The enormous generosity shown by the British public has seen an incredible £31,952,141 raised so far for Red Nose Day 2023, with money still coming in and amazing prizes still to be won!
Comic Relief is hugely grateful for every pound donated and blown away by the kindness and compassion shown in these worrying times from families, schools, workplaces, and friends who have all come together to make a life-changing difference during the cost-of-living crisis.
This money will help people who are facing the toughest times of their lives. It will help people experiencing homelessness, mental health problems and food poverty, it will help to support people facing a devastating hunger crisis across East Africa, and those affected by the heart-breaking earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. This incredible generosity will support countless lives at a time when it’s never felt more needed.
The star-studded Red Nose Day night of TV was broadcast live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from Salford this evening and presented by AJ Odudu, David Tennant, Joel Dommett, Paddy McGuinness, and Zoe Ball. Viewers were treated to an evening of entertainment jam packed with hilarious comedy sketches, live music, extraordinary prizes and moving films showing the life-changing power of donations.
David Tennant said: “Red Nose Day holds such a special place in my heart and It’s always such an honour to be involved. People all over the world truly are facing the toughest times of their lives – we’ve seen it tonight – but your generosity and kindness can make all the difference. Seeing people across the country get involved to do and give whatever they can, whilst facing really difficult times at home, is just extraordinary. We hope we’ve given you all a good laugh tonight and you’re ending this fantastic evening knowing how amazing you are. We’re so grateful for everything.”
The UK’s biggest night of laughter saw a stellar cast come together to entertain the nation, including Claudia Winkleman, Dame Mary Berry, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders who gathered around The Traitors Round Table for the ultimate game of deception. Hidden underneath the cloaks, famous faces including Ewan McGregor, Alison Hammond, Big Zuu, Rosie Jones, Danny Dyer, Anne Robinson and Stephen Merchant, plus Maddy and Wilf from the show itself were on hand to banish the true Traitor. Viewers also saw Dermot O’Leary take a trip to Michael & Eagle Lettings to visit Jamie Demetriou's ‘Stath’ from Stath Lets Flats with X Factor’s Honey G, Stevi Ritchie, Ben Haenow and Andy Abrahams; as well as musical performances from global superstars Zara Larsson and Tom Grennan.
The epic three-hour fundraising favourite showcased the return of hit BBC sitcom Ghosts, with a spook-tacular special for Red Nose Day – featuring the one and only Kylie Minogue; a romantic trip to the Love Island hideaway with Maya Jama, Iain Stirling and an unexpected bombshell, Chabuddy G; and the return of one of the nation’s most beloved comedy characters – Baldrick – in his very own ‘Blackadder’ Bedtime Story.
‘Eurovision – The Leaked Audition Tapes’ revealed some of the previously unseen footage of those vying for Mae Muller’s place as the UK’s Eurovision 2023 entrant. Desperate to impress a panel of judges made up of Eurovision heavyweights including Graham Norton, Lulu and Sam Ryder – aspiring Eurovision hopefuls including Jamie Dornan, Miranda and Bono were in search of douze points…with varying success.
During the night of entertainment viewers had the chance to get their hands on a series of fantastic prizes. Eurovision fans are still able to bag two tickets to the sold-out Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final in Liverpool – the most coveted event of the year so far. While Chris Evans’ CarFest has generously donated an iconic 2009 Jaguar X-Type Estate previously owned and driven by HM Queen Elizabeth II, for an extraordinary Red Nose Day prize draw like no other. To find out how to enter and for full terms and conditions, visit www.comicrelief.com/win
AJ Odudu said: “Wow, what an amazing night! It’s been an absolute joy to be here and be part of such a special evening dedicated to raising money for so many important causes. Thank you so much to all of the incredible people at home for donating.”
