Comic Relief’s 40th anniversary proved to be a record-breaking night as Red Nose Day raised an incredible £32 million

A host of comedy sketches helped to raise £32 million for Comic Relief during its 40th anniversary, it was announced at the end of the live BBC broadcast. The charity fundraiser, hosted at Salford’s MediaCity, saw sketches from some of the biggest shows on the BBC, including Strictly Come Dancing, Gladiators and Beyond Paradise.

At the helm were TV presenters Joel Dommett, Rylan Clark, Alison Hammond, Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall, Tom Allen, Alesha Dixon and AJ Odudu. The Inbetweeners stars James Buckley and Joe Thomas recreated the moment Oasis decided to reunite for a tour in one of the sketches.

Liam, played by Buckley, and Noel, played by Thomas, were advised to call each other after their managers told them they were broke. It comes after the feuding Gallagher brothers announced their long-awaited reunion in August 2024 with a worldwide tour taking place this summer.

The actors also recreated “that ticket fiasco”, when fans saw ticket prices soar thanks to the use of dynamic pricing on Ticketmaster. TV presenter and journalist Piers Morgan played the “Ticket Master” who could be seen meeting the brothers in a dark and spooky castle. “Let me reassure you personally, everyone will be treated completely fairly,” he told them.

Sir Lenny Henry founded Red Nose Day 40 years ago ( 
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Elsewhere, comedy character Chabuddy G from sitcom People Just Do Nothing told the Gladiators he was joining them as a new superhuman member of the show called “Girth, Wind And Fire”.

The character, played by Asim Chaudhry, managed to win a challenge against Bionic (Matty Campbell) but CCTV confirmed “foul play” and Chabuddy G was banned for life from the show.

Comedians Russell Kane and Rachel Parris portrayed Strictly’s first amateur professional dancers, Melissa and Johnny, in another sketch. The dancing duo had been selected thanks to the BBC One show’s “inclusivity rules, which require a certain percentage of professionals to be amateurs”. They showed off their dance moves in a comical routine that appeared to impress the Strictly professionals, who then learned their 1990s-inspired moves.

Miranda Hart narrated the documentary-style comedy clip and later told the amateur dancers that both of their celebrity partners had managed to injure themselves, meaning they would have to exit the series.

Instead of performing on the show they were told they could dance during Red Nose Day and performed, live, to Everybody Get Up by Five before a quick costume change and follow-up performance with the professional dancers.

During the BBC One programme, popular sketches from across the years were shown, including when James Corden’s Smithy, from Gavin And Stacey, stumbled into an England football meeting. Also on the show, Rock Choir performed Somewhere Only We Know by Keane while Sugababes sang their hit Stronger.

James Buckley and Joe Thomas from The Inbetweeners as Oasis on Comic Relief ( 
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BBC)Comic Relief co-founder Sir Lenny Henry, who hosted his final Red Nose Day last year after almost four decades at the helm, reflected on the charity’s 40th anniversary. “I can’t believe Comic Relief is turning the big 4-0. In some ways it feels like 1985 was, like, yesterday,” he said in a pre-recorded video.

Sir Lenny also spoke about how the charity had started following “a devastating famine in East Africa” in the 1980s and said the Noughties brought Sport Relief while the 2010s saw money funnelled towards helping those with malaria.

After reviewing the highlights, Sir Lenny added: “Please keep doing what you can to help, because doing good never gets old.” TV presenter Davina McCall told viewers “we’re going back to the 1980s” when the evening kicked off.

Limahl, from English pop band Kajagoogoo, sang the group’s hit song Too Shy, before Carol Decker, from T’Pau, performed China In Your Hand. Communities, workplaces, schools and families have helped raise more than £1.6 billion over the last 40 years, which has supported more than 100 million people, according to Comic Relief.

The charity has helped support communities by providing food, healthcare and shelter to those who need it most. Sir Lenny co-founded the charity with Love Actually screenwriter Richard Curtis in 1985.