1980s. He is best known as the first writer of the comic book ...

Garth Ennis Garth Ennis (born 16 January 1970) is a Northern Irish-American comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series ''Preacher'' with artist Steve Dillon, his nine-year run on Marvel Comics' ''Punisher'' franchise, and '' The Boys'' with artist Dar ...

Dave Gibbons David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story " For the M ...

Mark Millar Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series ''The Authority (comics), The Authority'', published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written ext ...

Simon Bisley Simon Bisley is a British comic book artist best known for his 1990s in comics, 1990s work on ''ABC Warriors'', ''Lobo (DC Comics), Lobo'' and ''Sláine (comics), Sláine''. Early life Simon Bisley began drawing when he was six years old. He is ...

, Mark Buckingham,

Steve Dillon Steve Dillon (22 March 1962 – 22 October 2016) was a British comic book artist, best known for his work with writer Garth Ennis on ''Hellblazer'', ''Preacher (comics), Preacher'' and ''The Punisher''. Early life Dillon was born in London i ...

, D'Israeli,

Jamie Hewlett Jamie Christopher Hewlett (born 3 April 1968) is a British comic book artist and illustrator. He is the co-creator of the comic book ''Tank Girl'' with Alan Martin (writer), Alan Martin and the virtual band Gorillaz, alongside Blur (band), Blur ...

and Bryan Talbot. (

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...

, arguably Britain's most famous comics writer, was not credited as working on the book having sworn never to work for Fleetway again, but was said to have worked with partner Melinda Gebbie on her pages.) The comic was unique in that it featured appearances by characters from across the spectrum of comics publishers, including

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

and DC superheroes, '' Beano'', ''

Dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance and personal grooming, refined language and leisurely hobbies. A dandy could be a self-made man both in person and ''persona'', who emulated the aristocratic style of l ...

'', ''

Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

'' and '' Viz'' characters, ''

'', the ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...

'', in addition to a cavalcade of British comedy figures (both real and fictional). These were all linked by the twin framing narratives of the Comic Relief night itself, and the tale of "Britain's meanest man" Sir

Edmund Blackadder Edmund Blackadder is the single name given to a collection of fictional characters who appear in the BBC mock-historical comedy series ''Blackadder'', each played by Rowan Atkinson. Although each series is set within a different period of Britis ...

being persuaded to donate money to the event. The comic "sold out in minutes", raising more than £40,000 for the charity, and is now a highly prized collectors' item. Comic Relief have also sold Fairtrade Cotton Socks from a number of vendors. This is mainly for their Sport Relief charity. In 1993 a computer platform game was released, called ''Sleepwalker''. The game featured voice overs from

and

Harry Enfield Henry Richard Enfield (born 30 May 1961) is an English comedian. He is known in particular for his television work, including '' Harry Enfield's Television Programme'', '' Harry Enfield & Chums'' and '' Harry & Paul'', across which he created ...

, and several other references to Comic Relief and tomatoes; the theme for the 1993 campaign. In 2001

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( ; born 31 July 1965), known by her pen name , is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has List of best-sell ...

wrote two books for Comic Relief based on her famous

series, entitled '' Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'' and '' Quidditch Through the Ages''. The Fantastic Beasts book, would ultimately lead to the mid-late 2010s series of films of the same name as part of the expanded "Potterverse". In 2007, Walkers complemented the usual merchandise by adding their own take on the red nose, promoting red ears instead. The large ears, dubbed 'Walk-ears', are based on a very old joke involving the actual ears of ex-footballer

Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker ( ; born 30 November 1960) is an English Sports broadcasting, sports broadcaster and former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Lineker is the only player t ...

