It’s the silliest night in British telly: Comic Relief, or Red Nose Day.
On the go since 1985, this yearly event is all about raising money for charity (1.5bn over its lifetime) in the form of selling red noses and convincing celebrities to make prats of themselves in short skits.
With dozens of British household names descending upon the stage at Media City in Salford in the name of giving money to charity – including Sir Lenny Henry, who’s been presenting the show for a stonking 39 years – here’s what you need to know about the big day, and more importantly: what bonkers TV we can expect to see.
When is it?
This year’s show is set to air on BBC One on Friday March 15. Starting from 7pm, it’ll be filmed live from Media City UK in Salford.
Who’s presenting?
As he has done for the past 39 years, Sir Lenny Henry will be heading up this year’s Comic Relief special – but this will be his last year in the role. Let the search for his successor commence!
He’ll also be joined by a rotating lineup of celebrity presenters: Joel Dommett, Davina McCall and Paddy McGuiness will be taking to the stage, while Romesh Ranganathan, David Tennant, Maya Jama and Rosie Ramsey will also be making an appearance.
What’s on?
Though there will be sketches, specials and jokes courtesy of the presenters, the jewel in Comic Relief’s crown this year has to be their upcoming movie adaptation (of sorts) of the BBC’s hit show The Traitors season two.
Airing on Friday, The Traitors: The Movie promises to revisit some of the best moments from the real life gameshow, including Diane’s obsession with fizzy rosé (which ultimately led to her demise) and the Traitors turning on each other at the roundtable.
It also boasts a star-studded cast who will no doubt bring the drama: Suranne Jones will be donning a black wig and knitwear to play Claudia Winkleman, Jonathan Bailey (yes, the one from Bridgerton) will be playing uber-Traitor Harry; David Walliams will be playing the pantomime villain-esque Paul.
They’ll be joined by Catherine Tate (who is playing both Charlie and Eve – they do look quite similar, in all fairness), Iain Stirling as Ross and Sally Phillips who plays mum Diane. Will it be silly? Spectacularly so.
In addition to The Traitors, Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge will be taking to the small screen once more with a “very special guest” – as will the cast of W1A (comprising Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Hynes, Monica Dolan and Hugh Skinner), who are reuniting to attempt to find a replacement for the iconic Henry.
Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders will also be launching their own Red Nose Day message, while the cast of the new Live Aid musical Just For One Day will perform a series of medleys from the show.
There’ll also be a special themed episode of Blue Peter (retitled Red Peter, of course, which will air at 5pm) and a special Lenny Henry themed segment celebrating the presenter’s life. Aptly titled A Whole Lotta Lenny, it’ll be airing on Friday March 15 on BBC One, at 10.40pm.
Where can I buy a Red Nose?
For those wanting to donate, Red Noses can be bought either on Amazon or the Comic Relief Shop – along with other merch like sweets, badges and water bottles. It’s only £2 for a red nose, too: money well spent, as some of the proceeds will go to help Comic Relief’s work tackling poverty in the UK and worldwide.
