Children in Need: Audience-free show raises £37m

Pudsey Bear returned with a host of celebrities on Friday night for the 40th anniversary fundraiser Children in Need.

More than £37m had been raised by the end of the programme on Friday evening.

This year’s show was shorter and had no audience, due to Covid-19, but there were still plenty of treats in store.

Peter Crouch and Andy Murray went head-to-head in a game of Paddle Tennis, and an all-star cast covered Oasis’s Stop Crying Your Heart Out.

One of four hosts of Friday night’s live show, Mel Giedroyc, thanked viewers for supporting the fundraiser.

“Children In Need has been going for an astonishing 40 years and we have only been able to do so because of you,” she said.

“Despite the challenges that we have come up against this year, and will continue to face while this pandemic plays out, we are strong because the hearts of the people who keep these projects alive are strong.”

The charity Oasis single features Cher, Kylie, Bryan Adams, Robbie Williams, Nile Rodgers, Gregory Porter, Lenny Kravitz, Paloma Faith, Ava Max and Jess Glynne.

BBC