, who has fronted their ad campaign since the early 1990s. Walkers previously promoted the charity in 2005, making four limited edition unusual crisp flavours. The 2007 game for Red Nose Day, "Let It Flow", could be played online. This game was developed by Matmi, worldwide viral marketeers, and set in the African wilderness. Mischievous

hyena Hyenas or hyaenas ( ; from Ancient Greek , ) are feliform carnivoran mammals belonging to the family Hyaenidae (). With just four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the order Carnivora and one of the sma ...

s had messed up the water

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

system, which fed the crops. You had to help re-arrange the pipes to let the water flow to the crops to keep them alive. Once the pipes were arranged, you needed to operate the elephant's trunk to pump the water through the water pipes. For the 2007 campaign

, known for their ad campaign fronted by a

Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...

puppy, gave away toy puppies with red noses. As a Supporting Partner Jackpotjoy has launched two Red Nose Day Games for Red Nose Day 2011.

Red nose

The most prominent

symbol A symbol is a mark, Sign (semiotics), sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, physical object, object, or wikt:relationship, relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by cr ...

of Comic Relief is a "red nose", which is given in various supermarkets and charity shops such as Oxfam in exchange for a

donation A donation is a gift for Charity (practice), charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, Service (economics), services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donati ...

to the charity and to make others laugh. People are encouraged to wear the noses on Red Nose Day to help raise awareness of the charity. The design of the nose has been changed each year, beginning with a fairly plain one, which later grew arms, turned into a tomato and even changed colour. This regular re-design was in part to stop people from re-using previous years designs, and having to buy the latest version, as for example some people may re-use the same Poppy, repeatedly, rather than buying a new one each year. In 2007, the red nose was made of foam; this was to facilitate the "growing" of the nose (by rolling it in the user's hands) to keep in line with that year's tagline, ''The Big One'' (see the table below). Larger noses are also available and are designed to be attached to the fronts of cars, buildings and, in 2009, a diameter inflatable nose was attached to the

DFDS Seaways DFDS Seaways is a Danish shipping company that operates passenger and freight services across northern Europe. Following the acquisition of Norfolkline in 2010, DFDS restructured its other shipping divisions (DFDS Tor Line and DFDS Lisco) in ...

cruiseferry A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship and a Ro-Pax ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while ot ...

''King of Scandinavia''. However, the nose's material used for buildings was classed as a fire hazard and was banned from the ''Comic Relief Does Fame Academy'' shows.

Chronology of noses

, Comic Relief has sold 50 different red noses over 19 Red Nose Days. In 1988, It started with one nose. Two noses were available for the 1995 event. Three noses per event were available from 2009 to 2013. In 2015, nine noses were released, and in 2017, there were 10 different noses available—for both these years, this included a rare collector's nose. For 2019, 11 different noses were available to buy, including "rare" and "ultra-rare" noses. Ten different plastic-free noses were available for Red Nose Day 2021. In 2022, There were 8 noses. In 2023, It went back to only one. In 2024, there were four plastic noses, including the golden "rare" nose. In 2025, 6 noses were made to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Red Nose Day. 4 noses from past Comic Relief campaigns (1988,1991,2009 and 2013) to celebrate 4 decades of Comic Relief, alongside a cupcake nose exclusive to the collector’s pack, and a rare ruby red nose. All noses also returned to their foam design for the first time since 2019.

Chronology of car noses

A selection of Red Nose Day "car noses" have been produced over the years, to show support for the charity while out on the road. They have traditionally been a curved nose that attaches to the car's radiator grille. In 2009, this was replaced with a magnetic design owing to safety concerns. The original grill-attachable design returned for 2011, for the first time since 1999. 2014 saw the new release of 2 Flip Flap noses, the Poppy and England flag red nose designs and the first paper noses for cars and the 1st year for 2 car noses.