Viewers saw Prince William meet people from a homelessness charity supported by Comic Relief to talk about the stark realities of homelessness that affect so many people in the UK, and what more we can do to help. A poignant film fronted by Sir Lenny Henry drew much needed attention to the devastating hunger crisis currently sweeping across East Africa and looks back to the early years of Comic Relief when Lenny first visited the region in 1988. During the evening, we also saw Rosie Jones talk about living with cerebral palsy and introduce a project that is helping children with disabilities in Kenya, and Sir Mo Farah shares his incredible story to shine a light on the 12 million children around the world who are victims of modern slavery.
Samir Patel, CEO, Comic Relief said: “This evening we are feeling incredibly proud of what the British public have been able to achieve together. There is no doubting that this is a deeply troubling time for millions of people across the nation, so we’re truly humbled by the willingness to dig deep and donate. The biggest of thank yous goes to everyone who has supported this Red Nose Day. You’ve helped to lift spirits, spread kindness, and raise millions of pounds that will make more life changing work possible, right here in the UK and around the world.”
Tonight’s night of fun and laughter drew an entertaining and emotional close to this year’s Red Nose Day campaign, which has seen:
· Intrepid trio, Emma Willis, Oti Mabuse and Rylan battling dangerous weather and freezing temperatures to raise £501,726 in a challenge of a lifetime to reach the summit of the Cairn Gorms in the wintry Scottish Highlands. From wild camping and crampons, to punishing winds and terrain, all the action can be found in Emma, Oti and Rylan’s Big Red Nose Day Challenge documentary, available on BBC iPlayer now
· Gethin Jones kept on dancing for 24 hours in a herculean disco, dance, and pop fuelled effort to raise life changing money for Red Nose Day. Taking on a supersized version of Morning Live’s popular Strictly Fitness feature, the Welsh star danced his way through the day and night to raise a whopping £1,192,298
· BBC Radio 1 DJ Arielle Free cycled for 50 hours over five days, across five cities, all whilst DJing live, in her ‘Tour De Dance’ challenge for Red Nose Day. Joined by admirable Radio 1 listeners and some famous faces along the way, the howling winds and snowstorms proved no match for Arielle and her hefty 10-person bike as she ploughed on to cross the finish line in Liverpool, raising an incredible £591,186
· From long-term Comic Relief supporter Rae Saleem and 30 of his friends taking on a Monopoly inspired running challenge in London, to 600 members of the Rock Choir taking to the streets of Birmingham with musical flash mobs – fundraisers have once again pulled out all the stops and gone to amazing lengths to raise money for Red Nose Day
· Much-loved children’s TV show Blue Peter became Red Peter for one day only to celebrate Red Nose Day
· TK Maxx launched a brand-new collection of colourful T-shirts, sweatshirts, accessories, and homeware for Red Nose Day 2023, featuring the iconic Mr. Men Little Miss character designs
· Comic Relief’s iconic Red Nose went through its biggest makeover in history with the help of legendary designer Sir Jony Ive. Made almost entirely from plant-based materials, the magically transforming Red Nose starts as a tiny, flat crescent and springs into a beautiful honeycomb-paper sphere. It is still available to buy on Amazon, the new home of the Red Nose
· Comic Relief launched its first ever The Red Nose That Grows with Homebase. The 100% compostable Red Nose Wildflower Seedbom™ biodegrades into the environment and transforms into beautiful wildflowers that attract either bees or butterflies
The work of Comic Relief truly wouldn’t be possible without the support of its amazing partners who have gone above and beyond to support Red Nose Day. The biggest thank you goes out to The Sainsbury’s Group, Amazon, TK Maxx & Homesense, British Airways, The KFC Foundation, Homebase, MALTESERS®, Babybel, The LEGO Group, Tik Tok, The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), The Scottish Government, People’s Postcode Lottery, City Bridge Trust, Oak Foundation, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Esmee Fairbairn Foundation.
Viewers can catch some of the special Red Nose Day moments on Comic Relief 2023 Highlights from 3:30pm, Saturday 18 March, BBC One, and on iPlayer later in the day. The whole night of television is available to stream now via BBC iPlayer.
You can still donate to Red Nose Day at comicrelief.com/donate
