| Comic Relief | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Created by |
BBC |
|
Presented by |
Lenny Henry |
|
Country of origin |
United Kingdom |
|
Venue |
BBC Television Centre, London, United Kingdom (1988–2013) |
|
Production company |
BBC Studios Entertainment Productions |
|
Original network |
BBC One |
|
Original release |
5 February 1988 – present |
Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to the famine in Ethiopia. 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, a digital expert, was announced in January 2021.
The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, an annual (previously biennial) telethon held in March. The first live fundraising evening, held on 4 April 1986, featured comedians and pop stars, including Rowan Atkinson, Billy Connolly, Stephen Fry, Kate Bush and co-founder Lenny Henry.
A prominent annual event on British television, Comic Relief is one of the two high-profile telethon events held in the UK, the other being Children in Need, 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. According to the OECD, Comic Relief’s financing for 2019 development increased by 31% to US$46.3 million.
Presenters[]
| Presenter | Year(s) |
|---|---|
| Lenny Henry | 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 |
| Ant & Dec | 2001, 2003 |
| Jonathan Ross | 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2017 |
| Adam Buxton | 2003 |
| Joe Cornish | 2003 |
| Bob Mortimer | 2003 |
| Graham Norton | 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2017 |
| Vic Reeves | 2003 |
| Chris Evans | 2005, 2007 |
| Davina McCall | 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2021 |
| Dermot O'Leary | 2005, 2011, 2013 |
| Jeremy Clarkson | 2007 |
| Nick Frost | 2007 |
| Richard Hammond | 2007 |
| James May | 2007 |
| Paul O'Grady | 2007 |
| Simon Pegg | 2007 |
| Kate Thornton | 2007 |
| Fearne Cotton | 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015 |
| Russell Brand | 2007, 2013, 2017 |
| James Corden | 2009 |
| Mathew Horne | 2009 |
| Reggie Yates | 2009 |
| Alan Carr | 2009, 2011, 2013 |
| Claudia Winkleman | 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 |
| David Tennant | 2009, 2013, 2019, 2021 |
| Tess Daly | 2009, 2015 |
| Noel Fielding | 2009, 2017 |
| Kevin Bridges | 2011 |
| Jimmy Carr | 2011 |
| Michael McIntyre | 2011, 2013 |
| Jack Whitehall | 2011, 2013 |
| Rob Brydon | 2013 |
| John Bishop | 2013, 2015 |
| David Walliams | 2013, 2015 |
| Greg James | 2015 |
| Sarah Millican | 2015 |
| Greg Davies | 2017 |
| Warwick Davis | 2017 |
| Miranda Hart | 2017 |
| Joe Lycett | 2017 |
| Luisa Omielan | 2017 |
| Richard Osman | 2017 |
| Sally Phillips | 2017 |
| Rob Beckett | 2017, 2019 |
| Romesh Ranganathan | 2017, 2019 |
| Clara Amfo | 2019 |
| Zoe Ball | 2019 |
| Joe Sugg | 2019 |
| Emma Willis | 2019 |
| Alesha Dixon | 2019, 2021 |
| Paddy McGuinness | 2019, 2021 |
| Amanda Holden | 2021 |
| Jason Manford | 2021 |
International versions[]
| Country | Local title | Broadcaster(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Comic Relief Australia | Seven Network |
| Belgium | Rode Neuzen Dag | VTM, Qmusic |
| Finland | Nenäpäivä | Yle TV1, Yle Areena |
| Germany | Red Nose Day | ProSieben |
| Iceland | Dagur rauða nefsins | RÚV |
| Ireland | RTÉ Does Comic Relief | RTÉ One, RTÉ Player |
| United States | Red Nose Day | NBC |