Charity singles

In April 1986, the first Comic Relief charity record was released. It featured

and the cast of '' The Young Ones'' in a rendition of Richard's late 50s hit " Living Doll". Some of the money raised from the sale of each single is donated to Comic Relief. Normally, a song is released just before the official Red Nose Day. There have been exceptions, such as "(I Want To Be) Elected", which was released to coincide with the 1992 UK general election. Before the single released in 1995, Comic Relief records were all more-or-less comedy releases, mostly involving an actual band or singer teamed up with a comedy group. From 1995 on, they have been generally more serious, although the promo videos still feature comical moments. 2003 saw a return to the format of old. From 2005 to 2011, two Comic Relief singles were released each Red Nose Day, a song by a mainstream artist and also a comedy song. In 1991, a music video was created called "Helping Hands", which included numerous children's television puppet personalities, including characters from '' The House of Gristle'', ''

Fraggle Rock ''Fraggle Rock'' (also known as ''Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock'' or ''Fraggle Rock with Jim Henson's Muppets'') is a children's Musical film, musical Fantasy film, fantasy television comedy, comedy puppet television series about interconnected so ...

'', ''

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

'', ''

Roland Rat Roland Rat is a British television puppet character. He was created, operated and voiced by David Claridge, who had previously designed and operated Mooncat, a puppet in the Children's ITV television programme ''Get Up and Go!''. Character sum ...

'', '' Thunderbirds'', '' Round the Bend!'', '' Bill & Ben'', ''The Gophers'', ''

Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television ...

'', '' Jim Henson's Tale of the Bunny Picnic'' and more. In 1993 a follow-up single happened, this time featuring the biggest stars of children's television at the time called "You Can Be a Hero". Neither song was ever released. The biggest-selling Comic Relief single is Tony Christie and

Peter Kay Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. Born and raised in Farnworth, Kay studied media performance at the University of Salford and later began working part-time as a stand-up comedian. In 199 ...

's " Is This the Way to Amarillo", with 1.28 million copies sold.

Westlife Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in March 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reun ...

's 2001 cover of

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...

's " Uptown Girl" is the second biggest-seller, followed by 1986's "Living Doll" and the

' 1997 double-A side single "

Mama Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent * Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Maternal uncle, in some parts of South Asia Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlement in the Mam ...

"/"

Who Do You Think You Are Who Do You Think You Are may refer to: Television series * ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' (British TV series), a genealogy documentary with many adaptations: ** ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' (American TV series) ** ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' ...

?", with

's 1999 cover of "

When the Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going "''When the going gets tough, the tough get going''" is a popular phrase of witticism in American English. The phrase is an example of an antimetabole. The origin of the phrase has been attributed to various sources. It appeared to come from A ...

" rounding up the top five. * Even though " Living Doll" is a song featuring the cast of '' The Young Ones'', this does not include Alexei Sayle * This was a double-A side single, even though the Official Charts Company only credit one side with the hit * "Who Do You Think You Are" is the Comic Relief side * On this release, comedians only appear in the video * "Is This the Way to Amarillo", though released expressly with the intent of proceeds going to Comic Relief, was not an official Comic Relief single. The song was originally performed by

(lip-synching to the voice Tony Christie) during the evening, and was later released as a single. It was No. 1 in the UK charts for seven weeks, and in its first week, it outsold the rest of the Top 20 combined. * In 2007, a version of

' song "500 Miles", released on 19 March, featured

and

Matt Lucas Matthew Richard Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English actor, comedian, writer and television host. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Britain (TV series), Little Britain'' (2003–2006) ...

as their respective wheelchair-using characters Brian Potter and Andy Pipkin. Before its official release, the song reached No. 3 based on downloads alone. The single itself reached No. 1 on 25 March, knocking official Comic Relief single "Walk This Way" off the top spot. * In 2009, the comedy release took prominence over the single release by a mainstream recording artist.

Gavin & Stacey ''Gavin & Stacey'' is a British sitcom created, written by and starring James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families: one from Billericay in Essex, and the other from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan. Mathew Horne and ...

's Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon covered "Islands in The Stream" for the event, with this being released on the week of Comic Relief.

had released their record a week earlier. * "Gold Forever" is the lead single from The Wanted's second studio album, ''

Battleground A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troop ...

''. It is also a promo single on their 2012 American debut, '' The Wanted EP''. * This was listed as a separate hit with the original version of "Lay Me Down" peaking at number 15. In addition, the first Red Nose Day schools' song ("Make Someone Happy") was published in 2007. A CD of the song, together with backing tracks and fundraising ideas, was sent free of charge to all primary schools in the UK – during February – by the education music publisher 'Out of the Ark Music'. Schools would be free to use the song in assemblies, singathons, or other fundraising activities. A second Red Nose Day Song has been released for every school in the UK, to use free of charge. It can be downloaded from the Red Nose Day 09 website, or watched on YouTube, and a copy has been sent to every primary school in the UK. It was again published by 'Out of the Ark' music, and contained a more upbeat melody than the version released in 2007. It was recorded at Hook Studios,

Hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

, Surrey, by the Out of the Ark Choir, which is completely made up of children. The children in the video wear Stella McCartney's special edition Comic Relief T-shirts, and was filmed in black and white so that only the red stood out.

Criticism

There has been some concern about the lack of

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

in the causes supported by Comic Relief, with much funding going to politicised women's charities or charities focusing on women. Writing in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'', Ross Clark raised the question, 'Why do all these women's charities...feel the need to disguise their fundraising in the prat-fest that is Comic Relief, rather than appealing directly to the public?' He added, 'Are they worried that if the British public realised where their money was going, they would be less inclined to be so generous?' The

British Stammering Association British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

criticised comedian Lenny Henry over his opening sketch for the 2011 telethon, during which he spoofed the film ''

The King's Speech ''The King's Speech'' is a 2010 historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. Colin Firth plays the future King George VI who, to cope with a stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an Australian speech and language ther ...

'' and grew impatient with

Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Colin Firth, several accolades, including an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA Aw ...

in his portrayal of

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

as he stammered over his speech. ''The Sun'' reported that the British Stammering Association had branded the sketch as 'a gross and disgusting gleefulness at pointing out someone else's misfortune'. In December 2013, an edition of the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

series ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...

'' pointed out that between 2007 and 2009, millions of pounds donated to Comic Relief had been invested in funds, which appeared "to contradict several of its core aims", with shares in tobacco, alcohol and arms firms. The 2017 event was strongly criticised by viewers for various technical issues, glitches and having two adult-orientated skits shown before the 9 pm watershed, one where

showed a fake

penis A penis (; : penises or penes) is a sex organ through which male and hermaphrodite animals expel semen during copulation (zoology), copulation, and through which male placental mammals and marsupials also Urination, urinate. The term ''pen ...

to '' Good Morning Britain'' presenter Susanna Reid, and another featuring a scene in which presenter

asks model

Cara Delevingne Cara Jocelyn Delevingne ( ; born 12 August 1992) is an English model and actress. She signed with Storm Management after leaving school in 2009. Delevingne won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2012 and 2014, and List of award ...

why she had sex on a plane. The event was also criticised for two pre-watershed instances of

profanity Profanity, also known as swearing, cursing, or cussing, is the usage of notionally word taboo, offensive words for a variety of purposes, including to demonstrate disrespect or negativity, to relieve pain, to express a strong emotion (such a ...

, one involving a Mrs. Brown's Boys skit where the titular character does a

V sign The ''V'' sign is a hand gesture in which the index and middle fingers are raised and parted to make a ''V'' shape while the other fingers are clenched. It has various meanings, depending on the circumstances and how it is presented. When dis ...

(a gesture that is deemed profane in the United Kingdom), and another involving

after a technical blunder caused him to swear and say "

Fuck ''Fuck'' () is profanity in the English language that often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested ...

" after being cut off. In total 338 complaints were made to

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...

, however the regulator chose not to investigate because the comedy sketches "were inexplicit and consistent with the live, unpredictable format of this established charity programme", whilst recognising that some "were not to everyone's taste". In 2017, a video featuring

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

meeting and rescuing a child in Liberia for Comic Relief was criticised as 'poverty porn' and was given the 'Rusty Radiator' award for the 'most offensive and stereotypical fundraising video of the year'. Writing in The Guardian in 2017, Labour MP David Lammy argued that Comic Relief perpetuated problematic stereotypes of Africa, and that they had a responsibility to use its powerful position to move the debate on in a more constructive way by establishing an image of African people as equals. In 2018, in response to Lammy's comments and the backlash to Sheeran's video, Comic Relief announced they would take steps towards change by halting their use of celebrities for appeals. However, in February 2019, Lammy also criticised Stacey Dooley for posting on social media about her trip to Uganda for Comic Relief, saying that 'the world does not need any more white saviours', and that she was perpetuating 'tired and unhelpful stereotypes' about Africa. The pressure group 'No White Saviours' argued that Comic Relief had pledged to make changes to their celebrity campaigns in the past, and now needed to put them into practice. The remarks by Lammy were believed to have damaged coverage of Red Nose Day; viewership dropped and the donations received for the broadcast in March 2019 fell by £8 million and the money raised that year was the lowest since 2007. In 2020, as a result of Lammy's intervention, Comic Relief announced that it would no longer send celebrities to Africa nor portray Africa with images of starving people or critically ill children. Instead, they would be using local film makers to provide a more "authentic" perspective and give agency back to African people.

Similar events outside the United Kingdom

* United States: In 2015, Red Nose Day was formally brought to the United States under the auspices of Comic Relief, Inc., an organisation unrelated to the defunct Comic Relief USA. The 2015 ''Red Nose Day Special'' aired on NBC on 21 May 2015 and was hosted by David Duchovny, Seth Meyers and Jane Krakowski, raising $23 million. The 2016 NBC special aired on 26 May with Craig Ferguson as the host. Sponsored by Walgreens, Red Nose Day has since become an annual event. * Inspired by the British charity, a Comic Relief USA, United States Comic Relief charity was founded in 1986 by Bob Zmuda. Comic Relief was an irregularly held event, televised on Home Box Office (HBO), which has raised and distributed nearly US$50 million towards providing health care services to Homeless people#Twenty-first century, homeless people throughout the United States. Comedians Robin Williams, Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg were hosts of the event. The 1989 HBO Comic Relief show debuted the song "Ray Reach#"Mr. President" on HBO, Mr. President", written by Joe Sterling, Ray Reach and Mike Loveless. The song was sung by Al Jarreau and Natalie Cole. On 18 November 2006, the event was revived as a fundraiser for those affected by Hurricane Katrina, and was simulcast on TBS (TV network), TBS. Richard Curtis also created the Idol Gives Back special for ''American Idol'', which follows the same basic premise as Comic Relief, with specially filmed shorts, performances and footage of the stars of the show visiting impoverished countries. * Australia: In 1988, the Red Nose Day concept was adopted by the SIDS and Kids organisation to help raise funds for research into sudden infant death syndrome. Since then, Red Nose Day in Australia is held annually on the last Friday of June. An Australian version of Comic Relief, Comic Relief Australia, has also been set up. Following a campaign encouraging people to buy articles such as red wristbands, the first

-style event was held on 6 November 2005 on the Seven Network. It followed the established format, with comedy interspersed with examples of the sorts of charities to benefit. According to its website, this raised more than A$800,000. Another telethon was broadcast on 27 November 2006 on Seven Network. The 2006 Comic Relief Show was held under the title '50 Years of Laughs' celebrating 50 years of television in Australia. It was hosted by Colin Lane, and featured presenters such as Amanda Keller, Mikey Robins, Ugly Dave Gray and Derryn Hinch interviewing Kylie Mole. * Germany: The German TV station Pro 7 initiated a similar event in 2003. By selling red noses, money is collected for the charity foundations PowerChild, ''Deutsche Kinder- und Jugendstiftung'' (lit., German Child and Youth Foundation), and Comic Relief. The event is called 'Red Nose Day', and took place annually in March or April from 2003 to 2006. However, ratings and the collected donations fell far short of expectations in 2006, resulting in no main show being produced in 2007 and 2008. In 2003, Nena (who is famous for her hit song 99 Red Balloons) released an updated version of her song Wunder Gescheh'n (Miracles Happen) for the charity. In 2010, the Red Nose Day returned on Pro7. It took place on 25 November. * Russia: A similar charity campaign, entitled "Red Nose, Kind Heart", was launched in Russia on 1 April 2007. The main goal of the drive, held between 1 April and 19 May 2007 by the Liniya Zhizni (Life Line) foundation, is raising money to help children afflicted with serious diseases (such as heart diseases). * Finland: In 2002, the Finnish national broadcaster YLE started an annual charity event, which initially went under the title "Ylen hyvä". In 2007, the event adopted the name "Nenäpäivä" (Nose day), and the use of red noses to more closely follow the example of the British event. * Iceland: ''Dagur rauða nefsins'' (Red Nose Day) has been held in support of UNICEF since 2006. It has featured the sale of red noses to raise funds and has enjoyed support and publicity from many local celebrities and televised events on the national broadcaster, RÚV. * Belgium: "Rodeneuzendag" (Red Nose Day) was held in Belgium for the first time in 2015 to raise money for children with psychiatric problems, and aired on VTM. * Ireland: RTÉ Does Comic Relief was launched in June 2020, to raise funds for charities and local community initiatives within Ireland. The event took place to raise funds that were lost during the COVID-19 pandemic with all proceeds going to The Community Foundation for Ireland who will distribute the funds raised to more than 4,000 non-profit organisations at a national, regional, and local level throughout Ireland. The event was broadcast live on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player for more than 4 hours on Friday 26 June 2020 raising millions of euro for local charities with appearances by Paul Mescal, Aisling Bea, Hozier, Roy Keane,

, Samantha Mumba, Amy Huberman and a host of other Irish and international celebrities, comedians, actors, and musicians. The event was hosted by Deirdre O'Kane, Nicky Byrne, Baz Ashmawy, Jennifer Zamparelli, and Eoghan McDermott. During the live event the Government of Ireland issued a statement stating it would match all proceeds donated by doubling the amount and a number of Irish and international companies also donated large sums of money to the fund.

References

External links

Official Comic Relief web siteRed Nose Day web site
*

*[http://www.moblog.co.uk/blog/red_nose_day Red Nose Day Moblog] (Moblog, Mobile Blogging)
Red Nose Day mini-siteOfficial Comic Relief USA web siteOfficial Comic Relief Australia web siteКрасный нос – доброе сердце!
(Red Nose- Kind Heart)

from The Guardian
Official Comic Relief Fairtrade Cotton Socks
* *
Entry at Charity Commission
{{Authority control Comic Relief, 1985 British television series debuts 1985 establishments in the United Kingdom Television series by BBC Studios British telethons Charities based in London Companies established in 1985 Organizations established in 1985 Seven Network original programming Charity events in the United Kingdom Biennial events Richard Curtis Television shows shot at BBC Elstree Centre

Red Nose Day history

On television

Presenters

1980s and 1990s

1988

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997 event

1999 event

2000s

2001 event

2003 event

Shows included

2005 event

Shows included

2007 event

2009 event

2010s

2011 event

2013 event

2015 event

2017 event

2019 event

2020s

2021 event

2022 event

2023 event

2024 event

2025 event

Ratings

Fundraising

Merchandise

Red nose

Chronology of noses

Chronology of car noses

Charity singles

Criticism

Similar events outside the United Kingdom

See also

References

External links